What is Storage Wars?
Storage Wars is an event on Beacoland based on the tv show of the same name, in which abandoned self storage units from storage facilities are auctioned off to the highest bidder; here on Beacoland, it really isn’t that much different. The only difference is instead of abandoned storage units, we auction off storage units that have been decorated and filled with the inventories of players who have been banned, rolled back after stealing, griefing or being banned for any reason that may have gained them an advantage over the rest of us. To add to this, the funds raised from the previous run of Storage Wars are spent around our Shopping District, effectively boosting the economy and ensuring there is no ‘dead’ currency being wasted!
In more simple terms, the banned player’s belongings go into a room (also known as a ‘bin’) and you (the player) get to bid your diamonds to buy that bin.
How does it work?
One member of staff will be the auctioneer of the event. Before the start of all Storage Wars, our auctioneer will quickly run through the rules again for all of the first-time bidders.
We have 4 ‘sections’ of lots, each varying in different sizes and suggested bids. We will work our way through them one at a time. These are as follows:
- Section 1: Small-sized bins– Suggested Bid: 10 – 50 diamonds
- Section 2: Middle-sized bins – Suggested Bid: 25 – 100 diamonds
- Section 3: Large-sized bins – Suggested Bid: 100 – 200 diamonds
- Section 4: The Mega Bin – Suggested Bid: 300 – 500 diamonds
At the start of each section, the auctioneer will remind you of these suggested bids and they will be reiterated for each bin in the section. To start off each auction, the auctioneer will announce the maximum and/or minimum bid increase and the starting bid price. Bids are announced in-game chat and any bids that breach these bid rules will be ignored and the previous bid price remains. For example, say the current bid is 25 diamonds and the auctioneer has announced maximum bid increases of 5 diamonds, you can only bid up to 30 diamonds, meaning eligible bids are 26, 27, 28, 29 or 30 diamonds. Bids such as 35 diamonds would be ignored and the auction remains with the previous price; in this case, 25 diamonds.
Please bear in mind that these bid rules are subject to change within each auction as the bids go on. Any changes will be announced on stream and through in-game chat. This is just to allow us to prevent lengthy single-diamond bidding wars – these changes usually only occur on the larger bins.
Why do you suggest a price?
The suggested prices are put in place to give a ‘guide’ as to the value of the bin. Please note, these are not value guarantees in any way.
For example, a bin, within the 25 – 100 diamond suggested range, could have a value of 140 diamonds, or it could have a value of 22 diamonds. These ranges are in place for a few reasons. Firstly, the bins are decorated, sometimes hiding the items of value in order to prevent direct price matches. Secondly, they are intended to prevent people from spending senseless amounts of diamonds on a bin with a value nowhere near the price. For example, without suggestions, a bin could sell for 250 diamonds and only contain items with a 50-diamond value. Finally, this helps to replicate the sense of ‘blind auction’ that is synonymous with auctions of this type. People rarely see ALL items offered in the bin, but some are visible and so giving a suggested price goes toward that sentiment in that you have an ‘idea’ of how much it’s worth, but you cannot be sure if there are any hidden gems within (rare items, elytra, armour etc).
I won my bin. What now?
Outside each bin is a grey shulker box, specific to that bin. Inside, staff will place papers named with the winning player and their bid. For example, the paper may read: “RoonBL – 69 diamonds.”
After winning the bin, players are given 7 days to place their payment in the corresponding shulker. Most players pay immediately, however, some bids are placed through our in-game chat link via Discord. The 7-day deadline gives those players; who couldn’t be present, the time to pay for their auction bin.
Throughout the auction, our wonderful staff, managed by Q and Aim will check the papers and those players who have paid will be called out through in-game chat, with a call similar to “Bin #21 – RoonBL, you’re good.”
When a section is done we will have a small break in which our staff will check the papers and those players who have paid. When the payment is correct they will be called out through in-game chat, with a call similar to “Bin #21 – RoonBL, you’re good.” When your payment has been called out as good, you are free to break the glass and explore what you’ve won!
How long is Storage Wars?
Storage Wars by its very nature is unpredictable in terms of timings. The start time will be announced via Discord. Once we have begun, the auction length determines how long the event runs. Some auctions will break into small bidding wars that can take 5-10 minutes for a single lot, whereas some will have rapid, large increases and can be over in just 2 or 3 minutes. The breaks in between sections will take 5 to 10 minutes, exact times will be announced in the game. All-in-all, Storage Wars usually runs for anywhere between 90 and 150 minutes.
While staff keep the process running as smoothly as possible, it’s impossible to give an absolute answer with regard to how long the event runs.
There’s still something I don’t understand, where can I get more information?
If you have any questions that haven’t been answered above, please contact a member of staff via Discord or in-game chat. The main contacts to consider are Q and Aim, and there wouldn’t be any information available that they don’t know!
Sotrage Wars is by far my favourite event on Beacoland! Always looking forward to the next one, let’s goooooooo!