Trab ski auction: your input wanted

[size=12pt]Ski Trab Duo FreeRando Light[/size]

I want to let everyone know that we will be doing an auction right here on the forum for a brand new pair of Trab skis. The auction will happen sometime around the middle of November, and the skis should ship during the first week of December. The skis will come from Wasatch Ski Distribution as part of the TAY sponsorship program.

The pair of skis that will be up for auction is this year's model of the Duo FreeRando Light, about which I have heard very good reports from some local skiers (haven't skied them myself). The full details are available, but here are some quick specs:

• Dimensions: 112/110-79-96  (split tip)
• Weight: 1140 grams per ski = 5.0 lbs. per pair
• Features Trab's Patented I-Beam aramid honeycomb core wrapped in 50% carbon / 50% glass weave which produces exceptional liveliness and rebound while remaining extremely light and rigid, delivering a very energetic ride.
• Length: 171 guaranteed to be available; other lengths possible, subject to distributor availability at the time

I see that this thread has been getting a few views, and hopefully that signals some interest in these skis! One of my trusted forum advisors suggested that I elaborate a bit on this topic, so I will do that, and also ask for input from the membership.

First, more of an explanation about why TAY has a pair of Trab skis to auction (though, in reality, TAY will never see the skis). Mark (a year round streaker) at Wasatch Ski Distribution contacted me this summer after seeing the discussion about advertising on TAY, and said he was interested in being part of the sponsorship program. Instead of a cash payment, however, he wondered if a pair of Trab skis could substitute. I told him that what TAY really needed was cash to pay expenses, but that if I could turn the skis into cash this could work. Mark said that he had no objection to my doing so, and we thus came to an agreement that Wasatch Ski Distribution would be a sponsor for 12 months (and they were the first to commit). I had to make a choice of which Trab ski model, and after getting input from several local skiers, decided on the Duo FreeRando Lights as being the most likely to be widely desired by skiers who frequent the TRs.

How to turn the skis into the cash that TAY needs? I had seen on another web site that people would donate goods and services to the site, which would then run an auction, generating cash for the site. I thought that this sounded like a good way to deal with this pair of Trab skis - keep it simple, and keep it local (e.g. not on eBay). I also figured that with an auction it was likely that the final price would not reach the street price, let alone the MSRP, which would be fine with me  - no problem with someone getting a good deal.

Here's where I'd like to get your feedback. Do you think that an auction here on the TRs is a good way to deal with this pair of skis, or do you have other ideas which might be better? I'm mainly looking for a procedure that is simple and doesn't require a lot of time and bookkeeping on my part (thus a raffle would not be desirable from my point of view). If we do go with an auction, what about details - starting bid, bid increment, reserve, auction length?

All opinions are welcome, and thanks in advance for your input!

I think the lottery should be restricted to only people with over 760 posts. kidding

My 2 cents.
Goods and services might be too difficult to quantify as they may be diverse in nature,so I think it should be a straight money auction like eBay. Higgest bidder wins.

Straight auction, easily the best method. The problem is how to work that...

Silent auctions are easy, but they generally won't produce as much money - I'd go with a thread and a lock-out time. A standard auction could work, but you'd risk folks trying to snipe at the end. My suggestion is to have a public thread where you post your bid, but have the final bidder pay $10 over the second highest bid.

So if the bidding went like this:

Bob: $100
George: $250
Alice: $400
Mark: $450

Then Mark would pay $410. This would encourage everyone to bid the max they're willing to pay, and they wouldn't have to keep coming back to see if the bid is still good or not.

To avoid malicious bids to force the winner to pay more, nobody should be allowed to place a bid lower than the current high bid.

It's not perfect, but it seems easy and fair.

Scotsman, an eBay-type auction is what I was thinking. Winner pays money and gets skis shipped to them. I will never see the skis (unless I subsequently ski with the winner).

lordhedgie, I hadn't heard of this auction variation. I can see how it could be advantageous in reducing sniping, but wouldn't that only work if each person could only bid once? And even then, what's to stop someone from putting in their one bid at the last minute?

Is sniping really that bad? Everyone who does auctions must be used to it by now.

The auction would be thread-based: create the thread and have people post their bids in the thread by replying. Bid increment $10? Definitely have a specified end time, just like on eBay. I would want to set up the auction end time to fall at a prime time so that all the snipers could get in on the action (prime time for the TRs seems to be during the workday on Monday  ). Payment by PayPal or check.

Thanks to both of you for your input - anyone else?

Personally, I find sniping extremely annoying, and don't participate in online auctions where it occurs. Others might be used to it, but those of us who don't neccessarily have access to a computer in the final seconds, or don't want to risk losing an item over a roll of the dice to see who gets the last bid in before the deadline... It just doesn't seem to be worth it to encourage it, not to mention the fact that it seems that sniping would lower the final bid amount by removing the ability of others to counter the snipe bid.

And no, it doesn't make it impossible to snipe -- and some people on eBay still do it anyway. It just makes it pointless to snipe.

The alternative system to protect against sniping is not to have a set end time, but a rolling bidding. For example, during a one-week period, skiers A, B, C, D, E, and F all place bids, with D having the highest bid. During the next day, A, B, C, and E (only) are offered the chance to top D's bid. If A and B raise thier bids, with A having the new highest bid, then the next day B and D (only) would have a chance to raise their bids again. And so on and so forth, where every day another who placed a losing bid the day before would have a chance to raise again.

The upside to this bidding system is it ensures the person willing to pay the most will get the item, AND ensures that you get the most possible money. The downside is there's no way to predict when it ends -- it ends when everyone eventually gives up and stops outbidding each other. In that sense it most closely resembles a live auction, where sniping is impossible as the auctioneer would just continue the process a little longer every time a new bid is placed, but on forums the auction takes much longer...

Mind you, I'm already up two pairs of skis this summer, so I'm unlikely to bid anyway.