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Hanson Ma

It's very disappointing to see all the bidders who don't respond when you should. The rules are clear from the beginning. Your payment info is needed upon winning. Its hard enough to keep track of auction results. Please be respectful of the clubs and people who run the actions. A lot of work goes into it for these folks. Get you payment in promptly and stop making the clubs have to hound you for it. Ok end of rant

2/22/2020 7:52:09 AM

Georgia

I totally agree with you Mike. Here comes the "but", why would you expect the public who are on BP to be any different than regular public? Every business has a healthy amount of chargebacks/failure to pay, etc. If I were running an auction I would expect at least 3-5% flake out rate. Doesn't make it right, just means that people are people even on BP.

Now, if you want to know my auction etiquette pet peeve, it is auctioneers who bid on their own lots midway through the bidding on an item. They do not list in the rules that auctioneers are permitted to bid. And they do not announce at the beginning of the item bidding that they have an interest. But magically when the bidding stalls, they decide to jump in. It happened to me this year. I will totally skip that club auction in the future.

2/22/2020 10:28:34 AM

Hanson Ma

I understand. That’s not cool if the bidding slows down. A couple of years ago we had a seed in our action I wanted and at the beginning I said I was in on the action and did win it.
Jus tired of seeing the chasing.

2/22/2020 1:11:20 PM

Grittyville, WA

I am often multitasking (burning my dinner or whatever...) & sure enough the one auction I bid on... I followed up emailing and paying three or four days later (despite knowing the rules and wanting to get it done immediately--which is a reasonable request.) I know thats not the worst offence. But I probably shoulda sent a $5 tip for being late.

2/22/2020 1:13:47 PM

One thing I see slowing the auctions down is the multi lots with the winner not responding to how many lots they want. To my thinking some of the reason for that could be wanting the winner to email immediately after winning and not as soon as possible(meaning within a few minutes after auction has ended at most)

I do not think putting on an auction is an easy task so be alert people.

2/22/2020 3:10:56 PM

Syracuse, NY

Not speaking AT anyone in particular, please - Skipping a particular group's auction because of one incident or the lack of a rule against one's pet peeve isn't hurting anyone but the person so annoyed by it to begin with - no one will care if you're not there - if people are people, then why should an auctioneer NOT be allowed to bid on and win a seed? At the same time, THEY are usually LOADED, lol! I hate that auctions are applauded when they go so fast that there's a figurative 'the gloves are off' atmosphere about them and everybody's lives are soooo busy otherwise and "Come on, I've gotta work tomorrow", and...there are bidders whom do not START bidding until the amount gets into the hundreds (doesn't bother ME, 'cause I stop at about 60, lol) to show off how deep their pockets are, and the MAIN thing (for lack of my and your time, y'all) is when a bidder STARTS the bidding at like $100 or more and then never bids again - JUST to see the price of a particular seed go up for pretty much no reason...and there's always 'one' that says "Oh, this seed went for $600 last week, this is a STEAL at $390"...never an AUCTIONEER, by the weigh...that was then, this is now - if you're not BIDDING, keep it to yourself...(good thing i have to go right now, lol) - eg - i personally will make even better efforts to immediately do the payment info thing - i think that once a seed is won, the bidder might be trying to copy and paste the payment info and is not paying attention to "How many lots, Joe", even though the info requirements are in the seed list dialogue---

2/22/2020 3:53:37 PM

Buffalo, MN (Billsbigpumpkins@hotmail.com)

When I see several lots in a row that I'm interested in I don't reply immediately with my info. There needs to be a better way of getting the info to the clubs and the clubs need double check the information on seeds and email address they put out. Having been involved in multiple seed auctions I thank everyone involved with them.

2/22/2020 4:43:25 PM

On a cliff in the desert

My pet peeves are clubs that sell seeds that they don't have in hand- they are waiting on a grower to send it to them. Yet clubs demand their money immediately. How long does a bidder have to wait before walking away from their bid when a club doesn't have seed in hand. Lots need to show that the club doesn't have seed in hand to manage bidders expectations. If a club doesn't have seed in hand, bidders might go to another auction.

Another pet peeve is auctioneers having to chase down a winning bidder. If A bidder doesn't respond within 2 days after the auction, the set should be sold to the next highest bidder instead of waiting for the problem bidder.

2/22/2020 5:28:57 PM

Georgia

You are certainly in full TROLL mode pumpkinpal2. As MikeF, laid out, there are correct ways for auctioneers to bid on an item to avoid the appearance of just running up the price. Spending my money with the clubs I like and ignoring the ones that I don't, in no way harms me at all. Your comment is absurd that somehow I harm myself.

There are so many auctions and so many of the same seeds out there, that no club can afford to lose bidders. Some clubs get it. For example, the Kentucky group mailed out their seeds in boxes. By doing that, they are trying to set themselves apart. And last year there was one club, where my auction seeds where crushed in the mail, and they actually upgraded me with replacement seeds that were were better than what I had purchased. Accordingly, I made sure to support them this year.

Maybe- no one cares if your not there- but I have purchased the most expensive lot in two different auctions this year. Why don't you ask Steve Handy tonight if his club cares about my support considering that I purchased the most expensive lot in Night #1 of their auction.

2/22/2020 6:42:49 PM

Central NY

while ive been to very few auctions ive always thought there should be someone from that club in another chatroom to help with that process...im able to smell what the rock is cookin but see how it could be confusing to people...especially new comers to the auctions...kudos to guys that put those on...thats a ton of work

2/22/2020 6:51:53 PM

Pittsburgh, PA

I personally do not agree with the people running the auction bidding on lots in said auction. Drives me crazy and I think it looks bad for the club.

