Any luck/advice for getting GM to withdraw an FC housing lottery entry?

[UsagiVindaloo]

TL;DR - am trying desperately to get hold of a GM to cancel/withdraw my entry for an FC house lottery so that I'm free to bid on a private house before lottery ends. Submitted a ticket yesterday, but still no word? Want to see if anyone else has had this problem and/or has a quicker way to get it handled in time ("oh, you need to submit a ticket under "housing," this is how you do it," or even "oh, this is how you get around this issue without a GM," etc)

Long version - OK, so I'll freely admit, I goofed... I had been told (incorrectly) that you could bid on FC house lotteries and private house lotteries separately. My FC was interested in a reloc, and since I was the only one with enough money for a reloc FC bid AND a private house bid, it was agreed that I should put in a bid on an FC plot.

Me: Guys, it says only one lottery at a time, this won't block me off from bidding on a private house lotto for myself, right?
Friends/FC mates: No, that just means you can't be bidding on multiple FC lotteries at once, private house lotteries are different.

Hahahaoops.

Sure enough, yesterday as I finally pick my favorite spot in Ishgard (took a day or two to shop around), I roll up to bid on the lottery, it gives me the error message "can't bid in more than one lottery." Crap.

After talking it out with the FC (who were all contrite), I submitted a ticket to the GMs to ask for withdrawing/cancelling my FC lottery bid to free me up for a personal bid... or at least, I THINK I submitted a ticket? The system is very weird to me, but I got SOMETHING in the "history" tab for issues reported eventually.

The problem is, I submitted the report yesterday at noon, and I still haven't heard anything at 5 PM today. And while I'm normally fine with being patient, I'm paranoid in case the ticket hasn't gone through correctly/been filed correctly. Plus, y'know, time's ticking for this lotto period!

Thus I come to the forums to beg for advice, suggestions, directions, or even just "yeah, I had the same problem." I'm new to dealing with FF GMs and housing, so if there's a trick to how to file this report, please do let me know! Alternatively, let me know NON-GM ways to handle this (e.g. something a friend can do to help).

Thanks in advance, and so sorry for being a stupid newbie, plz be gentle. >.<

(PS before anyone asks, yes, I realize I should have just handed the money to an FC mate and had them bid instead. Hindsight 20/20, etc etc :P )

[Aelin_Ashryver]

I very much doubt a GM could remove it now you put it down. Be more selfish in future ;P
Good luck though!

[Hashberry]

I haven't heard any evidence of bid withdrawals, even via a help ticket. I can understand why they may have a general rule of not allowing for exceptions, since they cannot guarantee the reason they're being told to cancel the bid. There's a very good chance you're stuck with your bid and just have to hope you lose, and realize you won't be able to get in on a personal house this round. It can be unfortunate, but their rule is pretty clear. I wish you luck, though!

[UsagiVindaloo]

Ah nuts, I was afraid of that. How annoying! But I suppose I do understand why it's set up that way, and I have no one to blame but myself. As you say, I guess I should be more selfish next time. ;-) Thank you both for your answers, though! (and if anyone else has any thoughts on the topic, advice, or maybe even a whisper of hope that it COULD be done, do please let me know, just because I'm an idiot doesn't mean I'm not open to trying to find ways to fix my idiocy! ;-)

[LaylaTsarra]

Ah nuts, I was afraid of that. How annoying! But I suppose I do understand why it's set up that way, and I have no one to blame but myself. As you say, I guess I should be more selfish next time. ;-) Thank you both for your answers, though! (and if anyone else has any thoughts on the topic, advice, or maybe even a whisper of hope that it COULD be done, do please let me know, just because I'm an idiot doesn't mean I'm not open to trying to find ways to fix my idiocy! ;-)

I don't think it's very fair that if one bids on a FC plot they have to give up their right to a private. I don't think you'll have much luck with a GM though. Good luck with your FC purchase.

[XiXiQ]

I seems like this is something they should have accounted for from the start, you should be able to just go to the placard, cancel bid and get your gil refunded.

[UsagiVindaloo]

I seems like this is something they should have accounted for from the start, you should be able to just go to the placard, cancel bid and get your gil refunded.

From what I understand in a few other threads, the reason why people can't just cancel bids is to prevent people from getting their friends, ganging up to make a particular spot look like it's got tons of competition, scare other people off of bidding, then have their friends drop and leave the original bidder the only one left. But that SEEMS like something that they could work out somehow - maybe charge a fee (10%, or even the same 50% for an abandoned bid) that would make people only cancel a bid if they were absolutely sure.

I don't think it's very fair that if one bids on a FC plot they have to give up their right to a private. I don't think you'll have much luck with a GM though. Good luck with your FC purchase.

I'll be honest, I sort of agree with this (well, the first part, obviously ) - I imagine it probably puts a lot of FCs and their officers in somewhat awkward situations where they have to decide between getting their own houses and getting one for the FC. Though I suppose FC property is probably going to be generally easier to get hold of in the next round or two! I'm sure, again, it's to try and stop people from abusing the system, but it feels like the sort of thing where far too many genuinely innocent FCs and players might get caught in the crossfire. I just wish there was a way to allow people to go for both, or at least make it even clearer for us idiots (eg not just "You won't be able to enter another lottery" but "Joining an FC lottery means you will not be able to enter a private purchase" or something) Buuuuut I acknowledge this might still be a bit of my sour grapes talking. :P