Startup Lessons Learned From an Auction

This past weekend was Endgame’s annual auction. Endgame - a board game store in Oakland, California - has an Auction once a year, that is an anticipated event for bay area gamers. They can get rid of the games they don’t play while acquiring new items which they want to play.

As I was bidding on items I wanted, I thought about what made Endgame’s Auction so great in comparison to other board game auctions. Since I’ve been playing games, I’ve been to many different auctions, but the Endgame auction always stands out as being the best. Although, I try to make other auctions occasionally, It would pain me to miss Endgame’s auction.

There are a lot of similarities between Endgame’s auction, growth hacking, and startups.

• Create Constant Demand - The items are only up for 10 - 15 seconds. Even people with the shortest attention spans can’t get bored. If the item being described doesn’t peak your interest just hold your horses; another item will be up shortly.

• Competent Executives - Aaron, the auctioneer, has an incredible knowledge of boardgames. His description of games can actually increase or decrease the gavel price of the game being auctioned. This trait is exactly what you want from your management team. People who are knowledgeable about the field and who can influence the market.

• Meet Market Demand - 99% of the items are board games. Other game auctions are 80% war games and 20% board games. If you aren’t interested in Wargames, these auctions lead to a long day of waiting for board games to be auctioned. This makes the people wanting board games (the market) to get board and either leave or not show up. In contrast, Endgame’s Auction - being mostly boardgames - is exciting to board gamers the entire time things are being auctioned and increases the auction loyalty of the participants.

• Scarcity - Endgame’s auction is only once a year. Endgame control’s the market demand by reducing the availability of their auctions. By reducing the supply they increase demand for the auction itself.

• Niche Market - Boardgames are a niche market. Small markets aren’t a good investment strategy, but, niche markets seem to communicate and transfer ideas faster and more effectively than large markets. The number of people that attend Endgame’s auction has increased every year since I’ve been going.

• Building a Community - Endgame groups like-minded people to help build a community which keeps them in business. The more people who play board games and suggest board games to others the better the store does.

Although it doesn’t fit in to startups I think the general idea and reasoning for the auction is interesting. If you sell games at the endgame auction you don’t receive cash. You get store credit. If you buy games in the auction, you can only pay cash, you can’t use credit. This means that all money from the auction is direct revenue to the store. I think the idea is so great I’ve even suggested it to other game stores not in the bay area.