  Contests & Activities
This week: Auction Awareness Edited by: ~WhoMe???~  
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A campfire currently looking for more participation from additional writers, this is a new piece that was started at the beginning of the month. With only two participants thus far, this activity has begun an adventure that will take you to far off places.
A campfire creative with clear, cut and concise instructions as to the outline of key components of the story, which is off to a grand start. The only thing lacking, is more participation. Stop in and take a look, see if this is an activity you are ready to take on. Learn about ,The Powers That Be, Enforcers, Gathers, Energy, and Dimensional Pockets. |
| ASIN: B083RZ37SZ |
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Amazon's Price: Price N/A
Not currently available. |
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What is an auction? By definition, an auction is a public sale in which property or items of merchandise are sold to the highest bidder. What purpose does an auction have on a writing site? Auctions held here on site, are generally done, to raise much needed GP's for various groups or activities. Each auction is unique to itself.
Setting up and running an auction takes time and dedication.
~A group is often set up, in which the incoming GPs will be sent. These will come in not only from the final winnings, but also sometimes in the form of a monetary donation directly. Having a separate fund makes GP distribution easier, and keeps it so that the funds from the auction are not intermixed with your own personal funds.
~Once the GP holding pot is set up in group format, then it is time to set up the forum, and main page, of the actual auction. Here is a list of the things you will need:
Theme:
Is this holiday themed, or is the auction for a certain occasion? Lets use St Patrick's Day as the point of reference for this auction. Keeping that in mind, you will now want to decorate the auction using referencing to St. Paddy's day. This will give meaning and depth to the event. Green, gold and black colors, shamrocks, rainbows, pots of gold, and leprechauns are just a few suggestions.
Banner:
Will you have a banner to advertise the auction? Though not a necessary item, it helps to brighten the page and add meaning of reference to the auction. Keep with the theme, or a color scheme.
Purpose:
What is the purpose of the auction? This should be stated first and forefront. Is this to help others or to support a contest? List the split of the proceeds to help showcase how this auction will show its support.
Precise rules and regulations:
Key elements to the rules and regulations are :
~start and ending time
~payment directions and deadline
~package completion deadline
~bidding increment guidelines
Auction Packages:
In order to host an auction, you must have material to bid on. This is also known as packages. Packages can come from you, or from donations. How many packages are you striving for? There are many forms of packages. The packages can be site specific, or they can come in form of real life items.
Package ideas:
~reviews
~merit badges
~awardicons
~images
~gift certificate to site shops
~gift cards i.e. amazon or other online retailers...
~membership upgrades
~items from WDC shops
~books
~mystery packages of any of the above mentioned.
~real life items, such as jewelry, afghans, quilts, the ideas are limitless here (but a physical address from winner will be needed)
(keep in mind when donating or offering real life items, that it is necessary to ship items by mail, and many online members live outside of the country)
Some of the best packages consist of a variety of combinations of the above mentioned items. If you are not providing the packages yourself, sending out an email to your groups announcing the auction, and that you are accepting donations, will bring in group support. Post in "Activities @ Writing.Com" , announcing the auction, that you are accepting donations, and the start time of the auction.
Now that you have your packages for bidding, it is time to open the auction. Make a forum post, announcing the start of the auction. Send out emails to your group members as well. Bids will now begin to come in for the various packages. Try to keep current with the bids. As each bid comes in, go in and edit the page, posting the current bid next to the package item. This allows potential bidders to see the current price, and decide upon their bid. (if the page isn't kept current, bidders will lose interest)
The auction has now closed. Any bids that came in after the closing time are null and void. Sticking to the rules is essential. Time to send out announcements to the winning bidders. Once each package is paid for, mark it so on the auction page, and let the donator know, so that they can commence distributing the package.
Once all packages are paid for, post a comment in the forum, thanking the participants. Now it is time to distribute the GPs to the intended groups or recipient of the auction proceeds. You have now completed your first auction. It took a minimum of 1 day, to as long as a month or so. It is constant emails, editing and fun. I hope you enjoyed your experience.
Some of my favorite auctions where the 24 hour auctions. I have even hosted auctions that lasted only one hour. Those are feirce in the bidding war, and take much preparation.
Keep in mind when bidding on packages, that you are not only trying to obtain a package, but your bidding goes toward a specific purpose or group. I find it oftentimes more personally rewarding to bid higher than the actual value of the package itself, since I am bidding to support a charity I like to support.
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Auctions
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Raffles
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Have you held an auction? Write in and tell us of your experience.
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Contests & Activities: March 14, 2012 Issue [#4925]
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