Henry Yee Winnings
 

Congrats to those who got something last night.

OK so it's a little strange that the guy who got shut out of the only 2 things, in the entire auction, he really wanted, would start this thread, but I figured why not. Just because I am not celebrating doesn't mean I can't live vicariously through those who were successful.

Hey, at least no one can say I did it just to show off!

Show us what you won.

Prices looked UNREAL. wow. But, am anxious to see what e'one got.

Scott,
You ain't kidding!
The only 2 things I really wanted were the 2 signed 1934 goudeys.
IMO, $1900 for a Cuyler is crazy. I was the underbidder and bid way more than I thought it would go for. I have never seen a Cuyler signed item sell for anywhere close to that. The Camilli then sold for $200. The current market value for common players, especially since he only died in the 1990s, is in the $100 range. This is close, but still much higher than I expected.
Sigh.

BTW...Did anybody here win them?

Mark, I hope I didn't jinx it when I said I thought the Cuyler might go for $2000. I just had a feeling with the way the early bidding was going.
As for me...no bidding this time around. I decided to sit this one out and pay off the mortgage instead :D

I can't read your post through all the smoke in this thread.

Your experience is not unlike many others.

What smoke? you honestly sound like you are accusing the auction of shilling, as in "Where there's smoke, there's fire". I personally have known Henry a long time and he always struck me as an honest man.

I do agree that prices are WILD on stuff, but I notice guys like Scott Gaynor, Jon Richmond and others get high prices relative to m arket, IMO too. They don't have the overall quality of Henry's tho.

IF you have a serious complaint like that, and what u wrote on the other thread, you need to show proof IMO

Scott Roberts.

I didn't mean for this to be a negative thread.
Sure, I'm a little disappointed, but I'll live. It happens and you move on.
I'm sure I'll find another sometime in the future.
I am not accusing Henry of any misbehavior. The couple of times I interacted with him have been very positive.

I really would love to see others winnings.

I agree. It's one thing to always just act like an ass-wipe. It's another thing to claim someone shill bid or even insinuate it. I say put up or shut the F*** up. And if you never have anything positive to add to the forum then please go away.

Some of the stuff posted on the main forum gives reason to pause (bidders with multiple feedbacks who've never bid with anyone else) but I've never had a problem with him. Looking through some of his Chuck Klein card auctions, I thought prices were very fair.....(6) E285 Rittenhouse cards for a couple hundred bucks seems fair to low. There were some baseball bat pencils that went low. Some went high. I don't follow the photo wars but that seems to be where much of the 'rub' is so I don't know. He got HUGE dollar for a plastic baseball bat bank that would routinely sell on ebay for $40-$60 and sold for $200+. Don't know. Agree that Gaynor, Richmond and others get more than retail for stuff and no one presents the items better than Henry, so it be what it be! Congrats to winners...........

Jeez, it's similar to a buyer who decides they're going to spend their money one month on a Leland's auction or a Legendary auction.

Bid history only goes back 30 days in the % field.

I've also noticed a few A-holes in the last couple months using bid retractions to screw around with both bidders and sellers of auctions lately.

Wish Ebay would just make Bidder ID's public again and/or start coming down hard on habitual retractions.

I blocked one guy last week who had about 80 retractions in the last several months and only a couple auctions won. He did it to one of my auctions and retracted a bid before any other bids came in. I did a little investigating and found he was doing this to multiple sellers............running up bids to check the high bid out..............retracting it back to the previous level. Just being a plain sh*t. I blocked him right away.

Ebay just doesn't seem to care about retraction history.

my lone win.....
 

Here is my gavelsnipe snipe below....$173.11 below my max.

.


eBay Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop UN-CATALOGUED 1935 N.L. Stars Premiums (9) DIZZY DEAN, WANER... (261041082862) hyee_aucti.. 343/13 US $511.11 US $338.00 -- Jun 17th 2012 22:03:13 CDT Jun 17th 2012 22:03:05 CDT Winning Bid of US $338.00 View




.

If a Henry Yee auction ever goes off without shill bidding accusations it will be a first. I don't know either way, but he does get crazy money for items that no one else is able to get. Insane bidders, shill bidding or whatever..it is what it is...if you want to win something from Henry Yee you better be prepared to pay higher than market price.

I actually think the shill bidding accusations are so legendary at this point that people place higher than usual bids thinking that the only way they can win is the beat the shill when in reality legitimate bidders are running each other up out of fear.

I said basically the same thing in the other thread, but I'll repeat it here: quality merchandise, clear/detailed photos and scans, and knowledgable descriptions will typically translate to higher prices realized.

If you're used to shopping sellers with 1-line descriptions and fuzzy satellite images that rely on you already knowing what it is you're looking at to fill in the details, you may well have sticker shock (or gavel shock in this case, I guess). If putting in the extra effort into presenting the items attractively and thoroughly DIDN'T translate to higher prices realized, why would anyone put forth the effort? HARD WORK THAT PAYS OFF ISN'T A SCAM.

