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IT'S ALIVE [message #45026]

Fri, 23 September 2011 18:50

b_twin_1
Messages: 2597
Registered: September 2008
Location: Victoria, Australia

Senior Member
[Moderator]

AUCTION!

SAVE THE BELLS!

Auction info page: http://robinmckinleysblog.com/bells/

Finishes: 2 pm Chicago USA time Sunday, 9 October.

Smile

[Updated on: Fri, 23 September 2011 18:54]

I've got a plan so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel ~ Blackadder

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Re: IT'S ALIVE [message #45030 is a reply to message #45026 ]

Fri, 23 September 2011 19:46

Feye
Messages: 8
Registered: April 2011
Location: Chihuahuan Desert

Junior Member

Aaaand there goes my paycheck Wink

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Re: IT'S ALIVE [message #45036 is a reply to message #45026 ]

Sat, 24 September 2011 00:07

Rain.drop7
Messages: 10
Registered: June 2011
Location: Colorado, USA

Junior Member

YAY! I am so excited!!!

...although my compulsive, overly-competitive alter ego always shows up during auctions, and my bank account suffers for it... Oh well. Smile

It's for a good cause.

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Re: IT'S ALIVE [message #45041 is a reply to message #45026 ]

Sat, 24 September 2011 11:10

shalea
Messages: 781
Registered: October 2008
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina, ...

Senior Member

Going to be able to knock out a few Christmas presents, I see. Smile

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Re: IT'S ALIVE [message #45043 is a reply to message #45026 ]

Sat, 24 September 2011 11:48

CathyR
Messages: 575
Registered: July 2009
Location: NW England

Senior Member

Just deciding where to hang my doodles, once they're framed ... Smile

Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.

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Re: IT'S ALIVE [message #45045 is a reply to message #45026 ]

Sat, 24 September 2011 13:56

harpergray
Messages: 87
Registered: March 2011
Location: Sweden

Member

I have nearly started drooling while looking over the auction and sale page!! And Boyfriend has said that he will buy me something for my birthday...oh, Boyfriend... Very Happy

Of course, now I actually have to choose what I'd like most...a pleasant dilemma, one feels.

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Re: IT'S ALIVE [message #45066 is a reply to message #45026 ]

Sat, 24 September 2011 21:24

librarykat
Messages: 566
Registered: October 2008
Location: Redneck Riviera

Senior Member

I have ordered a doodlier doodle. I wish I could order more, but hubby just had double bypass surgery. The heart attacks over the past weekend were surprising and distressful, but he's recovering pretty well so far.

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Re: IT'S ALIVE [message #45075 is a reply to message #45066 ]

Sun, 25 September 2011 01:54

Diane in MN
Messages: 2733
Registered: October 2008
Location: Twin Cities, MN, USA

Senior Member

May all continue to go well. ::sends best wishes::

_{"The point of books is to have way too many but to always feel you never have enough . . . " Louise Erdrich}

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Re: IT'S ALIVE [message #45078 is a reply to message #45026 ]

Sun, 25 September 2011 12:37

jaccairn
Messages: 152
Registered: November 2008
Location: Kent

Senior Member

I swear I checked the update page before bidding.

I should have been suspicious that there were no bids showing.

I'd just sent a bid in and rechecked and lo! there were bids, already higher than the one I just sent. Apologies to Blogmom for that.

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Re: IT'S ALIVE [message #45086 is a reply to message #45026 ]

Sun, 25 September 2011 16:01

Corellia
Messages: 108
Registered: June 2010
Location: Norway

Senior Member

I have run into paypal trouble... I hope I may be able to fix it before the auction ends, so I can buy a couple of doodles...

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Re: IT'S ALIVE [message #45107 is a reply to message #45078 ]

Mon, 26 September 2011 09:59

Black Bear
Messages: 3216
Registered: September 2008
Location: Indianapolis, IN USA

Senior Member
[Moderator]

I believe there was a brief moment in which the updates page linked on the auction was not the right one; blogmom created a new page for updates, but the link didn't get switched over immediately. Could be this was right when you were checking, jaccairn! Sorry about that.

_{"The time is always right to do what's right."--MLK Jr.}

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Re: IT'S ALIVE [message #45111 is a reply to message #45026 ]

Mon, 26 September 2011 17:30

abigailmm
Messages: 545
Registered: January 2009
Location: Texas, USA

Senior Member

I requested a doodle of a hellhound lying down with head stretched up. What I had in mind (but the form is picky about number of letters used!) is what you described so beautifully earlier this summer --

Although they were in their best Ancient Hellhound God Lying Down Posture when I reappeared, where nothing on this mere mortal earth can maintain the curve of their bellies, their long straight necks have disappeared into the sky, and their bright beaming eyes are in danger of making holes in the walls.

