A Relic From the Past

[Archive]

Posted By: JimB

In the midst of staying up late waiting for the Memory Lane auction to close I began to think about how the 15 minute rule when applied to all lots in an auction as a group is really a relic of the pre-internet days. In the telephone auctions of the '90's when many were not bidding online, but rather by phone, it made sense to wait until the phone stopped ringing for 15 minutes since often phones were jammed and difficult to get through on the final night. But nowadays when most, if not all, bidders bid online and there is no issue of getting through on the phone, I think Mastro's new policy of closing each lot individually makes a lot more sense. Lots may go back and forth a few times, but all the interested parties and do what they wish and have it be done in a relatively short time. That way everybody does not need to stay up until two in the morning while battles ensue over only a handful of lots. I stayed up for more than three hours with no activity on the lots I was interested in while a handful of bidders were still bidding on other lots and keeping all of the lots open. I am not coming down on Memory Lane. I think they put on a great auction. I just hope more auction companies follow Masto's lead and begin policies whereby they close lots individually when there is no activity for 30 minutes on that lot.
JimB

[Archive]

Posted By: Hoytdunk

I agree. There were a couple of cards I was interested in, but I wasn't going to bid and wait until 4 am or later to monitor bids. So I opted out and went to bed.

Actually, I believe Huggins and Scott auctions were the first to go to auction lots closing individually. Whoever started the policy of closing each lot individually is a hero.

[Archive]

Posted By: Wesley

I know I am in the minority, but I actually enjoy the stay up all night to bid sessions. The ten-minute for every lot rule enabled me to move on and bid on another lot in the event that I am outbid on a lot. With the new 30 minute for each lot rule, if I am outbid on my main lot, I will no longer have the option of looking at my next priority because the other lot I might be interested in had already closed. I think that auctionhouses like Mastro will leave a lot of money on the table under it's new format.

[Archive]

Posted By: dstudeba

If you close down lots one at a time, you lose potential bids from people like Wesley. That is REA's argument.

On the other hand, if you let it run all night, you lose people who figured they won the lot and go to sleep.

How to balance those two is an interesting dilema.

[Archive]

Posted By: Joann

I must be missing something obvious. Why can't they end them earlier and/or on weekends so it can run its course w/o people having to stay up all night on a work night?

I agree w/Wes. The whole-auction-open method allows you to keep all of your alternate choices alive and I would imagine it would have to bring in more money.

Are the later ending times, ending on weeknights, etc done for a purpose? Would there be as much objection if they ended mid-afternoon on a weekend?

Joann

[Archive]

Posted By: Frank Evanov

Agree with Joann. With Memory Lane, I went to bed at 1 AM EST and was outbid during the night. Doesn't seem fair to East Coasters. Also I might have re-bid on 1 of them to at least salvage something. That hurts ML.

Frank

[Archive]

Posted By: warshawlaw

Frankly, I find the whole extended bidding thing to be irritating. If the auction is enabled for online bidding and allows for max bids to be input, why not just set a closing time and stick with it? If someone wants an item they can be grown-ups and make their maximum bids earlier than three hours after the initial closing time.

[Archive]

Posted By: Richard Masson

REA's analysis is wrong. With Mastro's format, everyone bids before the deadline and most lots close at the designated time with only a few exceptions. Fair warning to all. It is hard to argue that sellers in a Mastro auction don't get full value. Same result, we just get there quicker.
I have lost plenty of lots under the old format by falling asleep.