Rea

[aeneas01]

Since this is generating a few misunderstandings on here. Here is my auction strategy in a nutshell...

i don't think there's any misunderstanding - you missed the rea auction, presumably because it ended on a saturday, then questioned why any auction house would end an auction on a saturday. here's what you wrote:

"wow i missed this one. who ends an auction on a saturday night though?"

then, in order to support your position, you pointed to a few items that you felt fetched less than market - again, presumably, because the auction ended on a saturday.

but here's the thing legaleagle, here's why your comments struck some collectors as peculiar, naive even: rea's auctions are an annual extravaganza - from their spectacular five pound, 600+ page catalogs to the staggering number of hall of fame / museum quality lots they consistently offer. many collectors prepare months in advance for this annual event by selling smaller items in their collection to fund big ticket rea items. other collectors consider themselves very fortunate if rea agrees to accept their piece(s) for consignment - such is life when you've been in the biz for 30+ years and have been chosen to oversee the sale of some of the most important sports memorabilia collectibles known to exist such as the $30 million dollar harper collection...

in other words legaleagle, the rea annual event is the super bowl of auctions to many collectors - for someone to say they slept through it or found it weird that it was played on a sunday just comes across as a little to goofy to some...

...

[legaleagle92481]

[quote=aeneas01;199382]i don't think there's any misunderstanding - you missed the rea auction, presumably because it ended on a saturday, then questioned why any auction house would end an auction on a saturday. here's what you wrote:

"wow i missed this one. who ends an auction on a saturday night though?"

then, in order to support your position, you pointed to a few items that you felt fetched less than market - again, presumably, because the auction ended on a saturday.

but here's the thing legaleagle, here's why your comments struck some collectors as peculiar, naive even: rea's auctions are an annual extravaganza - from their spectacular five pound, 600+ page catalogs to the staggering number of hall of fame / museum quality lots they consistently offer. many collectors prepare months in advance for this annual event by selling smaller items in their collection to fund big ticket rea items. other collectors consider themselves very fortunate if rea agrees to accept their piece(s) for consignment - such is life when you've been in the biz for 30+ years and have been chosen to oversee the sale of some of the most important sports memorabilia collectibles known to exist such as the $30 million dollar harper collection...

in other words legaleagle, the rea annual event is the super bowl of auctions to many collectors - for someone to say they slept through it or found it weird that it was played on a sunday just comes across as a little to goofy to some...

...[/quote

well I guess this just highlights how people have different collecting interests. i never knew much about REA because they don't auction much of what I collect. I collect mostly modern star jerseys and bats and signed checks of deceased baseball hall of famers (of which i have most of the hall of famers that checks hit the market of). like i said only one item in the whole auction was something that i would have bought. i notice they have alot of great cards and vintage gu stuff but that really is not my thing. and i am sure alot of people prefer saturdays but then im sure also that others feel how i feel it is all a matter of individual preference.

[Schmoozer]

Since this is generating a few misunderstandings on here. Here is my auction strategy in a nutshell. during the time period that the auction is open look through every lot and then decide what i am interested in, research them and if i am comfortable with them decide what they are worth to me. i Wait until the last couple of minutes of regular bidding and enter a maximum bid for each lot then step away from the computer and wait for the winning bidder email the next day.

legaleagle92481,

Maybe I shouldn't say this because it's a philosophy a bidder would consider as an insider secret......but in reality, it's not, so I'll share it with you.

As a collector who is after specific items, if I find something I just HAVE to have, I LOVE guys like you to bid against.

You see, if it truly is an item you can't live without, having another bidder who has already shot his load and is now asleep, to bid against.... is a dream come true. Paying one, maybe two extra bids to get something you JUST have to have, is just fine with me. The knowledge that once you become high bidder insures you won't be outbid by mister "I've placed my max, and I'm out"....I mean MAN, if it were only that easy every time, wow.

Your argument about collectors paying way too much only to be forced to sell it soon after winning it at a huge loss because they can't afford it? They've got bigger problems then you're alluding to here. That's just laughable. If they are truly doing that, their family needs to get them psychological help, and soon. You are referencing a situation that would bankrupt a family. That instantly escalates what should be a hobby into a serious mental problem of wreckless proportion.