As with others, I say, produce these at whatever reasonable schedule lets you have a life. I want my doodle, but not at the expense of other important things. And thank you.

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Re: IT'S ALIVE [message #45112 is a reply to message #45026 ]

Mon, 26 September 2011 17:42

abigailmm
Messages: 545
Registered: January 2009
Location: Texas, USA

Senior Member

Um. On the off chance that I can afford one of Peter's books (I have or can get all yours, but I've never even heard of some of his, nor apparently has my library) can you say for about what age Tulku is appropriate? Little kids, teens, fourth graders? Thanks.

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Re: IT'S ALIVE [message #45155 is a reply to message #45026 ]

Tue, 27 September 2011 20:54

Aaron
Messages: 319
Registered: June 2009
Location: California

Senior Member

GAME THEORY GEEK ALERT - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

A couple of thoughts about the "will add X copies at top bid price if bidding reaches Y" auctions. Please note that these are strictly for entertainment value. Auction theory is a legitimate part of the larger field of game theory and the bottom line seems to be that designing auctions is harder than you thought. I am assuming here that a bidder wants to be sure of one copy, and that the value of extra copies to a given bidder is negligible.

First, this discourages bidding above Y in cases where there are unlikely to be more than X+1 bidders. If there are at least as many copies available as there are buyers everyone can get a copy at a price of Y as long as one or more of them makes a bid of Y since it does not matter who wins. If you don't know for sure how many buyers there are the only way to be sure that you get a copy is to keep bidding*. If bidders are willing to accept a chance at a copy then there a host of strategies that depend on estimates of the number of buyers Z at the current high bid Bh and the value of a (Z-1)/(X+1) chance at a copy. This should be ((Z-1)/(X+1))*Bh but people are funny about these things.

Second, if the auction does proceed "normally" with the final bid being that amount that only one person is willing to pay none of the the extra copies will sold because they are priced at an amount on on else is willing to pay. After all, if anyone else were willing to pay this price they would have bid it**. This means that if you are not going to be the high bidder you should drop out below your top price in the hope that the winning bidder (who could have gone higher) will win the auction at a price you*** can afford.

*This does maximize the price for the one "auctioned" copy but it leads to the second point.

**You do know that you have buyers at the preceding, losing, bids. Selling copies to these bidders at those prices is presumably similar**** to what would happen if successive auctions were held***** but doing so could be seen as unfair to the winning bidder.

***But no more than X-1 other bidders.

****This assumes that each bidder had an opportunity to make their high bid without being preempted by someone else making a higher bid first. True for sealed bid auctions but not for a public bid auction.

*****If the bidders do not know in advance that the subsequent auctions will be held. If you know that there will be X+1 auctions the temptation is to limit your bids in the earlier auctions to Y and only bid high if you are still without a copy when the last auction is held. Of course if everyone waits for the last auction the first X copies go for exactly Y to the first bidder in each of the first X auctions (where no one bids above Y) and the last copy goes for a value less than or equal to what the bidding would have reached in a single auction depending on how many of the highest bidders are absent because they alread

[Show the rest of the message]

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Re: IT'S ALIVE [message #45166 is a reply to message #45155 ]

Wed, 28 September 2011 09:18

Blogmom
Messages: 1270
Registered: September 2008

Senior Member
[Administrator]

Aaron wrote on Tue, 27 September 2011 19:54

GAME THEORY GEEK ALERT - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

I'm impressed. Truly geek-a-delic Wink

I grew up with an engineer Dad who'd go around explaining everyday events in game theory terms.

Luckily, here in the world of fantasy, bidding is energetic and interest in the extra copies by the follow-on bidders is quite intense so far judging from my email. I imagine we will have 6 copies going at the top bid price on some of the books. Happy fans, happy us.

-- Karen
Blogmom

"...the Renaissance was just something that happened to 'other people', wasn't it?" -- Lord Blackadder

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Re: IT'S ALIVE [message #45167 is a reply to message #45166 ]

Wed, 28 September 2011 12:57

CathyR
Messages: 575
Registered: July 2009
Location: NW England

Senior Member

Blogmom wrote on Wed, 28 September 2011 14:18

Luckily, here in the world of fantasy, bidding is energetic and interest in the extra copies by the follow-on bidders is quite intense so far judging from my email. I imagine we will have 6 copies going at the top bid price on some of the books. Happy fans, happy us.

Excellent news. Happy bells, happy Robin, and happy us indeed!

Thank you!

Very Happy

Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.

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