‘One man’s treasure is another man’s’….. well, let’s just say, not quite so treasured thing. We know that some of the amazing prizes we have will be greatly treasured by some readers, but other readers will prefer other prizes instead.
So in addition to allowing the prize winners to choose their own prizes, we’ve come up with a great way for you to do whatever you wish to ensure you can collect some of the most special items we have on offer. An auction.
Here is a list of auction items – please click each link for a full description, the status of its auction, and a chance to bid. Please read on below for details of how the auctions work.
- The Ultimate Travel Insider Experience – a visit to the Houses of Parliament in London, hosted by a three term former prominent MP; he is even offering to buy you lunch and a drink as part of your time with him – and he’s a great raconteur with lots of stories to hopefully share with you (airfare not included!)
- Admission and guided tour of the Chicago Brookfield Zoo for up to two adults and two children, by a kind reader who has spent 25 years serving as a zoo docent
- Behind the scenes tour of Heathrow Air Ambulance’s crew center at Heathrow Airport
- Two week satellite phone rental including 50 mins airtime and roundtrip shipping to/from you (address in the US)
- Author-signed copy of Baron Wolman’s Classic Rock book
Note – I’ll be making the balance of the auctions, listed below, ‘live’ during the course of Friday. Please check back later in the day.
- NY Times best-selling author Tim Larkin’s book ‘Survive the Unthinkable, a Total Guide to Women’s Self-Protection
- Tim Larkin’s Target Focus Training 3 DVD Survival Pack
- Two or Four Day Front Sight Defensive Handgun Training Course
- Travel Insider Coffee Mug
- Ron Salk’s Airport Transit Guide App for iOS
- Ron Salk’s Airport Transit Guide App for Android
- $75 credit toward a test meter or $50 credit towards women’s clothing on Dan Montgomery’s eBay store
- A rare Qantas silk (?) scarf or napkin, ca 1968-1984, never used
- A polyester filled J-pillow travel pillow
- An inflatable J-pillow travel pillow
How the Auctions Work
All supporters who have contributed in 2013 are eligible to bid on our auctions, listed below. Rather than go through eBay, we are doing this ‘the old fashioned way’ in an email version of a postal auction.
Simply click the email link on whichever item you wish to bid on, and let us know your opening bid and your maximum bid. If someone outbids your bid, we’ll counter on your behalf in increments of about 5% of the current amount bid, or $5, whichever is the lower, until such time as you regain the upper hand or your maximum bid has been reached.
If your maximum bid is exceeded and you lose your winning bidder status, we’ll email you so you have a chance to respond further.
Each auction page will be updated to reflect the item’s current winning bid price.
When each auction closes we’ll have a ‘Going, going, gone’ procedure so as to ensure that no-one can sneak in at the last-minute and beat the system (what is called ‘sniping’ on eBay). If the high bid was recently received, we’ll advise the runner-up to the high bidder of the new high bid and give them a chance to respond if they wish, and allow a reasonable amount of to-ing and fro-ing until the two highest bidders have truly reached the point at which they will allow the other bidder to win the prize.
Payment is requested by credit card (through Paypal or direct and charged through Square) within 24 hours of winning your auction. We reserve the right to refuse any bid, and/or to require a deposit to confirm your good intentions, and to either extend or terminate any auction.
If you have any questions, please ask prior to placing your bid.
The page to contribute from is here, and you can refer to the main page describing all the different reciprocal gifts you can receive here.
Do be sure also to read about the contribution based rewards you will receive from all contributions greater than $1o, and the prizes that will be drawn – each $10 you contribute gets you an entry in this prize drawing.