2/23/2020 9:01:41 PM

Syracuse, NY

I can see why you're taking offense at my comments, Orange, but then again, almost every thing i said (in a hurry!) had a counterpart that was to minimize its impact on not only whom might be offended by it, (yes, I AM SORRY to YOU and don't even wanna know who YOU are because then I'll feel really BAD in a grower sense) but in a very broad fashion to let ANYone know that if they were anyone whom these peeves of mine were concerned with, maybe they might refrain from doing it or them in the near future and beyond.

i didn't say that the auctioneers were the one(s) running up the price(s) -
i said that there are bidders whom bid $100 and then never bid again,
(POSSIBLY) in order to do so;

i did start that big statement with

"Not speaking AT anyone in particular, please" (well, that did not work) -

i'm sure that most here glossed over it because it IS from ME, it IS
highly-punctuated and fraught with what looks like cut-out letters and
strange markings; if even you were to look it over again aside from the
part about skipping an auction or not, you might glean a few details that
were offensive to begin with.
I'll never say "I don't care" - because i DO care!

this whole thread was started off of something annoying to an auction participant/official/concerned grower-citizen;

about 5 other things i mentioned have been mentioned now.

again, i am sorry that my comment in particular about your comment
offended you a great deal and i will temper myself in the future.
it has not worked so far,
but, as we say, there's always next year.

eg

2/24/2020 12:19:29 AM

Upper Strasburg, PA

I bid on a 2145 seed that I donated when it wasn’t bringing what I though the club should get for it. It’s far from the most scandalous thing I’ve seen in an auction. And I’m the one who donated it, so I don’t feel bad about making sure that it drew the revenue that I intended. I guess it’s not great etiquette, but in my view, it’s hardly as scandalous as these clubs that hype up “mystery lots” and have growers spending 5x what the seeds normally go for.

2/24/2020 10:58:57 PM

Upper Strasburg, PA

I guess the context is important to how things look. Auction organizers have been active as bidders for years. It’s pretty typical to see at every auction. To be honest, that did used to rub me the wrong way because it looked like the clubs were just driving the price up. After seeing it so much and seeing so many of the organizers actually winning the lots, it doesn’t really bother me as much because I think they are genuinely bidding to win the lots at least most of the time.

Again, in my situation, the seed that I bid on came from my own collection, so it was a matter of letting it go for far less than it was worth. Bottom line is that I would rather just donate cash to the club and get the seed back at that price. In the end, I did privately arrange with the next highest bidder to get the seed to him. Maybe there’s a better way going forward, like setting a reserve price on a particularly rare seed, but I hadn’t thought of that until I was astonished at the price that it was going for.

2/24/2020 11:37:48 PM

Syracuse, NY

Of allll the people at an auction, simply, the next bidder down will and would be the one to get the seed. It'd be neat to find out how many seeds are/were bought for $4-6 HUNDRED dollars (just a median/upper limit/low for some) and did not sprout or never produced a new PB or record of any kind, and on the other hand, see how many were FREE (a grower's own seed) and grew a 1900-plus pounder that won a HD and 3 other records associated with it, lol---okay, i looked up 'cynicism' and that's me to the end, lol, so, i'd say that we, The People, of course, place (a) value on things that are otherwise (and to whom WOULD anything have a value other than us humans?) free and abundant - long story short, (too late) if a bidder has that kind o' money, then, more power to 'im, but, as soon as some well-known bidder(s) show up, it is likely merely for entertainment from then on ('i hope he already has this seed!'), and one might as well start counting one's money for something else, like, that fertilizer i never end up affording or new fencing that is more important than having the latest crazy-orange producer, etc.

Or, the next lot in the list - HA!!! eg

2/25/2020 11:08:49 AM

Upper Strasburg, PA

How people spend their own money is their business. I’m not going to complain about it when it is the #1 fundraising source for the clubs. It’s nice having weigh-offs to go to and weigh your pumpkins. Without the seed auctions, that would be dependent on registration fees and/or sponsorships. How much are you willing to pay to register for a weigh-off? If you want the registration fees to remain low, then don’t get bent out of shape when people spend $500 at a FUNDRAISER.

2/25/2020 1:08:34 PM

Central NY

“It’s nice having weigh-offs to go to and weigh your pumpkin”......here here ....especially the ones with the scales and the forklifts with the operators next to the people sitting at the registration desk all day at the awesome venue...with the parking all figured out ...with the tent, prolly Coffee and doughnuts for everyone...with all the extra pens to fill out forms....

2/25/2020 5:21:07 PM

Central NY

...with all the lifting straps and the guys to rope them, with the tools to fix something in a hurry If need be...they’re prolly stowed away with all the ribbons and plaques...yea...I like those ones

2/25/2020 5:23:28 PM

Central NY

(I’ve the the auction voice thing going in my head right now....habida-habida -habida.....SOLD!!!)

2/25/2020 5:26:08 PM

Upper Strasburg, PA

Exactly

2/25/2020 11:11:49 PM

Upper Strasburg, PA

Oh yeah.... almost forgot about the prize money for the growers

2/26/2020 2:26:13 AM

Central Illinois

For our club, I don't need your payment info during the auction, but it's nice if its sent as soon as the auction is over, it makes finding your payments easier from PayPal.
I've bid on our own seeds, usually, when no one else is bidding , it's my way of giving back to the club, most of the time I do not want the seeds. My peeve is when lot winners complain about postage that was cleary stated in the rules

2/26/2020 7:59:47 AM