Runing an Auction

[nomar88423]

I am looking to run an auction for the first time as a commish. Do you guys have any input on auctions you have run or been a part of in the past that would help me? Time limits, matching rights, etc? Anything advice would help.

Thanks,
Matt

[baseballboy]

We do a re-draft auction every year and have had great success with doing the following:

1) The #1 rule - make sure you (the commissioner) are NOT involved in the physical functions of the auction as you will need to tend to your own team. You will need an auctioneer and a helper. The commissioner will still be in charge (breaks, disputes, etc.) but can not be loaded down with being the auctioneer if he wants to have a decent team and have his sanity by the end of the day.

2) Make sure your auctioneer is consistent. And what I mean by that is this:

-For the 1st 50 picks or so he should be fairly deliberate in order to allow everyone time to spend their money.
-Picks 50-150 or so he should pick up the pace but still give some time after the name is called for everyone to look up the player or you'll be there all day.
-Towards the end of the auction he needs to really pick up the pace as money is scarce and many have already filled positions that are called out.

3) If you are putting stickers up on a board with the player names, writing them down, or entering them into a computer you will need a second man for this job (the helper), making sure this person knows all the players and positions. This allows the auctioneer to keep the auction rolling.

4) Have the league put up $5-$10 extra each (believe me - it's worth every penny) to pay to the auctioneer and helper for their work for the day and buy their lunch and sodas (avoid beer as they needs to remain strong, especially late in the day).

5) Breaks - it's very important to allow breaks. We have between 3-4 10 minute breaks, allowing everyone to use the restroom and regroup their thoughts heading into the next session.

This should get you going; if I think of anything more of great importance I'll post for ya .

[BigKahuna83]

just follow the advice listed above. It is right on the money from my experience. Last year was our first auction and I had to try and run it as well as buy my own team. It was a huge headache and we will have a dedicated auctioneer and assistant this year.

Also DO NOT have a 'round table auction' where bids go around the table in order. We tried that for the start of our auction and it was taking forever as everybody kept looking in their books for info on the player. This year we will have a player nominated and then the bidding will be open to all.

It is a lot of fun...enjoy!

[nomar88423]

This advice is awesome but I'm looking to run the auction on a message board not live. Any thoughts?

[JDD]

I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. You need to start right now.

Here is the problem. Let's say I want to bid on Nomar. I post on some sort of message board...

"Nomar- one dollar." I hit send, and I wait so see if anyone wants to shoot at that skeet.

Now.... how long do I have to wait for someone to bid me up? A day? Three days?

Maybe I am the only one who wants him... great. This happens a lot in these drafts... but... How many of your managers are going to want to get in on this:

Pujols - one dollar.

This could take a while. And it does. It could take a month to find the high bid.

Here is some advice. Let's say you have twelve managers. Make it a rule that each manager can only nominate one player at a time. And if no one bids up a player after 24 hours, the last bid wins. So when I bid a dollar for Nomar, I cannot bring up Pujols until Nomar is purchased by SOMEONE. And if no one posts a reply to the bid, he is mine 24 hours after I posted him.

Here is the catch... if no one logs on and sees my Pujols offer, then yep, he is mine for a dollar. And tough tonails if the rest of the league is so inactive that they let me scoop him up. Its a case of "good for me".

That would work for most drafts. And here is an idea which could work for a select group of superstars... Have the Commish create a list of names that require a 48 hour wait for the last bid to stick as the winning bid. Many such lists already exist, under the "undroppable" section... guys who cannot be waived because they are great.

Do NOT allow managers to suggest more than one guy at a time. Near the end of the draft, maybe you can allow two players per manager. But this would be hard. Imagine logging on and you see 24 guys up for bid. There is a reason why you don't see this at estate sales... tho it could work better on old furniture than young prospects.

PLEASE encouage all managers to bid on more than one player at a time. In a perfect world, there will always be 12 guys up for consideration, and if you are scared to death the rest of the league will each get a superstar for a dollar, meaning everyone but you... you can prevent this by bidding two dollars on everyone currently on the board.

Again, each manager can only nominate one player at a time, but there should be no restrictions on how many players they can "have bids on" at any one time.

These rules are designed to create honest values, and to have the auction completed in time for the season. Off-line or "message board" auctions WILL take longer than you expect. And managers should be aware there could be a time when they log on, and all of a sudden they have four new guys on their roster. But that is a good thing. It helps to keep things moving.

You might want to use a record keeper, or a seperate board for everyone's roster. And be sure you encourage active participation. And stick to the 24 or 36 or 48 hour grace period.

And start....like....tomorrow.