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GeekList auction

GeekList auctions are another way to sell/purchase games on BGG; see Guide to Selling Games on BGG and Guide to Buying Games on BGG.

In an auction, items are sold to the highest bidder. Auctions have a starting price, the lowest number that users may bid. Some have a separate soft reserve in addition to a starting bid, and some have a Buy-it-Now price, the number at which the bidding immediately ends. Auctions may not, however, use only BIN prices. Auctions are not for selling items at set prices. Items with a set price should be listed in the BGG Marketplace.

To find GeekList auctions, you can

To find auction lists containing a specific game,

  • go to the game page
  • click on More -> Geeklists
  • filter -> Auction & Trade
  • sort -> Recent

Creating a GeekList auction

A GeekList auction is created using the GeekLists menu at the top of the page. Click Create New (like any other GeekList). You have to provide:

  • the title (good practice tip: in the title include the "auction" keyword as well as the region you're willing to ship the games to)
  • the description of the auction (good practice tip: try to be as specific as possible in the description section, giving details about the bidding/shipping/payment methods).
  • when your auction ends, you can turn off comments by editing the header of your GeekList (this will prevent late bids from being posted). Please also change the subject/title of the geeklist to include the word "CLOSED" in it when it's over so that the auction finders/aggregators can tell it's closed.
  • if you happen to have auction items become sold prior to the end of the entire auction please edit the item's description and somewhere in the description add the phrase ""closed and sold"" (case doesn't matter). This will tell the auction finder tools that the item is no longer available.

The header must state that all sales will go through the Marketplace. See "Listing items in the Marketplace", below, for detailed instructions.

An example of a good description is provided here:

1. All games will be listed with a minimum starting bid and most will have a soft reserve. My definition of soft reserve is that this is the minimum dollar figure that I can guarantee a sale. If the ending bid is below this figure, I may still sell it, but that will be a "game time decision".

(comment: Starting bid is a must. Soft reserve is an option used often, but also often disliked. Consider also providing Buy-It-Now (BIN) price)

2. All bids must be in whole dollars.

(comment: the most common options, feel free to change it to whatever you want)

3. Shipping is from 91125 and will be paid by the winner, and I will ship via whatever method you request. If we (meaning me and the buyer) use USPS I will require Delivery Confirmation on the package. This is to protect both you and I so we can guarantee both that the games have been sent, and that you received them. Local pick up is fine with me.

(comment: try to provide you zip code, it helps estimating the price of shipping. State clearly if you're gonna charge extra for handling/packaging. Local pickup is a cool option to include)

4. I will combine shipping if you win multiple items.

(comment: shipping costs are large these days, so try to be flexible and help lower them)

5. International bidders are welcome to join, just remember that you will be paying the shipping.

(comment: if not, simply state Europe/US/Canada only)

6. All transactions will be done via Paypal and through the BGG marketplace so BGG will get its 3% commission. If you are doing local pickup, I can accept cash.

(comment: other options are checks/bank transfers/money orders. All auctions must state that sales will go through the Marketplace in the header.)

7. This particular auction will run until sometime in the evening of June 26th, 2010. I have a set end time for the listings, but I want to discourage sniping.

(comment: some people give a specific date/time other opt for undisclosed time to prevent snipping; in addition, it is good to highlight the end date so it is clearly visible)

  • deselect the "Public Additions?" option so only you can include new items/games
  • make sure that "Comments?" option is selected so users can bid on your items
  • select the "Trade/Auction List?" option
  • click "Save and Continue to Step 2" button.
  • Use the "Add New Item" link to add games/items you want to auction.

Board Game: locate the game in the BGG database that you're auctioning

Image ID: make sure that the image corresponds to the version of the game you're auctioning. If not, use the "Lookup Image" option to locate the appropriate cover image. If there isn't one in BGG database, use the default one but make note in the Comments which version you're selling.

Comments: provide a short description of the item, with the starting price, (soft reserve; if any), (BIN price; if any), version, state of the game. Make sure that the game is complete, otherwise (or if you're nor sure) list all the items. If it's not complete list all the missing/present parts.

An example of a good Comments section:

"Excellent condition; all components present and carefully bagged. One reference card has a slight smudge; otherwise I would list it as near mint condition.

Starting price: $10"

  • After adding all items remember to click the "Submit List" link.

Good practice tip: after the auction is finished, edit the header to add "CLOSED" to the title of your auction, and turn off comments to prevent further bids from being posted. You may also want to edit the title of your corresponding Geekbay thread.

Creating a corresponding GeekBay topic

Now it's time to advertise the auction, so everyone interested can find it. Go to Forum -> Geekbay and

  • post a new thread

Topic: put anything you like (good practice tip: in the title include the "auction" keyword as well as the region you're willing to ship the games to)

Body: provide a link to your GeekList auction (good practice tip: add also all the games that you're auctioning, so everyone can see if it's worth clicking on the auction link; also, provide the end date/time of the auction) as well as anything that may convince bgg'ers to click on your auction and bid on the items.