Publications
 

I am not accusing anyone of anything (I've posted this before) but the prices realized on pretty common publications are extraordinary. The only thing that I can think of is that people want to say that they were the high bidder in a Henry Yee auction?

Jeff

On rare or one of a kind items I understand this, but he gets ridiculous prices for extremely common items. I don't know how he does it, but he does it.

I really think bidders who get pushed off the more expensive items end up bidding on the secondary material.

There is definitely something to be said for surrounding weaker material with very strong material. The good stuff tends to help drive the bidding on the weaker stuff.

My personal opinion is that there are multiple reasons for his prices.
1) High quality, incredible condition items. Even common things tend to be top condition examples. Not only do the items themselves get high bids, but as Dave commented losing bidders may bid on something in the heat of the moment just to satisfy the need to get something. Even winning bidders may find other stuff they like without really having to look for it.

2) His presentation is fantastic. I have never seen better pictures than in his auctions, even in the big stand-alone auctions houses. They are clear, well staged, and have great contrast against the background. The write ups are clear and detailed.

3) His clientele. It is my understanding that his mail list is many thousands long. It is also my understanding that many of his customers aren't regular ebayers. I think this is probably why you see some buyers with low feedback and no bids with other sellers in the past 30d. I think these buyers are also the ones most likely to be affected by the "surround weak items with strong ones" effect. A person who isn't on ebay routinely, might not realize the usual going rate for a bat bank or magazine. All they know is Henry's reputation for top quality items.

4) Auction reputation. I agree with Dan that many will bid higher than usual for the same stuff because of what is known about Henry's auction prices.

Anyhow. Did anyone else besides Leon win anything they want to share?

Best,
Mark

+1

Another thing to consider is that Henry Yee's auctions do bring buyers to eBay that would not normally venture onto the site.

Not everyone is willing to invest the time to dig through the morass of crap presented on eBay on a daily basis to pull out the few gems, in the same way that not everyone is willing to dig through a pile of clothes at the thrift store looking for designer labels. Many will just go to the designer's stores where they know there will be an abundance of what they are looking for, albeit at higher prices, rather than investing the time and energy hunting for something that might be at the thrift store for a cheaper price. Pull all the "good stuff" off into one small section that is only open a few days each year though, and make the buyers compete with each other for the opportunity to buy it, and you'll have well-heeled collectors and bargain hunters alike elbowing each other to get at the goods.

And the prices inch (or leap) up accordingly.

Lots of factors to consider here, and lots of things done right on Yee's end. I just get tired of the kneejerk "high prices = shill bidding" response without any real evidence to back it up.

Very well said Lance!

I think Lance hit it on the head.

Not everyone is willing to invest the time to dig through the morass of crap presented on eBay on a daily basis to pull out the few gems, in the same way that not everyone is willing to dig through a pile of clothes at the thrift store looking for designer labels. Many will just go to the designer's stores where they know there will be an abundance of what they are looking for, albeit at higher prices, rather than investing the time and energy hunting for something that might be at the thrift store for a cheaper price.

How about some items guys

Well said Lance

Granted he does a great job, provides glowing descriptions and has an extensive mailing list. But just to play "Devil's Advocate"...

Does ebay have any system in place, to prevent Yee's consignors from bidding up their own stuff? Anyone who thinks that isn't happening with frequency has blinders on. Unfortunately ebay doesn't care in the least, where as most of the Catalogue Auctions won't allow you to bid on your own consignments (and have systems in place to prevent it).

Obviously, this factor doesn't account for all of the goofy Yee prices, but it certainly contributes.

:eek: Got it :)

This is a great image. Congrats.

Nice, big JJ!! :)

Thanks guys :cool:

Great pic. Congrats

Finally
 

YEA! Victory!

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/1930-Original...z-Lw~~60_3.JPG

Great Gehrig, Mark!!! :)

Thanks Scott. I'm pretty happy with it.

Hopefully he knows his consignors enough to discourage any of them from doing this and would know if any of them were trying to push stuff up.

Hard to tell with so many auctions running at once.

Hopefully he keeps track of bid retractions and does a little investigating when it happens.

I love his auctions as well but cannot afford to compete any longer. This is the first year I will be shut out on all items I wanted. I too continue to be amazed at the prices his items realize. Below are two items that sold the last couple of days in his auction. The unopened pen and pencil bat on the left sold for $86.00 yesterday. The one on the right I purchased for $10.00 about six months ago. The Jim Thorpe photo on the left sold an hour ago for $212.05. The one on the right is from the Tribune's Ebay site I paid $32.49 a year ago. The Yee bats include Maris and mine has Frank Robinson. Does Maris make it worth an additional $70.00? My photo has a small ink mark on the front which apparently devalues it $180.00. He is quite the salesman. That being said, I will continue to "dig through the morass of crap presented on eBay on a daily basis";)

Henry Yee's "Chief" is certainly happier. :D

Maybe Chief is stoked that he finally got slabbed and brought the top dollar that he always felt he was worth, but previously was unable to bring in the morass of crap on the bay...

