When not to auction...

• If you are looking to get something very specific out of your auction, chances are that an auction isn't what you're really trying to do. For example, if you find yourself stipulating in your auction "Bids must include at least 2 R&D Networks", you may want to switch to advertising a trade proposition rather than an auction (e.g. "My Hypnotic Worm for your 2 R&D Networks?") The more specific your requirements for bids, the more likely it is that you're really trolling for a trade.
  
  
• If you're not willing to devote at least a few days, you may want to avoid an auction. The more time you spend advertising your auction, the more likely you are to get a better bid. The Core is probably the best place to advertise your auction (through your tag). You want to give as many different players as possible a chance to see your auction and consider bidding in it.
  
  

Starting an auction...

• Learn the auction lingo - especially the acronyms used in auctioning. Check out the Glossary section to learn about the various terms used in auctions.
  
  
• First, you have to decide on what to auction. The choice may be a simple one - "Well, I won this Venus Fly Trap from an impromptu tourney the other day. I can't think of a good deck to use it in, so I just want to auction it off and see what I can get for it." You can get a good selling price on the popular Very Rares and Rares almost any time. Auctioning other cards will be hit-and-miss. Don't be too disappointed if you don't get any blockbuster bids on your Essence of Gaia ;-)
  
  
• Figure out what you'd like to get out of the auction. You can always advertise specific cards that you are looking for without turning them into bid requirements. It helps out bidders by giving them some idea of what kind of bid would be more likely to win, and helps you out by increasing the chance that you'll get something you'll be happy with.
  
  
• Consider what offer you might take as a "buyout" on your auction. Many players will offer you a bid that is easily worth far more than what you are auctioning as long as you are willing to end the auction on the spot. A buyout gives the bidder security against possibly being beat out by someone else equally as desperate. Just don't expect bidders to take advantage of a buyout too often.
  
  
• Decide on an end date. Nothing is more frustrating than bidding in a never-ending auction. Telling people that the auction "ends when I say it ends" is a big turn-off. You gain a lot of credibility for your auctions if you give a date the auction will end by, and stick to it. Even giving a general idea on the length of time is better than nothing ("It'll probably run for a week.") Giving an ending date has one more advantage: it may encourage bidders to take advantage of a buyout, or at least give a higher bid, if they don't think they'll be around to bid at the end of the auction.
  
  

The Art of running the auction...

• Don't be afraid to accept low bids. If the bid is really low for the card(s) being auctioned off, you'll get a better bid given enough time.
  
  
• If you're afraid of getting stuck with a low bid in spite of my previous point, come up with a minimum bid for your auction. Don't make the minimum bid too high though - you may have trouble getting anyone to bid. Sometimes it's better to accept a low bid, just to get the ball rolling.
  
  
• Feel free to use a price guide to determine if one bid is higher than another. Even using price guides as a rough guide, you can also add in your own subjective values for cards when it comes to determining whether one bid is higher than another.
  
  
• Advertise the auction in your tag with the card(s) being auctioned, the current high bid, the person who holds the high bid, and when it will end. The public tag is one of the best ways to advertise information in a non-intrusive way. You can even add other information such as who holds the current high bid, what kind of cards you are looking for, or any bid requirements (e.g. "bids must include at least 1 VR").
  
  
• Manually advertise the auction once in a while in the Core's chat rooms. But don't do it too often (or it can get annoying, and turn off potential bidders). And be careful when and where you insert advertisements into chats. It could be quite disruptive to barrage a chat room set up for a trivia competition, if the event is going on at the time.
  
  
• Try to get contact information from players who bid - something like an email address or ICQ UIN. You'll want to get in touch with the winner to let them know about their good fortunes - and yours! And it can be quite frustrating if you spend 3 weeks after finishing an auction trying to locate the winner.
  
  
• After the auction ends, you may want to keep an announcement in your tag about who won it, and with what bid, at least for a few days. Those who bid in the auction but didn't know they were outbid will appreciate knowing that their cards are now free for other auctions.
  
  

The Art of the UC auction...

• First, decide whether you want the UCs to be chosen by you or by the bidder once the auction is over. This depends on your needs. If you are looking for a very large number of even really crappy UCs, you may want to allow the bidder to choose. This gives bidders encouragement to make higher bids. If you are looking to complete your set of Uncommons, and want to avoid the crappier UCs, you may want to make it so you choose the UCs. You won't get bids that are as high as when the bidder chooses, but you get to be more picky with the UCs you come away with.
  
  
• Specify a maximum number of duplicates of any UC that can be picked when the auction is over. If the bidder picks, allowing a higher number of max dupes will result in higher bids. If you're picking them as the auctioneer, a lower number will result in higher bids. You can even advertise that this number will change at certain levels (e.g. "HB: 75 UCs (max 3 of any, I pick 'em). Will go to max 2 of any if HB hits 100+ UCs.")
  
  
• Give yourself more time with a UC auction than you might with a regular auction. Sometimes, you'll continue to get new bids for as long as a week. If things slow down, you can always end the bid earlier than anticipated.
  
  

Some common auction pitfalls...

• Avoid running auctions where it will end "when I say it ends" or "when I get a bid I like". It's likely to turn off all but the most generous or desperate bidders. Plus, it's not very diplomatic to practically say that whatever current bid isn't good enough to end the auction on, but you accepted it as a bid anyway.
  
  
• Avoid canceling auctions once you've gotten one or more bids for it. If you haven't taken any bids yet, you can easily cancel the auction without upsetting anyone. Canceling auctions too often can drive away your bidders.