This for the FtB legal defense fund. See [go fund me] for details. Rules are below:
Bidding is Closed. The Brilliant Sole Bidder Walks away with this item for $1!
For the discerning fidgeter we offer on auction a .99 fine silver gummi bear. This is about 1 troy oz of pure silver, polished to a fare-thee-well. It’s heavy, warm, smooth, and generally weird and nifty.
Photographing a small shiny object is hard.
Rules:
You can bid in the comments, or bid by emailing me [link]. If you email, I will assume that you wish to remain anonymous and will post a comment in the bidding section that reads: “Anonymous bid in the amount of $___”
Whoever bids the most for the doodad wins it for $1 more than the second highest bidder bid. For example, if I bid $75 and Joe bids $5 and I’m the highest bidder, that makes Joe the second highest bidder, and I win the thing for $6. This is a variation of the Ebay bidding algorithm and, while it is less effective at milking money from the bidders, it discourages people from feeling that they need to log in at the last minute and try to bid over someone else. At the time when bidding closes, whichever bid is the highest, whether it’s email or a comment, wins.
The winner is expected to donate the agreed-upon amount to the defense fund and send me suitable proof (a screenshot or whatever) and give me a shipping address, and I’ll send the doodad along.
Since we don’t have an automated bidding system like Ebay, I’d like to discourage “auction sniping.” If you want the thing, bid what you’re willing to pay for it and just see what happens. If you simply must have it, bid $1million for it and if the second highest bidder bids $50, it’s yours for $51.
If you do not win, you owe nothing!
AUCTION CLOSES SEPT 23, AT 10:00AM EST
My comment settings require manual approval for the first comment from a person. If you comment and don’t see it, I’ll get it, fear not. If you email me and do not get an acknowledgement, and you are gmail user, check your spam box. Google’s spam algorithms don’t like me for reasons I have never cared to figure out.
davex says
$40 — my daughter would like this.
PZ Myers says
I would like to encourage anyone to bid $1 million, as long as someone follows up with a bid of $1,000,001. Lawyers are expensive.
johnson catman says
So, do “fill-in” bids count? If someone bids $1,000,000, could someone come in behind them and bid $998,000? Or are bids only able to go higher?
Marcus Ranum says
@johnson catman: I think they can only go up. If someone wants to interfere with another person’s bid they can bid $1 more.
Marcus Ranum says
There is a supply/demand curve here. A professional jeweler would make one of these for $1/2 million and Lockheed Martin could make them in batches of 201 for $3 million apiece (available in 2059)
The silver cost me $35 but my costs are irrelevant as all the $ raised goes to ftb’s lawyers.
davex says
This brilliant sole bidder donated $20 to the cause, and you should too: https://www.gofundme.com/f/defense-vs-carrier-slapp
Marcus Ranum says
davex@#6:
Thank you so much!
You may find silver gummi bears to be addictive. I carried the first one around in my pocket until it was mirror shiny and my girlfriend requisitioned it. Easy come, easy go!