The first ghostwrite Blind Dutch Auction was a success by every metric, but we like the fact that 95% of the winners paid less than their bid. We’ll get into all the details after the jump but first, a glimpse of what’s ahead.
Auction Recap
ghosts tell stories, and the ghostwrite “One” is clearly the story of the start of ghostwrite.
On August 13th, we opened our Blind Dutch Auction. Twenty ghosts were available for bidding. 219 different people participated, and bids ranged from a low of $2 to a high of $5,000. The median bid was $300.
In a Blind Dutch Auction with 20 ghosts available, the top 20 bidders win a ghost. All winners pay the same “Clearing Price”, which is equal to the 20th highest bid. In this auction, the 20th highest bid was $1,026, ie, the Clearing Price was $1,026. This means that everyone who won paid $1,026 for their ghost.
It also means that 95% of people paid less than what they bid, and one person paid almost $4K less. Math is fun.
This was the first public release, so we weren’t really sure where the Clearing Price would land, but given our two Friends & Family drops, $1,026 feels right. Our first F&F release had a Clearing Price of $356, the second – the ghostwrite “No. 2 Pencil” – was $417. Was it a surprise to see the “One” Clearing Price over 2x higher? Maybe. But maybe not.
Right before the “One” auction started, one “No. 2 Pencil” sold for $1,200 on StockX. Shortly thereafter, the first F&F ghost sold for $1,400 on StockX. And then the Pencil sold for $1,900 and then $2,500 on StockX. The “One” hasn’t even shipped yet, and there are already bids on StockX for $1,200+.
This is the beauty of a Blind Dutch Auction: even when the Clearing Price is high, the secondary market price should be higher. By definition, it maintains hype within the system. This is one of the key reasons we are committed to the long term viability of this pricing model.
Future releases won’t be nearly as limited as the “One”, and the Clearing Price won’t always exceed four-figures. So don’t worry. We’ve got many more ghosts coming, and many more stories to tell.
ghostwrite 