I think I would obviously rather own Chief at $32.49 :cool:

Mike,
I think the differences you point out all still go back to the same points that have been made. Now, the specific reasons to what happened in individual auctions may vary.
1)High Quality - His Thorpe is a nicer image. Looking at camera and smiling with more flattering lighting. I think the ink mark makes only a little bit of difference.
2)Presentation - The Tribune auctions are very utilitarian without flattering descriptions.
3)Clientele/Morass of crap - Many will not put out the time and energy needed to weed through the tens of thousands of items on ebay to find bargains. A group of his buyers are those who only care about wanting the best quality item. Whether it is a bargain or market value isn't the main issue. I would think that there are a few items out there, for each of us, that would fall into the "gotta have it no matter what" category or at least ALMOST no matter what.
4)Reputation - People expect to pay more to win an auction from Henry.

I decided to add one more that hasn't been mentioned. After thinking about it, I think the lack of a buyers premium may make a significant difference as compared to other big auctions.
I know it's always something that gives me a little pause when looking at the Hunt's/REA/Heritage types that after I bid and win, I'll be paying an extra 15-20%. I know I can calculate it ahead of time and bid accordingly, but it just doesn't feel the same to me. I just wonder if the psychology is such that if a buyers knows that the final price is the final price, will they feel a certain freedom to bid more aggressively.

Morass of crap example
Lets say you want to buy a vintage Gehrig card. You're not a hard core collector, so you have no set card in mind. You'd just like to see what's available.
Search Lou Gehrig - 6115 listings.
Refinement 1 - category BB cards - 2931
Refinement 2 - Years 1922-1950 - 276
Refinement 3 - Era Pre WW2 - 262
Refinement 4 - "original" - 135
Refinement 4 - Product "single" - 105
Of those remaining, only 59 are actually original Gehrig cards from 1922-1950, and that number includes approx 15 exhibits and Wheaties panels.

We have an advantage. Most of us on this board know, after years of using and learning how to manipulate the searches on ebay, ways to cut down the time needed to find what we want. Most others do not.

Despite the fact that I do spend a little with Henry each auction, like many here, I will continue to sift through the morass of crap to find those diamonds in the rough as well.

Keep those winnings coming.

I think you can also consider that you got a tremendous bargain on the Thorpe photo and benefited from finding it in a poorly designed Tribune photo auction.

It occurs to me that the people who spend dumb money just because it's Henry's auction and aren't able to navigate the sea of crap on ebay could save themselves a lot of money by learning how to use ebay's search function.

Completely agree... It's not exactly rocket science. Just a few "key words" and price parameters, and you're on your way.

Takes all of 10 seconds :rolleyes:

Back to what this thread was created for
 

I am VERY HAPPY to win this photo below... I believe I "stole" this for just over $500 dollars. I saved over 1k on my snipe bid. GEEE.... I guess MR YEE doesn't have access to everyone's snipe bids...
This is a $1500 plus photo in my eyes.

It depicts a Baby faced Ruth IN THE UNDERWOOD AND UNDERWOOD VAULT
as a ROOKIE in 1915 LOOKING AT PHOTOS(maybe a conlon of himself??) with his Red Sox pitching mates.

http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/a...FRONTwater.jpg


PS:

Leon-great pickup..looks like neither HYEE or shiller could see your snipe either.. we must be lucky.

Mark-Great Gehrig! Congrats!

BIGJJ-That glass negative is killer. Is that your first one? I do not have one.. would love to pick one up eventually. Yours stuck out in this auction for sure. Congrats to you!

Dan and Mark,
I do agree with your statements, but only if you know specifically what you are looking for.
It is my opinion that it is unlikely a bidder specifically came to Henry's auction, or ebay for that matter, looking for a picture of Jim Thorpe wearing a tribal headdress, a baseball pen/pencil set of Roger Maris, or many of the similar items which he routinely sells above market value. I think most of those are sold for more because he gets high end buyers who find impulse buys. Also there are the buyers who lost out on what they came for and figured they have extra money they were going to spend anyway, and they find something else.

I am curious as to what search terms Mike used to find his bat pen and pencil set. Was he searching specifically for that item or a general search?
Best,
Mark

Ben,
Incredible photo. Congrats!

Agreed, Ben, great pick-up on the 1915 Ruth photo.

