Honestly? The way I would run an auction is this...
(And, I have in the past, and it's worked wonderfully. I've only had to pull out once, and that was because of my conscience.)
Auction your pet under these circumstances.
Pet is up for auction, you have my guarantee that the auction -will- have an ending winner.
(This confirms that you will indeed trade the pet and aren't just making empty promises that you'll withdraw.)
The auction end date is undecided as of yet. But, once I get some decent bids, and more than a few know of the auction, I -will- put an end date on the auction.
(This lets them know that yes, you'll trade. But only after you get decent bids and traffic. But it will still have an end.)
If you would like to be notified when an end date is decided, let me know and I'll PM you.
(This gives people the freedom to not bid until an end date is decided. And, it lets you know how many people are possibly interested in bidding, so if you get enough of those interested parties, when you start getting decent bids, you can post an end date.)
These are very basic rules I use if/when I auction pets, which is rarely I admit. I only auction pets of high value I have extras of that are worth what I'm looking for.
I also offer advice in bids, depending on the pet or C$ amount's value, of what would tempt me. But, that's only after they've made the initial bid. I am, however, very truthful if they don't have anything of tempting value, but, am polite about it.
But by these rules of mine, I let people know that I'm not going to withdraw this. And, if you make a decent opening offer, and I have more than one offer such as this, there -will- be an end date in sight. Not just forever long months dragging by.
I also post a link in my signature for the auction to advertise it, or sometimes a clickable graphic, to say, "Head's up! Want this? Click here!"
The coding isn't how, if you need to know how, IM me.
But this is the deal...most auctioneers aren't like this. So, as a result, I don't bid. That and I get hacked off when they say "Quality over Quantity" and I offer more valuable pets than another bidder, and they end up saying "Sorry, but those pets just aren't what I'm looking for right now." >.> What happened to your HUGE "Quality over Quantity" post?
Most people don't know what they want. Nor do they know how to get it. Taking a more valuable pet, or a larger group of rares, could help them get that dream pet they have in their 'auto.' (Sorry, minor rant in that ending, that just happened, still -really- sour over it. By taking mine he -could- have gotten a higher bid from the other bidder. But, lol, forget it. I withdrew, so now his highest bidder has no competition.)
Anyhow, Be Honest! in your auctions. And don't give people the run around. Everything would go SO much more smoothly if we at least had minor rules and setups for this. That, and we all need to learn to take a loss every now and then. That's what auctions are. You either get a good bid, or you don't. That's real life for ya.
