Topic

Auction house ideas

I've got a few ideas for features on the auction house.

The first is that I'd like to be able to see the vendor value of items when deciding whether to buy or sell. Right now it seems like only way to see vendor value when looking at items to buy is to click through to the encyclopedia entry for the item. It's even tougher when selling.

My second idea is that I think it would be cool if you could partially buy out an auction. For example, if somebody is selling a stack of 1000 of I'd like to be able to choose to purchase just 10 of the item.

My final idea is that I'd like to be able to purchase multiple auctions of the same thing without having to click though several different screens.

Posted 4 months ago by Saristin Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • For example, if somebody is selling a stack of 1000 of I'd like to be able to choose to purchase just 10 of the item.

    From a buyer perspective this'd be neat, but I'm not sure from a seller perspective.  You might say a partial sale is better than no sale or doesn't affect sales - but I have, in the past, put up very specific quantities of an item and priced them accordingly.

    For example, if I see an auction page full of listings for individual items (items which do stack) and the lowest price is X and there's a higher price Y, and other values above Y, I might sell five items in a group for between X and Y.  Sometimes it's been, based on what I can assume from my sales, worth it to buyers to pay a slightly higher price and get the items in a group.

    I'm not saying this makes your idea not workable.. haven't thought through it that far, but just pointing out that there are other issues at play than might be apparent at first glance.
    Posted 4 months ago by diaveborn ♥ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • But maybe a "reverse" auction, like a wtb (willing to buy) area in the auctions.  Where instead of offering something for sale, and putting the item up, you can choose the item and quantity that you'd like to purchase and put the amount of currents you're willing to pay up.  Then someone can fulfill your request instead of putting up their own auction if they'd rather make an immediate sale and agree with your quantity/price.  If after your request expires and no one has fulfilled your order, you are refunded your currents (listing fee non-refundable, just like normal auctions).  Fees are on the person who does the listing, so if you're requesting, you have to put up the money for your order as well as the listing fee.  If you're putting up an auction, then you pay the listing fee (as normal).

    I could see this working for not only buyers who are looking for a specific amount of an item and doesn't want to buy twice the amount to get it, but also for sellers who may be unsure of what quantity would sell best.  Sometimes the smaller quantities go faster, sometimes, as diaveborn said, the larger quantities go faster 'cause you can get more at once.

    This gives us more of a choice on how we purchase in the auction.  The interface really could be the same as well.  Except instead of choosing from your inventory, you'd choose from a list, dropdown or a search of all items.  Input your quantity and price (just like normal) and instead of the item+fee being removed, the currents+fee would be.
    Posted 4 months ago by Kaelyn Renai Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 on  the "reverse auction" 

    I work in (a field tangential to) the financial sector. This is how commodity markets work. You have the buy side, and the sell side. This enhances price discovery, helps the market move faster.  
    Posted 4 months ago by DysProg Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Good idea(s)!

    I would recommend using some of these tools for the moment :)
    Posted 4 months ago by Rutger Subscriber! | Permalink
  • -1 I agree with diaveborn on the splitting issue. If someone posted a large stack at a lower price per item, being able to split the stack breaks their strategy. The combination of price and quantity should be under control of the seller.

    +1 for being able to see the vendor price for comparison and for being able to buy multiple auctions at once.
    Posted 4 months ago by Janitch Subscriber! | Permalink