Post/Author/DateTime	Post
DeWayne 08-09-05, 09:12 PM	One of my players has expressed an interest in buying a certain item which, because of its nature, is only going to be available at auction. I know that in RL auctions, sometimes you can find a bargain and sometimes they turn into a feeding frenzy. Does anyone know of any rules related to how much something will cost at auction with respect to its ‘fair market value?’ What I am considering doing is rolling 5d10 + 75 (giving numbers from 80-125) and using this as a percentage of the items actual value as the high bit from the NPCs present at the auction. Thus an item with fair market value of 150 GP would sell for between 120 and 187.5 GP (I’d call it 120-190 for RP purposes). If the character wants the item he will have to beat this bid. Does anyone see a problem with this system, or know of another system that’s been play tested and works?
kliate 08-09-05, 09:44 PM	Its a good starting point, but in a D&D game there's still a few other considerations to throw in. What if the NPC bidder is a half-orc with a reputation for going nuts when somebody else buys the thing he wants? The DM would be inclined to avoid having other NPCs bid, although the PC can still bid freely. The auctioneer could be a novice just starting out, or a brilliant manipulator and negotiator. A diplomacy or bluff check from the auctioneer may be relevent to the results (perhaps 75 + double the auctioneer's check result?) Finally, there's always the question of whether the value of an item is apparant. If its something particularly rare and/or difficult to appraise, its even more likely that bidding will have some out-there results.
AntiDjinn 08-09-05, 10:47 PM	The City of Towers book for Eberron has some rules for one of the magic auction houses in Sharn. A little light on cruch, but it is enough to get you started.
Melichor 08-10-05, 10:45 AM	I would make a note for each NPC present at the auction. - How much they desire the object for themselves. (Either a percentage or a threshold level) - What resources they have available for purchase (how much they can spend) -What other abilities they might use in acquiring the object. If an NPC desired it enough, he could very well have set measures in place to have it stolen right after he loses out on it in the auction. If it looks like the PC isn't backing down a few 'friends' of the NPC might wander over with some 'friendly advice'.
DeWayne 08-10-05, 08:45 PM	Some good inputs. I'll definitely add in a modifier based on the skill of the auctioneer. At some future point I may also add some of the complications like other bidders who are upset about loosing the bid. However, for right now my main interest is figuring out how much money I should charge the PC for the item he wants based on what’s likely to happen when the bidding starts. Thanks
AntiDjinn 08-10-05, 11:07 PM	If players want to put items up for auction they should frequently get a better price than they would selling it to a merchant, although it may be less than what they would get if they found and interested buyer and negotiatiated the sale themselves. A merchant will typically pay half of market value (he intends to sell for market value), so you only get 50%. A merchant agreeing to sell an item for you on consignment will typically charge 10-25% of the sale price as his comission so you will get 75-90% of the value, but you may have to wait a long time until the item finally sells. If you try to find your own buyer then you either have to set up your own shop or pay a broker or do all the reasearch yourself. If you sell at auction there is a definite date at which the item will be sold (or returned to you if it get no bids). Your costs will be: The auction house's fee or percentage, the cost of an Identify (if the item is claimed to be magical) or if you take lots of items to that auction you could put up a bond against fraud or misrepresentation.