But short of that, the guys that place a max bid and turn off the computer....oh PLEASE give me one of them on an item I'm going after every time!!!

[legaleagle92481]

legaleagle92481,

Maybe I shouldn't say this because it's a philosophy a bidder would consider as an insider secret......but in reality, it's not, so I'll share it with you.

As a collector who is after specific items, if I find something I just HAVE to have, I LOVE guys like you to bid against.

You see, if it truly is an item you can't live without, having another bidder who has already shot his load and is now asleep, to bid against.... is a dream come true. Paying one, maybe two extra bids to get something you JUST have to have, is just fine with me. The knowledge that once you become high bidder insures you won't be outbid by mister "I've placed my max, and I'm out"....I mean MAN, if it were only that easy every time, wow.

Your argument about collectors paying way too much only to be forced to sell it soon after winning it at a huge loss because they can't afford it? They've got bigger problems then you're alluding to here. That's just laughable. If they are truly doing that, their family needs to get them psychological help, and soon. You are referencing a situation that would bankrupt a family. That instantly escalates what should be a hobby into a serious mental problem of wreckless proportion.

But short of that, the guys that place a max bid and turn off the computer....oh PLEASE give me one of them on an item I'm going after every time!!!

Well I set my bid depending on the value of the item to me. There are some items that are worth an awful lot to me that I will set a very, very high maximum bid for and in that case if someone wants to outbid me it will cost them big time. But no item is worth so much to me that I will exceed the value that I set for it. Especially since most auctions require you to beat the top bid by 10% I would be paying 20% more than I had valued the item. Yes some items are unique but noone can own everything and there are other unique items out there to pursue so if I don't get it i will get something else.

As far as people buying things they cannot afford it is rampant in this hobby. Many members here are guilty of it. I can see people buying to flip for a profit if something is a good price but over paying and flipping to break even or for a loss shortly after? What is the point of buying it then? I mean either keep for awhile it in that case or pass on it. Yes sometimes unplanned things come up quickly but alot of these people do it all the time. And I agree such people have a serious, serious problem. If you buy an item for 1,500 and sell it a month later for a 1,000 you just threw 500 bucks in the trash to possess a jersey for a couple of weeks which is just crazy. Alot of families have no idea they are doing it because they have seperate accounts for their hobby purchases and ship the items somewhere else like to their office and sneak them home. I mean you have a bunch of jerseys in your basement is your wife really going to notice that you suddendly have one or two more than you had before down there? Or the guy lies and says he got it cheap and is going to resell it at a profit and his wife thinks he made a couple of hundred on it. Until the losses start to really add up and suddenly the family cannot meet the bills the family probably won't even know about it. If you don't think this happens check Ebay and when you see an item that originated with an auction house or a league auction go back and look up when the auction was and how much it sold for with bp and you will be shocked on how common this is.

[Mark17]

I love the way Hunt Auctions handles the close of their auctions. The auction will close at a certain time, and then, on a per lot basis, there is an extended period of 20 minutes. When no more bids come in on a given lot, that lot is closed.

It's the best of both worlds. If you're aggressively after a prime piece, you can go toe-to-toe with other bidders as long as you want. If you're after an inexpensive item with little action, you don't have to stay up all night. This is what happened with me at Hunt's latest auction, I was high bidder on the Rico Carty gamer, and 20 minutes after the auction ended, my lot was closed and I was the winner. I got to bed at my normal time with no worries about any surprise "outbid" emails the next morning.

I think the spirit of an auction should be bidders competing with each other, to the benefit of the seller. It shouldn't be who can outwait the other guy. I suppose from the auctioneer's point of view, as long as they're manning the phones, they probably figure it benefits the seller to take every bid for as long as possible. But to me, the way Hunt does it (and I'm sure other houses also do it that way) is the best mix between letting bidders have every chance to get their bids in, while being reasonable about how late people have to stay up.

[legaleagle92481]

I love the way Hunt Auctions handles the close of their auctions. The auction will close at a certain time, and then, on a per lot basis, there is an extended period of 20 minutes. When no more bids come in on a given lot, that lot is closed.

