Closing Tonight: Love of the Game Auctions

[Al C.risafulli]

Hi All:

Just a quick note to remind you that the fall LOTG catalog auction closes tonight. Extended bidding begins at 9PM eastern, and double overtime starts at 2AM on all items still receiving bids.

While I'm really proud of the variety in this auction, I wanted to point out a few items in particular:

Lot #386: 1910 E98 Near-Complete SGC-Graded Set (26/30)

Lot #571: 1954 Dan Dee Potato Chips Complete SGC-Graded Set

Lot #844: Heart-wrenching Walter Johnson handwritten letter w/two signatures. Intensely personal letter from WaJo to Clyde Milan about the death of his wife.

Lot #3: 1887 Four Base Hits John Ward - One of just two examples known, needs one more bid to hit the reserve

Lot #5: 1895 N300 Mayo's Cut Plug Buck Ewing - the highest-graded example, simply a stunning card.

Lot #9: Unbelievable 1907 George W. Hull White Sox Postcards complete set w/original envelope. A fantastic find, all but two are the highest-graded examples known.

Lot #7: Gorgeous 1967 Roberto Clemente Game-Used Bat (PSA/DNA GU 8), fresh to the hobby with great provenance.

I'd also point you to the collection of Harry Stovey items (lots 29-40) that include several awards, his silver lifetime pass, a couple of great cabinet photos and some tickets and passes.

For those interested in Olympic material, please check out the collection of items related to gold medal wrestler Robin Reed; his story is amazing.

And of course, my favorite item in the auction: Lot #55: a 1903 Honesdale, PA advertising calendar, which features a team photo of the Honesdale Tigers. That team included Billy Miller, an African-American player who, even in 1902-03, was beloved in his community, truly the team hero. Miller was a different kind of hero as well, fighting on the front lines as a member of the US 369th Infantry Regiment - the "Harlem Hellfighters." Miller lost an arm and a leg in combat.


If you don't have a printed catalog, you can review our page-turning interactive catalog by clicking this link.

Or, you can just visit the auction itself here.

Good luck to everyone participating, and once again, Happy Thanksgiving!

-Al

PS - Tip of the cap to Sean Bassik for pointing out a typo!

[pawpawdiv9]

Bidding. Bidding, Bidding away!!!
Its not like your doing anything else but sitting on the Mall bench with bags or at home watching some college football or eating leftovers.
And you Northerners, get those catalogs out and tap away on those iphones while your stuck in that snowstorm or airport.

[tazdmb]

Yet another post-midnight outbid. Loved your items, but closing time is just too late for me on the east coast.

[Shoeless Moe]

Yep agree closing time sucked. Would have bid again. Hate waking up and seeing something go for way less then I would have bid.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

Yep agree closing time sucked. Would have bid again. Hate waking up and seeing something go for way less then I would have bid.

+1...2 am double OT...PASS!!!!

[Majestic]

Me as well .. looked at my emails. I was outbid on 3 items at 12:59 am, 1:26 am and 1:42 am.. (all sold for one increment above my bid). if i were awake i would have bid again on at least one of them, if not more.
Oh well, onward and upward.

[Zan]

Originally Posted by tazdmb

Yet another post-midnight outbid. Loved your items, but closing time is just too late for me on the east coast.

Amen. I raised this concern to Al in which he replied, “just bid higher".

[Shoeless Moe]

Can someone explain why closing an auction when more then half of your bidders are asleep is better then when "ALL" bidders are awake.

What am I missing?

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

Can someone explain why closing an auction when more then half of your bidders are asleep is better then when "ALL" bidders are awake.

What am I missing?

I have to agree with the sentiment. If it ended 1-2 hours earlier I would have stayed awake. As it was I went to sleep after putting in a higher up-to bid or two. Fortunately it worked out for me. But why not roll back the clock and start the double overtime at 11pm-12am CST? Maybe consignors want it to stay open forever but the people bidding don't, that is for sure.

[ajg]

Shoeless Moe, I could not agree more. I consider myself the typical collector. A middle aged overweight (somewhat) guy that spends more than he should on cardboard but what possesses these AHs when they close their auction at 4 am?
I understand the double OT stuff...bid before 9 pm so you can bid after. I get it. But why not push the first deadline up to 3pm. If I were a consignor than I would be pissed since most east coast bidders are like me ......asleep. If I lived in Guam it would be ideal but my guess is most bidders do not.
If I really really want an item and I know that I will have to stay up till 4am than maybe I should hang out at a bar or a strip club so I am wide awake when its my turn to bid. If I wake up in the middle of the night ( at 3 am) to bid than do I have to stay up 90 minutes more to see if I get outbid? It makes zero sense.
I do not care how the AH decides to end their auction. If its lot by lot that is fine. If its the 15 minute no bid rule than that is fine. But why do it at 4am when you can schedule all that you need to so that it ends at 11pm or midnight.
Note to AHs : Put in your max bid and go to sleep routine and we will handle the rest does not work. Most bidders want to control the car they drive.
How popular would the NFL be if they started their games at midnight and they ended at 3:30 am? They would be in Guam I guess.

