response 2 of 38:

Sep 30 03:57 UTC 1997

Would it be possible, or worthwhile, to maintain a presence at the JCC
auctions just to distribute flyers and promote Grex, without actually
carting XTs around?

response 8 of 38:

Sep 30 19:11 UTC 1997

It seemed to me that the auction went by pretty quickly this year.  Some of
the items, like baked goods and noodles, can be re-created at any time, so
my suggestion is to have the auction twice a year.  Or at least try it; if it
doesn't work, then it doesn't work.

response 10 of 38:

Oct 2 18:35 UTC 1997

I like the idea of twice a year.  And it seems that the beginning of
November would be a good time to start the later one.  (I hope the
auctioneers don't need a lot of recovery time between events!)

response 12 of 38:

Oct 3 01:20 UTC 1997

Is there any reason the auction cant be continuous?  An Item gets posted, the
best bid after 2, 3, 4, weeks takes it, if the money doesnt get to the
treasurer within 2, 3, 4 weeks after bidding closes, the next highetst bidder
gets it.  Or some such thing.

response 14 of 38:

Oct 3 05:30 UTC 1997

Auction activity among the fws is still winding down (we're still trying to
get those last few deadbeats to pay up).  I'm perfectly fine with another one,
but I get the feeling that the more often we do it the less active it will
be.  I'd even be willing to do something on it (or, I could try to do more
than I did for this one :).  

If it was continuous, I think the annual volume and income would be
considerably less, actually.  People aren't motivated to donate things
continuously, and there's less bidding activity if it's just something you
check ever week.

response 16 of 38:

Oct 10 22:45 UTC 1997

        While a continueing auction might be good in some ways, such as
a quick turn-around on software and equipment donations, it would 
probably dry up the other kinds of donations to still only once or
twice a year (baked goods, personality items, art, massages, etc).
        In last year's M-net holiday auction, while an item looked
interesting as a gift for the holidays, bidders have learned there
was no cut-off date for bidding, and therefore no promise for
delivery in time for shipping.

        I would like to see a continueing auction for equipment/
software donations, while having a special time of the year, or
special times of the year for the other items.  That special batch
of cookies or whatnot just has to stay rare in order to gather the
bids at any particular time.

response 18 of 38:

Oct 11 03:14 UTC 1997

it seems logical that grex and m-net could join forces, share labour and cost,
and bring in a larger crowd to a combined auction, and there would still be
a fairly simple way to separate the revenue generated.  items to be auctioned
could be labeled and registered with the name of the group to which they
belong, and bidders could be thus informed of where their money is going.
in addition, a little friendly competition could induce loyal donors to come
up with more appealing items to woo bidders away from the other service...

seems like a win-win situation.  any cons i'm missing here?

response 22 of 38:

Oct 12 21:02 UTC 1997

actually i had imagined it taking place in person rather than online.
i neglected to note that we were discussing online auctions.
the advantages i imagined for a combined effort don't seem to apply to an
online situation, since the convenience of the bidders isn't much of a factor.

response 24 of 38:

Oct 13 03:02 UTC 1997

re: #17- Um, I haven't got my stuff yet?  More worried about the barrette
than the truffles... 'Niffle.
I agree that noveltly makes it more interesting, hence better attended.
Twice a year *might* be workable, or might be too often.  There're
advantages to summer (folks may have more time and less pressure) and 
to pre-Yule tide (the obvious).