Curious about how folks use auction

[redoubt]

I see lots of folks put up auctions and accept both in thread and PM bids. Is this pretty standard?

Seems pretty easy to say a you have a bid by PM etc. I would think if its an auction, then all bids should be made in thread, so there thought of impropriety.

Is that unreasonable? Are there reasons for wanting to place a bid in a PM and being unwilling to post your bid in the thread?

I'm not saying there are not good reasons for allowing PM only bids, I just don't know what they are... so I'm asking.

[Tunes_Steele]

For me, I don't like to post my bids in threads. It's almost inevitable that once I place a bid in a thread, I get pm's from other people bugging me to sell them what I have. But thats just me.

One way to solve this problem is to have the auctioneer list the high bid. This way people will have an idea of what the auctioneer is willing to accept and the high bid does not need to have someones name included, just the bid.

I mean you'll never know if someone is trying to drive up bids by faking bids, but this is nothing new. It happens in the auction house, ebay, live auctions etc..

[redoubt]

Okay, I kinda get the part about not wanting random PMs about your stuff that showed as part of your bid.

I'm still not sure about some of it though. But considering the non-secure methods we have in the market forums, I'm not sure there is much we can do about it.

I play a lot and have some nice gear, but some of the bids I hear "offered" are "fantastic" even to someone who plays 30ish hours a week. It becomes hard to believe when you never get to see the bid posted. (True, someone could have a second account and post that way, but people would figure it out eventually.)

The second part of it, is you see an auction end and never get to find out what it traded for. True, I have no real right to know, but I'd really like to! It would also help people understand the value of items.

Anyone else have thoughts on this matter?

[geoffhanna]

As the seller, I prefer public bids and will post the current high bid. As the buyer, I may not always want to tip my hand.

Valuation is kind of subjective anyway, unless you are selling for plat it can be quite challenging sometimes to just determine which bid is the highest.