[bounce]

It seems the auction houses want to push bidders to put in max bids.

That’s pretty short sighted considering most people move their dollars around to other items if they get outbid on something else.

I set mine and went to sleep, I ended up winning one lot but it was right at what it should have, so it’s not like I got a deal.

I think 8-9pm CST should be when extended begins, and it shouldn’t go more than about 3 hours. I don’t think an auction should ever end past 2am EST.

[rhettyeakley]

The same things have been said about the ending of auctions for years. People have tried to change things but the consensus is always that there will be some people that are unhappy with the way the auction ends (or at what time the auction ends.) I feel it is almost a broken record at this point and something you can plan on after every auction, the inevitable “I hate how this auction ended” type of post.

I am convinced there is no “right way” to end an auction.

I personally HATE the “each lot ending individually” format as I am always bidding on 30-40+ different lots and ending up with quite a few. Trying to balance that all out in 15 minute increments where sometimes you have 15-20 items all ending at the same moment and deciding where to bid and how much is impossible in that amount of time. I like the freedom to plan my bids out over time like the LOTG type format allows. On the other hand, if I was only bidding on one or two items in the auction then this format would probably be perfect. Again, this is my opinion.

I kind of agree with what Al reportedly told the poster above, “bid higher” as there is quite literally a format to do so. There is strategy in bidding in auctions and that isn’t the greatest strategy but if you 1.) trust the auction house, and 2) were willing go bid higher than the amount it sold for... then put in a max bid and get some rest.

I have lived in every time zone and I really didn’t notice that big of a difference... but then again I am a high functioning insomniac so that might help!?!

[pherbener]

Originally Posted by bounce

It seems the auction houses want to push bidders to put in max bids.

That’s pretty short sighted considering most people move their dollars around to other items if they get outbid on something else.

I set mine and went to sleep, I ended up winning one lot but it was right at what it should have, so it’s not like I got a deal.

I think 8-9pm CST should be when extended begins, and it shouldn’t go more than about 3 hours. I don’t think an auction should ever end past 2am EST.

I agree with you David. I'm usually after several items and move my money around depending on where the bidding is going and certain items getting getting beyond my price range. I do like the "double overtime" but end the first overtime earlier...11:00-midnight EST.

[slidekellyslide]

As a consignor I’m very happy!! Thank you Al. I bid on about ten lots, and won four of them. One for the opening bid so that closed at 8 PM. My three other lots all closed before double OT so I was happy about that. I was also happy to see that 5 or 6 of my consignments were still getting healthy bids after double OT started.

This topic is older than Moses. You can’t please everyone with auction closing times. Consignors want it to stay open as long as possible and bidders want it to close early. I wonder why that is?

[slidekellyslide]

Also of note, this is the first time I’ve stayed awake for the end of an auction, and I watched it using the “most recent bids” function. I would say that vast majority of items in this auction were ended at 2 AM eastern time.

[Vintageclout]

Originally Posted by rhettyeakley

The same things have been said about the ending of auctions for years. People have tried to change things but the consensus is always that there will be some people that are unhappy with the way the auction ends (or at what time the auction ends.) I feel it is almost a broken record at this point and something you can plan on after every auction, the inevitable “I hate how this auction ended” type of post.

I am convinced there is no “right way” to end an auction.

I personally HATE the “each lot ending individually” format as I am always bidding on 30-40+ different lots and ending up with quite a few. Trying to balance that all out in 15 minute increments where sometimes you have 15-20 items all ending at the same moment and deciding where to bid and how much is impossible in that amount of time. I like the freedom to plan my bids out over time like the LOTG type format allows. On the other hand, if I was only bidding on one or two items in the auction then this format would probably be perfect. Again, this is my opinion.

I kind of agree with what Al reportedly told the poster above, “bid higher” as there is quite literally a format to do so. There is strategy in bidding in auctions and that isn’t the greatest strategy but if you 1.) trust the auction house, and 2) were willing go bid higher than the amount it sold for... then put in a max bid and get some rest.

I have lived in every time zone and I really didn’t notice that big of a difference... but then again I am a high functioning insomniac so that might help!?!

+1000 on the “lots ending individually issue”. As an active auction bidder, if I get in a bidding war on an item or two and lose, chances are the other lots I bid on will be closed if I try and go back to them. This has happened to me so many times over the years. Extra money to spend because I was taken out on one lot, and not being able to reallocate that money to another lot. It frustrates me as a bidder and would infuriate me as a consignor. Closing lots individually is literally taking money out of the consignors’ pockets because many bidders cannot go back and bid on closed lots.

[Stonepony]

Originally Posted by Vintageclout

+1000 on the “lots ending individually issue”. As an active auction bidder, if I get in a bidding war on an item or two and lose, chances are the other lots I bid on will be closed if I try and go back to them. This has happened to me so many times over the years. Extra money to spend because I was taken out on one lot, and not being able to reallocate that money to another lot. It frustrates me as a bidder and would infuriate me as a consignor. Closing lots individually is literally taking money out of the consignors’ pockets because many bidders cannot go back and bid on closed lots.

yep +1

[the-illini]

Auction ends, people aren't happy with how auction closed.

