Lack of action = red flag?

[kingjammy24]

if you're bidding on a relatively desireable item at auction and there's absolutely no action on it at all, would that raise a serious red flag for you?

i remember during the tris speaker bat debacle, either mike rose or chris cavalier said that during the auction, the lack of action on the bat gave them cause to think something was wrong with the bat.

if i was bidding on a 1992 joe carter shirt and by the last day of the auction there were no other bids, i'd probably start panicking and wonder what others knew about the shirt that i didn't.

i thought of this when i saw this recently ended auction and it's 1 lone bid: http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/A...ction_ID=46812

i wonder if the winner wonders why noone else bid on it.

rudy.

[suave1477]

Well look at it like this, the flip side of the coin imagine how the seller feels.
When you have action on a item it promotes more action because people are seeing it is being desired.
If no one sees bidding on an item then it takes away from the desirability.

In the end it hurts the seller.

Example from my own.

I recently had an item for sale on ebay. I had 15 people watching it all the way through from the first day of listing till the end.
By the first day I am thinking WOW this item is probably going to really move. The second day no bids, third day no bids and so on. In the last 30 minutes of the auction ending I got 3 emails back to back of offers for less then what the Jersey was listed for. I let it run its course and in the last minute I got 1 bid.

Now personally I believe all the people were watching the item to see if someone else was going to bid. Since no one was bidding, I think it made everyone a bit leary. Yet if someone from the begining would have put a bid in, it might have sparked a bunch of bids.

So even though the item was completely legit with paperwork and all. I got one bid at my listing price. So if anything the seller gets hurt more because he technically takes a loss of the possibilties of where it could have ended.

[allstarsplus]

if you're bidding on a relatively desireable item at auction and there's absolutely no action on it at all, would that raise a serious red flag for you?

i remember during the tris speaker bat debacle, either mike rose or chris cavalier said that during the auction, the lack of action on the bat gave them cause to think something was wrong with the bat.

if i was bidding on a 1992 joe carter shirt and by the last day of the auction there were no other bids, i'd probably start panicking and wonder what others knew about the shirt that i didn't.

i thought of this when i saw this recently ended auction and it's 1 lone bid: http://www.americanmemorabilia.com/A...ction_ID=46812

i wonder if the winner wonders why noone else bid on it.

rudy.

I would say the psychology of Selling 101 would be that most buyers are deterred from an auction with no bidders.

It would probably make me nervous too.

In this economy, it is unfortunately happening a lot to good items so I wouldn't necessarily put up the Red Flag due to the economy, but proceed with normal caution and do your homework.

[allstarsplus]

I would say the psychology of Selling 101 would be that most buyers are deterred from an auction with no bidders.

It would probably make me nervous too.

In this economy, it is unfortunately happening a lot to good items so I wouldn't necessarily put up the Red Flag due to the economy, but proceed with normal caution and do your homework.

Meant to say "no bidders towards the end of an auction".

[suicide_squeeze]

Rudy,

I'm not sure it had only one bid.

AMI's completed auctions (when reviewing them later) default to showing "1" bid on almost every item. I noticed that a long time ago, and I'm not sure why it does that. And I'm also not sure why it does this on most items, but not all.

There may have been 5-10 bids on it, but since the auction is closed, it shows as "1" in this particular case.

Maybe someone cares enough to call AMI and ask that question? I certainly don't.

[suicide_squeeze]

Rudy,

I'm not sure it had only one bid.

AMI's completed auctions (when reviewing them later) default to showing "1" bid on almost every item. I noticed that a long time ago, and I'm not sure why it does that. And I'm also not sure why it does this on most items, but not all.

There may have been 5-10 bids on it, but since the auction is closed, it shows as "1" in this particular case.

Maybe someone cares enough to call AMI and ask that question? I certainly don't.

BUT LET'S HOPE IT DID!!!

That means people are getting smarter.....because that jersey is.....well.........Let's just say NOT GOOD is an understatement?

[flaco1801]

tell me why a buyer would bid early??? a smart buyer always waits for the end, there is no plus to bid early sheesh..

[Birdbats]

A lack of bidding can say more about the auction house than the item.

And on eBay, it's typical for no bids to be placed until the end. In fact, too much action can be a red flag on eBay. When I see multiple bids placed on an item with several days remaining, it makes me wonder if someone is bidding it up artificially.

[gnishiyama]

So the starting bid was $943??
Goh Nishiyama

[allstarsplus]

A lack of bidding can say more about the auction house than the item.

And on eBay, it's typical for no bids to be placed until the end. In fact, too much action can be a red flag on eBay. When I see multiple bids placed on an item with several days remaining, it makes me wonder if someone is bidding it up artificially.

I always like to get in one early bid at or near the Opening Price on eBay as my reminder since I don't snipe. This also helps IMO so the seller doesn't end it early. I generally set in my mind how much the max I want to pay is and then I set that the last day of the auction. I do the same on the MLB Auctions. If I get outbid then I get outbid and don't get caught up in the last minute auction excitement.