The Silent Auction (07-10-17)

A Story by dw817

These are the instructions for the silent auction I am holding for items for sale at Next Door.

FOR (3) COLOR-CHANGING CRYSTAL CHRISTMAS CANDLES

As I only have 3 of these unique candles, I can either try to sell them individually or all together. I don't like the idea of them being separate, so I will indeed sell them as a set. Once bought, the person who purchased them can then break up the set to their friends and family if they so choose.

Also if I didn't mention it. This is not glitter. There is no glitter glued to the outside of these candles and yet their outside surface is smooth to the touch.

Now I remember back at Christ The King, the church I went to with my Dad, there was an auction for a table that a craftsman had made. It had intricate designs and swirls in it, lacquered, and was really quite nice looking.

The preacher said that the table was for sale and it would be a silent auction to determine the price.

I asked my Dad what that meant and he said that the congregation was expected to put down on a piece of paper their full name, their phone number, and what they thought the handmade table was worth and were willing to pay for it, and to put their paper entry into a wooden box, which I later saw was affixed to the wall beside it.

Dad continued and said this auction was going to be for 14-days, so after 2 weeks the papers were carefully gone through and whoever had the highest amount - they got the table for that price.

I like this idea as it gets everyone involved and does not include the randomness of a lottery where only one person from many interested parties can win through chance.

However, we're going to bump it up a bit to modern times. Instead of writing on paper, you'll be sending a message through the computer.

So from now 07-10-17 to midnight of 07-17-17, anyone can write me in private message on Next Door with what you think these candles are worth, being a value of $6 or higher for all three, and only in increments of $1, no coins, please.

I'm also going to make some additional rules so you are not left completely in the dark. If you are the highest bidder at the moment and I am at the computer, I will reply to you in private message where only you can see it, "You are the leader."

At no point will I tell you or anyone else either publicly or privately what the lowest or highest values are or who has them at any time during this auction.

You can also only bid once per day. For instance, if you bid $8 at the start of the day and then later in the evening bid $10, your bid for that day would still be $8. The next day, permitting the auction is still active, you could bid $10 then and that change would be recorded.

Twice a day you can ask me if you are the leader and only if you have been so in the past. If I'm by the computer, I can check and let you know if you still are the leader - or if you are not, I will tell you that you are no longer the leader due to someone else's bid.

As mentioned though, if your bid is higher than anyone else's, you won't need to ask as I will let definitely you know in a private reply that you are the leader. I'll keep track of all of this in a simple database throughout the time of the auction.

Tuesday morning (07-18-17) declares the completion of the auction and the numbers will be tallied.

If there is a tie with two or more, the person who first made the highest bid first (before the others) will be declared the winner.

Once a winner is selected I will announce in Next Door by public post who won and what their final bid was.

It is then up to that person to schedule a time to drive here (I will give you my home address and phone number for confirmation), pay by cash for your final value in what you wrote they are worth, and I will then turn these candles over to you for your possession to take home for keeps !

If you want to adopt this varied method of mine for Silent Auction for yourself in selling your own items online in the community, you are more than welcome to ! And I may just bid on a few items myself if I find them of interest.