Post #351105 by martiki on Mon, Dec 24, 2007 3:03 PM

Aloha, everyone!

For a long time now, I've been cooking up an idea, and I want to get feedback from TC and readers of this forum.

I want to put on a one-day auction of just vintage/collectible mugs at Forbidden Island. My idea is that it could be a huge gathering of buyers and sellers. Enough buyers to make it fun & worthwhile to the sellers, and enough sellers to offer a huge assortment and provide the incentive to buyers to save their pennies and travel out to FI. I'd like to attract people from all over, to really make this a big event- MugCon! Mugapalooza!

Here's my thoughts:

-Just mugs. They would have to be vintage or current mugs that were limited runs and are sold out.

-This would save you ebay fees, shipping drama, etc.

-Flat fee to sell at the event, not based on percentage of sales.

-I imagine a situation where there are zillions of mugs, so I think most would be sold via silent auction. Tables would be set out with the mugs on display and volunteers on hand for security, with sign up sheets for your bids. But, it would be fun to have several select pieces be sold via traditional live auction.

-Buyers would register at the door and would be given a number to use. This number is how they would identify themselves on the silent auction sheets. You would also get a sign with the number to hold up during the live auction. This would keep it anonymous(ish).

-I think registering buyers would have to provide name, contact info, and a credit card to ensure that no deadbeats skip out on bids. Just like eBay, a bid would be an ironclad commitment to buy.

I think this would be a blast. But I want to hear back from people before moving forward with this. Thoughts? Ideas? Does this sound like something you'd come out to FI for? Could I lure eBay lurkers out from hiding to something like this?

PM me if you don't want to post publicly.

Mahalo all!