It's the best of both worlds. If you're aggressively after a prime piece, you can go toe-to-toe with other bidders as long as you want. If you're after an inexpensive item with little action, you don't have to stay up all night. This is what happened with me at Hunt's latest auction, I was high bidder on the Rico Carty gamer, and 20 minutes after the auction ended, my lot was closed and I was the winner. I got to bed at my normal time with no worries about any surprise "outbid" emails the next morning.

I think the spirit of an auction should be bidders competing with each other, to the benefit of the seller. It shouldn't be who can outwait the other guy. I suppose from the auctioneer's point of view, as long as they're manning the phones, they probably figure it benefits the seller to take every bid for as long as possible. But to me, the way Hunt does it (and I'm sure other houses also do it that way) is the best mix between letting bidders have every chance to get their bids in, while being reasonable about how late people have to stay up.

Alot don't do that for several reasons. 1. if someone is bidding on alot of lots it is hard to keep up with all of them. 20 minutes may seem like awhile but if your bidding on 15 lots it is not long at all. 2. during regulation people often place bids on several lots that they are interested in before the prices escalate just so they will be eligible to bid on them in the ot period with hopes of winning some of them but knowing they wont win them all. if the bidding on one lot gets out of their league they will bid more on another lot which will drive up prices.

An interesting idea is what clean sweep does. if you a bid after a certain time they increase the bp so people are encouraged to place their maximum bids earlier.

[Mark17]

I think the Hunt way is a far better remedy than the REA way with regards to your point #1. Suppose you are bidding on 15 items, as you say in your example. With REA, you have to stay up all night, monitoring every one to see where a new bid has been snuck in.

The Hunt way, after the first 20 minutes, maybe 5 of your lots have closed, so now you're down to just 10. And as the rest gradually close as well, the presure eases considerably.

Also, in this example, you'll know whether or not you've won several of the items before the others close, and this will help you determine how much money you have left to bid on those outstanding items.

Otherwise, if you are competitively bidding on 15 pieces, and they are all going to close at the same moment, you have to guess as to which you will be outbid on, and which you won't.

Unless funds are not an issue.

[Schmoozer]

I think the Hunt way is a far better remedy than the REA way with regards to your point #1. Suppose you are bidding on 15 items, as you say in your example. With REA, you have to stay up all night, monitoring every one to see where a new bid has been snuck in.

Not true.

You can call the auction house, and request a "call back" on any item you are outbid on. That gives you instant notification via a live voice on the phone that you are no longer the high bidder. Then you have the opportunity right then and there to up your bid again if you so desire.

[Mark17]

Not true.

You can call the auction house, and request a "call back" on any item you are outbid on. That gives you instant notification via a live voice on the phone that you are no longer the high bidder. Then you have the opportunity right then and there to up your bid again if you so desire.

The Eagle's example was when you're bidding on 15 items. So, what's the difference between staying up all night, monitoring other people bidding on those items, or having the phone ring throughout the night, waking you up repeatedly, to inform you of same?

My point is, if the lots you are interested in close at varying times, you can track your progress, manage your available funds, and probably get to bed much earlier (for good-- no 5:30 AM phone calls.)

[Schmoozer]

So we don't misunderstand ourselves here, I have a liking for Hunt's method too. But you are referring to their online auction, not their major sports auctions where you are either present, or have a phone line reserved.

There is a very BIG difference between the two. If you want to refer to only an online auction, which REA follows as their auction format, then I understand your gripe. It is definately troublesome to stay up all night long to win an item.

But it is what it is.

And what it is.....is the most celebrated auction of the year, held on a Saturday night so everyone has an opportunity to win as it does not interfere with the majority of the "normal" work schedules out there (and that's the best they can do...we all understand that some of us collectors do work different hours), with a call-back option if you want to be notified if you have been outbid on any item.

I don't really find the justification in complaining about a well-thought-out auction which gives the benefit of time and availability to all who participate, without the need of being glued to a computer screen trying to manage bids on potentially several different items you might be bidding on.

And, if you do win something after a long grueling battle through the night, it makes that first Sunday cup of java taste that much better.