When does the auction page usually go live for the year? Last year ALL of my auction items sold and I'm hoping for a good turn out this year as well. I'd like to get started on prepping the games as soon as I can.

Item registration usually opens April/May. 

If you are really itching to get started you can do what I do and set up a spreadsheet with your games. It makes entering them a breeze once registration opens.

How does getting items in the Auction or consignment area work? Does it have to be something rare to go in the auction? Or is just stuff you don't play anymore perfectly fine?

If rates remain the same:

Consignment store
Maximum asking price per item $50
Insertion fee $1
commission = 10% of final sale price, can enter different prices for Thu/Fri/Sat

Auction (stage)
insertion fee = $2 
commission = 15% of final sale price
Reserve is optional at no cost. If your item does not sell across the stage, you can have it sent to the consignment store if it has a reserve of $50 or less. Asking price = reserve in that case. 
 

Thank you very much for that clarification. I appreciate it.

The webpage revamp is pretty nice, for anyone who has seen the page in the past anyway.

The absence of pricing information is a little conspicuous if you ask me, considering it definitely used to be listed predominantly; possibly they are changing the numbers for this year, to explain the ambiguity?

TO THE AUCTION ORGANIZERS:  I read that the consignment store has a maximum per item asking price of $50, and that the reserve price must be $50 or less or an unsold item will not transition from the auction to the store.  Please change this rule!!!  You could do so and still collect the higher 15% commission and you would have already collected the higher $2 insertion fee.

  My rationale for asking:  I am driving for two days to Gen Con with three teenagers onboard.  Total cost of attendance for my family, not counting anything we buy, is around $2,000.  Vehicle space is limited and I intend to bring premium collectible games and accessories to sell in the auction.  I am not willing to let any of them go for less than $75 and several are in the $200 value range.  This is how I hope to offset the cost of attendance.  With the numbers attending Gen Con, I'm certain my items have a buyer but I am not so sure about that buyer happening to be in the auction room during the 30 to 45 seconds any given item has on stage without a bid.

Cheers!

TO THE AUCTION ORGANIZERS II:  Please allow proxy bidding!  This is where I (as a buyer) can spot something on the auction shelf, place a maximum proxy bid and leave a cash deposit, and have an auction volunteer stand next to the auctioneer with a sign that says "Proxy Bid In Play" until such time that:

1.  My proxy bid wins the auction, I get the item and cash returned for the difference between auction bid price and my maximum price
(or)
2.  My proxy bid is exceeded by a live bidder, and I get my cash back.

  This allows buyers to bid on a few key items that we don't want to miss out on ~ while  still being away from the auction room to actually play a few games. 

NOET:  In years past, if I had substantial games in the auction the requirement to leave a cash deposit was waived ~ and the payout vs purchase balance was reconciled after the auction was over.

Thanks!

One last request, several years back a "celebrity guest" auctioneer announced what my "Proxy Maximum Bid" was to the audience, stated "no higher bids?" and tried to sell the item for my maximum proxy bid amount.  Several friends told me what had happened and one showed me a video so I protested and the item was re-auctioned.  If you allow proxy bidding, please inform volunteers, auctioneers, and the money folks of how it works.

From numerous experiences at live auctions; if a Proxy is in play, the maximum amount the proxy bidder is willing to go to should NOT be announced to the audience.  If a live bidder bids $20 and my proxy bid is $30, then the PROXY bid goes to $21.  Treat the proxy simply as another bidder in the room.  If there are no further bidders, then I win the item at $21.  If a live bidder bids $31 then the person holding the "Proxy Bid In Play" sign simply lowers the sign and walks away.
 

  Since you require online item registration (which is great) you can easily include in your registration form a series of radial buttons the seller must select to describe key condition stats that may not be apparent to the audience or auctioneer; for example...

NEW/USED:
   O  Original Shrink Wrap
   O  Opened but un-punched
   O  Used

COMPONENTS:
   O  Complete
   O  Incomplete (Missing minor pieces such as pawns or dice)
   O  Incomplete (Missing one or two key components)
   O  Incomplete with proxy pieces (Photocopied rules, substitute dice or pawns)
   O  Incomplete (Sold for parts)
   O  Component inventory status unknown

CONDITION:
   O  Like new (Without regard to shrink wrap or punched/un-punched status)
   O  Light wear
   O  Moderate wear
   O  Heavy wear
   O  Rusty staples
   O  Torn pages, maps, or boards
   O  Broken pieces (miniatures, pawns, terrain, etc.)
   O  Writing or stains
   O  Water damage
   O  Mold or mildew present
   O  Item has odor (smells)
   O  Split box corners (not taped)
   O  Split box corners (taped)

IMPORTANT:  Have a small "inspection" area for buyers to look through purchased games BEFORE PAYING and while under observation by an auction volunteer.  If the seller provided description is false, allow the buyer to cancel the sale.
 

I completely agree with the poster above, especially with the $50 max... this has to go.

i have rare cards in an airtight booklet that I will have to split up into many packages just to stay at $50 or under instead of putting it up once for the whole thing.

Seriously guys, what is up with this? I mean people are easily paying $26 for 2 hours on Artemis and up to $80 for True Dungeon, do you not think they can buy something for more than $50?

G
 

I think it is more about liability than concern people can't afford stuff. The consignment area is pretty chaotic, I could imagine things could go missing from there pretty easily.

The consignment store is getting more and more stuff in every year, especially board games which take up alot of space and they only have a finite area for the consignment area so, the $50 cap alleviates some of that pushing those items to the auction area.

If you are concerned about an item going too cheap, there are always reserves that you can put on it.   If you put a starting bid of $100 on it, they might start the bid at $1, but they won't sell it if it doesn't get up to that total.

The $50 limit for the store is totally for liability as someone had already said.

Theft occurs and the auction will usually cover the price to the seller for something that goes missing from theft. Single cards are especially easy to steal.

DGWagster, you obviously have a lot of thoughts about the Auction, and for the record I am always excited whenever anyone does.  But this is also not a professional auction in the sense you are hoping (I mean, obviously).

As for your specific concerns:

If you are bringing truly collectible items that are worth more than $50, they are going to be placed in the "Collectibles" section on Friday night, and there will absolutely be a big crowd of people with deep pockets there to bid on everything.  As for your proxy bid concerns...well, I admit to being confused, as you request for us to allow proxy bidding and then acknowledge in the next post that you are upset with how a one-off auctioneer handled proxy bidding.  So yes, there is absolutely proxy bidding, the organizers just do not play this fact up due to an, I guess, philosophical decision that the energy of in-person bids is worth encouraging.  

And for condition, well, that is a mixed bag.  Clearly there could be more options on the drop-down menu, but the usual response is "put any additional condition notes in the 'condition notes' section."  Maybe the "condition notes" section could itself be a drop-down (with "other" of course) to give people an idea of what to say?

And considering how often we have put things back up for bid after a seller is unsatisfied with the condition, I think that is being handled relatively well (though not as formally as you suggest admittedly).

By the way, I am just a volunteer, I have no formal authority or anything, lest you think you are getting dismissed by the powers-that-be.  But I am also excited to see anyone taking this level of interest in how things operate, given my own concerns about how the whole thing was run is what led to me volunteering the first time ten years ago, haha.

Hi, do you know yet where the auction and consignment store will be located in the exhibit hall? The auction website points to the 2018 GenCon layout, and I didn't see it on the 2019 exhibit hall layout, but I might have missed it. Thanks!

It is in the same location. ICC 130-133.