Is it possible to run an auction without Fred Reitsma and his cowboy hat? Can we do this without Matt Taylor’s exuberance as a spotter? Will it be the same without John McEwen and John Vis holding up all the items?

It’ll be different, but it still works.

While you won’t be able to hear Matt’s “HYAAAAGGHH!” when you bid (you’ll have to imagine him), you can still experience the thrill of holding the winning bid. You won’t have the pleasure of seeing Fred sell an item to his wife, but you’ll be able to out-bid him (and Teresa) if you’re quick. If you really miss having McEwen or Vis hand you your item, we could arrange to have them here when you pay and pick up from the school. Maybe.

The first ever BVCS Online Auction launched on Tuesday evening, and it’s been charging ahead full steam. in fact, in less than 24 hours we’ve got nearly $7,000 in bids. We’ve got a full suite of items, experiences and services for your bidding pleasure. A couple of auction features we’d like you to know about:

  • Proxy bidding: You can set a ‘maximum bid’ for your desired items. The system will continually place lowest-possible bids on your behalf up to the amount to which you’ve authorized it. It saves you a lot of time in back-and-forth bidding. This is an optional way to bid…you don’t need to use this feature.
  • Anti-sniping: Sometimes bidders wait until the closing seconds of an online auction to place a last-second high bid. In so doing, they prevent anyone else from counter-bidding (because the clock runs out immediately after they’ve bid). It’s very frustrating, and it’s not allowed in this auction. Any bids placed on an item within five minutes of closing will cause that item’s clock to be extended by 10 minutes. This will happen ad infinitum until the high bid is at least five minutes old. We’re using this feature in order to keep things fair for everyone.

The auction will close at 8 PM on Friday evening. Don’t lose time in seeing the items and getting your bids placed!

Go to the auction site here.