Good point, Mark... the general search words won't always pull up a unique listing (like perhaps that Pen and Pencil set). For the stuff I collect, search words like "Antique" "Vintage" "Old" and "Early" paired with "Baseball" turn up the vast majority of items I like to bid on. But every now and then, a nice/unique item can sneak by under the radar.

I collect early pennants, so my best search words are "pennant", "flag", "banner", and even the mis-spelled "penant" (which has surprisingly turned up several gems over the years). If you search by "highest price first" and "auction only format", you'll weed most of the cheap crap and the Buy it Now Ripoffs.

Those are just some helpful hints (resulting from a decade of ebay frustration and futility).

Ben - That photo of young Babe is razor-sharp and just so intriguing... many congrats!

On a roll. WOO HOO!
 

A couple more Lou's at decent prices.

Lou with Dizzy Dean running.
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/1938-Original...RHg~~60_57.JPG

Lou with his physician at a Rangers game. As a family doc and Rangers fan, it really appeals to me.
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Original-Phot...3wwQ~~60_3.JPG

Mark,
This is exactly what myself and others are pointing out.
There are many of us hard core crazies, who search ebay daily for that hidden gem or steal of a deal before someone else gets it. I think a lot of Henry's buyers are likely people who have no desire to put in the time and energy, you and many others on this board have, to learn the best search words or any other tricks. They'll come when they known a whole bunch of either rare or high condition, sometimes both, items are up and bid big.

Did you get anything?

Best,
Mark

Ben

That's a great photo. I didn't see it, despite scrolling through Henry's auctions a few times (then again, I don't buy many photos, and not Yankees or Red Sox photos in Henry's auctions :) )

I was shut out on the only two items I bid on. The Babe Ruth movie herald sold for $383; I recently bought one in similar condition for $315, with a buy it now obo of $375 (and yes, I did bid on that despite just buying another one but you have to have two to display the inside of the herald...). The other was the Stan Carlson Gehrig bio with promo material at $271. This winning bid is lower than what most booksellers would list it at--typically at $300 or above.

Thanks Mark y Mark, Phil and Max!

It was one of my favorite pickups! Below are a couple others I added to my rookie photo collection!

1951 Willie Howard Mays
http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/a...ookiewater.jpg

1955 Sanford Braun Koufax
http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/a...iepsawater.jpg

PS: Mark, you must have a rather large Gehrig photo collection by now! Congrats on the two latest additions.

I agree That is an absolutely beautiful photo! The bat pen and pencil set was found using a search for (baseball advertising Louisville). I was fishing with a net an stumbled across it. I like such odd things in their original state and for $10.00 it was a great buy. I figure it was worth more than the asking price but certainly not $86! I haven't given up Yee's current auction but any purchase I make at this point will be either very lucky or very impulsive.

Last one for a while....maybe


http://hyeeauctions.com/A12/PHOTO2/440.jpg

yee
 

still having fun displaying burke photos(among others) with the matching cards.
Thanks to this auction was able to pick up bloodworth to go with his
1940 playball. Also picked up a Burke billy herman, I'm happy to say.
congrats on your great pick-ups everyone.
all the best,
barry

Mark V:
That's another incedible image. Curious... do you ever attempt to remove the crop marks? I know that sometimes those marks rub right off for me. Works easily with grease pencil, but I'm not sure about the white stuff. Plus, that "foursome" looks awesome as-is... the white cropping actually enhances the iconic image in a mystical sort of way.

This is the first of Henry's auctions in an eternity that I think I'm drawing a complete "goose egg". A combination of limited funds, and trying to save for Hunt's Live All Star Auction (under a month away). That said... I am getting pretty good at the "high under-bidder" thing! Glad to see that you and some other guys here are doing so well...

Also wanted to acknowledge Jimmy (who's been rather quiet lately). I couldn't help but notice some of his magnificent pieces being featured in Henry's Auction this time around. I made a run at a few of them, but all ended up elsewhere :( Regardless, I hope some of the proceeds can go towards some great new Beatles Memorabilia or "King of Clout" Type 1s.

Mark,
I have never tried to remove markings on pictures.
There seems to be a strong sentiment against removing them as they really speak to the "life" of the picture besides the 4 C's. I also know some would prefer a more clean image.
I have always been torn with which way to go, but have erred on the side of not removing them. I figured if I ever sell, I could always remove the marks later, if desirable.

Jimmy did very well this auction. He put up some fantastic items. I'm sure he is working feverishly on finding the newest, off the beaten path rare Beatles item.

Ben,
I have a decent little grouping of Lou pics, but I haven't really graduated to the top tier level of individual pics yet. :D

Here is a link to my photobucket album of Gehrig pics. I haven't added the newest ones yet.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ehrig%20stuff/

The Mays and Koufax pics don't show up on the board, but the Mays is one of my favorite pics from this auction, outside of the Gehrigs, of course.