Auctions Deadline Fix?

[nerve]

Is there anyway to actually lock an auction after the finish time instead of waiting till the first restart following it? Even if you couldn't receive the item till the next restart?

I've now lost multiple auctions that I had the high bid much after the auction "ended" only to lose it cause I couldn't stay around the chest waiting till a restart and once the restart shout is given all someone has to do is run back to the Wyrm and outbid you by one gold and it's theirs.

Is this possible??

[mishimayukio]

I'm also getting tired of people outbidding me by 1 gold. We really need a minimum bidding increment system.

[mubu]

*chuckles* So many bid snipers out there, but then again isn't that what the auction chest is all about? The items in said chest are not earned any other way than being the top bidder i just don't understand what difference 1 dollar above or 1million above asked price is because in the end you still lose the bid if you are not the highest bidder. Think of it this way, maybe the person is spending their entire savings to buy an item in there and can not afford like some people to up his bid in million dollar increments... Gotta think of the little people too. I lost plenty of bids by a buck, or even by just not being able to hang around till the reset but then again how many times has missing that auction item hurt you or your character because in my case it never has, and I am not broken up about losing it. I guess my question is where in lies the problem?

[FunkySwerve]

The problem lies in the fact that mish and nerve aren't placing their bids correctly. From a theoretical perspective your bid should approach the actual full amount you would pay for an item more rapidly as the auction end nears. Failure to do so induces others to outbid you when you would in fact have paid more, often by small increments as their maximum value for the item in question is approached..

Of course, this auction lasts much longer than your typical auction, even the silent type, and that introduces the problem that all the bidders can't be in the room together, meaning that they cannot always accurately signal to each other their willingness to outbid.

That being the case, forcing bidders to larger bid increments will ensure that they reach their respective valuations more quickly, alleviating this problem to an extent, and not stating the required amount may encourage overbidding the minimum (unless they decide to calculate it), while remaining under or at one's maximum value.

In any case, as I said before, we would uncap the market and implement a minimum bid increase when the bank was uncapped. It's already been added in the coming update, with a 5% minimum increase.

As for the original topic of this thread, there's no bug to fix. It operates exactly as described on the board, because that is by far the most efficient way to do it. Effective bidding will ensure that you get the item you are bidding on, if your valuation of it is indeed higher than that of other bidders. The soft deadline also discourages last-minute bidding, since no one can be certain what the last minute is. Such last minute bidding WOULD afford interested parties the chance to participate in a more auction-like atmosphere, with direct signaling, but would also increase the likelihood of strategic rent-seeking (ie holdups). On balance, it just isn't worth the added inefficiency.

Funky

[DragonChyld]

mubu said:

*chuckles* So many bid snipers out there, but then again isn't that what the auction chest is all about? The items in said chest are not earned any other way than being the top bidder i just don't understand what difference 1 dollar above or 1million above asked price is because in the end you still lose the bid if you are not the highest bidder. Think of it this way, maybe the person is spending their entire savings to buy an item in there and can not afford like some people to up his bid in million dollar increments... Gotta think of the little people too. I lost plenty of bids by a buck, or even by just not being able to hang around till the reset but then again how many times has missing that auction item hurt you or your character because in my case it never has, and I am not broken up about losing it. I guess my question is where in lies the problem?

While I have never bid an Item by only 1 gold...(I think its Asinine)I can see both sides of the equation. As a result I tend not to bid in the auction chest at all, I would rather shout for trades.

In the end though I have to agree with the above post. If there was a penalty associated with losing an auction then it would most definatly be a problem. As it is, its an inconvience to you, but a blessing to whomever beat you at the last second. Reverse the roles for a sec, if you had been in a bid war for X item in the auction chest on say server 2, you knew the auction was over and you saw a reset message flash up... would you honestly NOT go to the wyrm to secure the auction? And would you really blow an extra Mil gold when 1 would suffice?

You are also assuming that there are no silent watchers on the auction. My favorite tactic on Ebay is to watch an auction silently right till then end, then pop in a Proxy bid within the last 2 min and watch people scramble to beat it. Not because I am a dick, but because I want it, I know what I am willing to pay, and I do not wanna start a bid war way before then end of the auction to run the price up..

One last peice of advice. Reflects on Funky's post. If you see something in the auction chest you want.. Before you bid figure out what you want to pay for it. Not what you hope you can get it for, not what you would LIKE to pay for it, BUT a FAIR price in your mind of what you are willing to part with to own said item. Bid that amount. Simple. If you get outbid, so what, its more than you decided the item was worth to you anyways. If it is worth more to you than anyone else you will get the item. You MIGHT have gotten it cheaper sure. BUT you did GET it, and for what you thought a fair price.

~DC

[kaldair]

Slightly off topic but I ran into an issue that's probably well known to the old-timers, but not explained to us newbs

I have a my first character that I didn't build well for this server, but I use to perform other duties rather than infintite Desert runs This character had lots of money that I used as the basis for a bid on an item. A short time after the bid ended, I was using a new toon to check the chests and received strike on for not having sufficient funds in my transfer account. I learned from this experience that the funds in the transfer account are toon specific, while the trigger on the chest to pickup the item is CD key specific. My new toon was looking in the chests to find stuff, not pickup the item I won. Some warning of having the funds in the transfer account of the toon that first opens the chest after a bid is won might have prevented me form violating the insufficient funds rule. But then who knows we newbs tend to mess up anyways

[DragonChyld]

I think the problem is that you have a misunderstanding of your accounts, you have two.. A toon specific account, and a transfer account. Your transfer acount is based upon your CD key and allows you to move money from one PC to another PC. THIS is the account that the funds need to be in at the end of an auction. You also have a PC specific account that the funds do NOT come out of. I have a feeing from this remark

This character had lots of money that I used as the basis for a bid on an item.

That you had either the money for the item in your Toon specific account, OR you had the money on the toon in question.

My advice is to track down the player who had the item up for auction and offer them the gold.

The signboard next to the Chests explains this to a good detail I feel. it is simply understanding when you go to the bank the diff between "My account", and "My Transfer Account" and ensuring that the funds for the auction are inm the Transfer Account.

I would not worry to much about the stirke, I think you are allowed 3..
Just be a tad more careful next time
~ DC