Silent Auction
The Silent Auction is a semi-annual event hosted by the Crimson Rose and Sword's owners, Miyako Tanaka and Shay Black, which was introduced at the 2008 Anniversary Festival. Unlike previous attempts at starting some sort of business by the two, this one seems to be a success.
The Silent Auction is held on a yearly basis in the Rental Hall of the Crimson Rose and Sword during the Anniversary Festival and relies on the support of the community. Anyone is welcome to put anything up for auction, ranging from trading cards, tarot cards, spring waters, or even dates with themselves; businesses can also get in on the fun and offer their services as well, such as vouchers or gift certificates. On rare occasions, items such as control over the Yuriba Newspaper or an entire hot spring find themselves on the board- although it might be best not to question just how this is done. In essence, anyone can put anything up for bids.
Should one wish to make their item anonymous, they can have it masked under the 'Mystery Auction' moniker, however the auctioneers are rather strict about just what gets listed under this title to prevent bidders from getting junk items.
A commission fee of 25% of the initial asking price is charged per-item placed on the board; it's up to the seller of the item to determine a starting price, but appraisals are available upon request.
| OOC: Trustees? |
| Yes, they're also called NPCs. I'm just doing this should two or more people wish to RP out a bidding war- and yes, it's been done. |
The Board
A large board sits on the wall of the Rental Hall, always watched and maintained by one of the auctioneers or a trustee. This board lists the names of all items and their present asking price, updated when changed. A book rests on a table before the board, each page listing a description an item up for bidding. Bids are done via the trustee and stored in a separate book to keep the anonymity intact, although sometimes it can be obvious as to who is bidding on what should the room be packed and someone be watching.
| OOC: Update me |
| Tune into channel <$> during the lead up to Auction Week to see new items placed on the board, advertisements for items and when the time comes: real-time updates of bidding. |
Statistics
The first installment of the auction was in 2008, this auction saw 44 items submitted with all but two bid on; while the grand investment total was lost, it stood proudly over 600,000 Lilies. The 2010 auction held only 48 items with only few claimed, an investment total of 200,000 Lilies were reported.
Statistics were lost for the 2009 and 2011 auctions due to a paperwork error; however the former of which was the last summer auction that was ever held.
While the 2012 Anniversary Festival was slightly delayed, the festival and the auction kicked off in May of 2012. A grand total of 63 items were contributed and 61 bid on, a total-investment of 860,000 Lilies went into the auctioned items.
The 2013 Silent Auction was the 5th installment of this tradition that broke several milestones, holding the most items submitted and bid on at 146 and 117 respectively; a grand total of 1,264,601 Lilies were invested into the auction. In 2014 a grand total of 1,236,446 Lilies were invested in 81 out of the total 87 items up for bidding; the average asking price for one of the auctions was around 15,000 Lilies.
2015 saw a total of 110 items submitted with all being bid on; the average asking price for an auction was close to 19,186 Lilies with the grant total investment being 2,110,484 Lilies. In 2016, 76 of 83 submitted items were bid on, a grand total of 1,726,850 Lilies were invested- the grand total investment jumping by one million Lilies in the span of four hours- the average auction went for 22,721 Lilies.