Please limit the number of new threads you make in the GeekBay forum. It is preferred that you update information by responding to your existing thread and updating the thread title rather than making a new one. If you make too many new threads they may end up being deleted by a moderator.

Posting in the MetaList

Additional advertisement happens in the MetaList - a super list collecting all the current and just-ended GeekList Auctions. Posting in this list notifies all subscribers to the MetaList that a new auction is in progress, and once an auction has been added to the MetaList, buyers may search for specific games offered using one or more of: BGG Auction Aggregator, Yet Another Geek Auction Finder Tool (appended to side of the OLWLG), BGG Metalist Auction... meta site.

  • post a new item. From the header, click on "Add Item"
  • select "GeekList" from the 4th column.
  • enter the GeekListID in the box. This can be found by looking at the series of numbers in your GeekList's URL.
  • add a picture of your highlighted game (or some other picture of your choice). The ImageID can be found in the same manner as the GeekList ID.
  • refer to the header of the MetaList for additional rules and guidelines. In particular to editing the item after it has been posted.

Bidding on items from GeekList auction

Bidding on items in a GeekList auction is performed by replying to GeekList items with your bid. Please, read carefully the description of the auction (bidding/payment/shipping options) before submitting the bid. If anything is unclear, please contact the seller via GeekMail.

Listing items in the Marketplace

mb
Bulk listing

Once your auction has closed, the easiest way to handle auction commissions is to make a single Marketplace listing under Miscellaneous Game Accessory for the grand total of all the paid winning bids.

Please note in the description what the item is for. You may send Octavian the link to that listing to "buy" it, or click "buy" yourself.

Once an item is bought, it will need to be confirmed. Your Recent Sales in the Geek Market

Click the sale ID of the listing that you wish to confirm.

Click "Confirm Transaction." You can then pay what is owed through http://boardgamegeek.com/geekmarket/account/paycommission

If anyone wants their individual transactions tracked through the system you can set it up with them as a one-way trade.

mb
Individual listings

Please read the Marketplace Seller Guide for detailed instructions on how to list items on the Geek Market. In the description of the item the seller should put that this particular item is intended only for user ABC, the winner of the XYZ auction to prevent confusion. After all items are put in the marketplace, the seller should notify all buyers that the items are available (either by posting a note in the GeekList auction or GeekMailing all winners).

Marketplace listings should be for the amount of the winning bid. There are separate fields for the bid amount and the shipping amount. To avoid paying commission on shipping costs, you may specify "shipping costs will be calculated and added to the purchase price" or offer flat rate shipping (such as "$10 for the first item, $5 for the second, $2 for the third").

Buying GeekList auction items

Buyers can find games using an auction finder/aggregator such as:

Buying auctioned items should be performed via Geek Market. Please read Marketplace Buyer Guide for detailed instructions.

Common Courtesy and Etiquette

BGG is a great avenue for finding the board games that you want. Most players take care of their games allowing for decent re-sale value. However, BGG is not an ideal place to host an auction. The community has developed a work around to make this work for as many people as possible. Because of this, certain auction "features" may be different than other auction sites.

  • Sellers can reserve the right to pull or modify an item. However, if bids are placed, all bidders should be notified of the change in status prior to it happening. Even if no bids are placed, it is better to edit the item to reflect the change than to delete it outright.
  • Buyers should not retract bids to items except in rare circumstances and ONLY if they first contact the seller and get permission. The seller should post a comment to verify the current high bid after such a time.
  • It is not appropriate to point out that a seller's items are over-priced. Value is in the eye of the bidder. If it is too high for you, move to another auction. If it really bothers you, contact that seller in a private GeekMail.
  • "Bidding in increments of $1" usually means bid in whole dollars. Most people don't like dealing in cents so round to the nearest dollar.
  • Since BGG does not have a "reserve" feature, other workarounds are needed. Hidden reserves (only the seller knows the magic number) are typically frowned upon. A "soft reserve" is a value that has been posted for all to see. This protects the seller if the item is underbid but allows flexibility to the seller to swing a deal.
  • Buy-it-now (BIN) is a means to set a price that will close the item immediately. This should be clearly posted in the item. Some sellers add these in the final days to encourage those on the fence. Again, if bids have been made, those bidders should be made aware of the new (or lowered) BIN price as a change has occurred.
  • Sniping vs. set end time. Sniping is a last minute (and/or last second) bid on items that do not give previous bidders enough time to react. To discourage this activity, end times can be random or extended XX minutes after the last bid. This allows previous bidders sufficient time to be notified and react.
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