In other news, water is wet.

[CW]

I wish the guy I was bidding against was sleeping at 2am

Agree with Dan -- you can't please everyone.

[Shoeless Moe]

Originally Posted by the-illini

Auction ends, people aren't happy with how auction closed.

In other news, water is wet.

Chris do you sell on Ebay? Do you have your auctions end at 7, 8, 9 pm, or 2-3 am?

[Shoeless Moe]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

This topic is older than Moses. You can’t please everyone with auction closing times. Consignors want it to stay open as long as possible and bidders want it to close early. I wonder why that is?

Consignors don't want it to stay open as long as possible, they want the most money for their item. They don't care when it closes.

If consignors want to stay it open as long as possible then keep it open until 8 or 9 am the next day. Then those of us who wake up can jump back in, thus more money for the consignor.

I just don't get why you wouldn't want the max # of bidders awake rather then asleep.

Still waiting for someone to say why middle of the night when most are asleep is better. If there is a legit reason that makes sense I'd love to hear it.

[3-2-count]

Everything collectors are asking for (both the consignor and bidder) could still be incorporated into an auction if ending at a reasonable hour.

Ending the auction at lets say no later than midnight EST could easily be done by just pushing the current system/rules back a bit which most AH's seem to follow.

I'm just not wrapping my head around how doing just that would affect the outcome or all parties involved (consignor, bidder & AH)

[Lorewalker]

Boy what happened the days where we laughed at how late we had to stay up? I hate the late closing too and I am usually on the west coast but Al's auction is hardly the only one that closes late into the night or early into the next AM. I think that Heritage end is ideal. That auction wrap ups by 11 CST usually.

[the-illini]

Originally Posted by Shoeless Moe

Chris do you sell on Ebay? Do you have your auctions end at 7, 8, 9 pm, or 2-3 am?

No, I don’t sell on eBay.

[Fred]

I'd hate to see auctions end earlier because then I'll miss all of the threads about how everyone hates that auctions end so late.....

Now who said - "just bid higher?"

Sounds good to me!

[Exhibitman]

I thought the system was great. I plugged in placeholder bids early on for everything I was interested in so I'd have flex during OT. Not one of them held up, which was expected. I found one lot with no bids an hour before the close and bid on it. I was the sole bidder so I won it at the close and didn't have to think about it again. I then concentrated on the rest and ended up with one lot I wanted. There were plenty of emailed warnings and I thought I read that I could even have asked for a text alert had I really cared to.

I don't see what else can be done. Al owes it to the consignors to allow a bidding war over an item to continue until it exhausts. If you are east coast you bitch about the late close; if you are west coast you bitch about it if the auction closes in the afternoon. No one can ever be pleased 100%. If you want the certainty of a hard close time, go to eBay. This is an auction. Bidding goes on as long as it has to, and if this is your first time you have to bid.

[doug.goodman]

You whiners are funny.

If I had an auction house, I would set one of my auctions to close to regular bidding at 10 in the morning eastern, and watch the extended bidding still go past midnight because unless you set a HARD end (like ebay) it's always going to be a battle of attrition.

I put in my max bid on my most wanted item, and lost it well beyond midnight. C'est la vie.

Doug "who won the 1915 Red Sox scorebook?" Goodman

[oldjudge]

I agree with Doug. If you want the card adapt to the auction format.

[Peter_Spaeth]

I wasn't chasing anything hard in this auction, but I thought the format seemed quite sensible.

[bobfreedman]

I am not sure I understand why all the complaining? 90% of the lots closed in the first extended period. 90%!!! So all of these complaints over 90 lots? There is obviously no perfect solution but this is as close to it as you can get in my opinion.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

I agree with Doug. If you want the card adapt to the auction format.

Thats what it amounts to for me...there was nothing I had to have...I just like to complain!

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

I just like to complain!

Ha! That's a different story then.

I also like to complain.

My current favorite complaint, as somebody who flies commercially about 130 times a year is :

Why don't planes have milkshake machines?

They have coffee, tea, various other drinks, but the flight attendant asks me what I would like to drink, my answer of "a milkshake" never succeeds in getting me one.

Doug

[perezfan]

I like the closing format, both as a Buyer and a Consignor.

Very pleased with the results, and the ease of bidding. Infinitely better than those annoying auctions who close on a “lot by lot” basis. Many thanks to Al and Jeff for running a great auction!

[ullmandds]

Some pretty strong prices for some type cards...which have been kinda dead for years:

1921 herpolsheimer common mamaux $2500
E102 Evers PSA 5 $2k

These are very strong prices imo

[x2drich2000]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

Some pretty strong prices for some type cards...which have been kinda dead for years:

1921 herpolsheimer common mamaux $2500
E102 Evers PSA 5 $2k

These are very strong prices imo

I was completely surprised by the Evers especially knowing there are multiple PSA 6 as well.