My "Milehigh" miss

[Archive]

Posted By: Kelly

I have seen posts like this in the past, so it seems like almost all of us have had a similar situation occur. For some reason this one just stinks.

I was bidding on a lot in last nights Mile High Auction. There was only 1 other bid placed on the lot by 8 pm, so it should(according to the rules) be just myself and 1 other bidder. I placed my bid after that for 3 bids higher than what I was currently winning the lot for. At 11:30 I was still winning. I went to bed somewhat confident.

To my suprise I read my email this morning. At 2:37 am I received an email from mile high saying you are the current high bidder in lot #xyz. I received another email at 2:39 am saying I had been outbid.

I have won cards and lost cards before in auctions, so that is not the source of my dissapointment, although I really wanted the card, but the fact that it appears that someone simply won by staying awake longer.

O.K, now I will step off my verbal soapbox.

[Archive]

Posted By: Matt

While ideally , we'd all be comfortable placing our max bid which would avoid any such issue (since then you'd only ever lose if someone was willing to pay more then you), practically, for any number of reasons, that isn't the case, and as you experienced, especially with auctions that extend all the lots when one gets a bid, people on the west coast have a distinct advantage.

My Trade/Sale Page

[Archive]

Posted By: Sandy Schwartz

Kelly,
I feel your pain. Been there, done that. And I'm not a fan of max bids. Fear not ... 37 days till REA, and a bunch of others in between.

[Archive]

Posted By: Bob

The card I missed out on was one in which I was outbid at 2:53 a.m. this morning so I know the feeling, but I knew the groundrules so I can't complain. I agree that it doesn't make the sick feeling go away when you think you've won a card only to see it vanish while you are asleep

[Archive]

Posted By: Jason L

about the East Coast vs West Coast...I would actually say that the collectors on the West Coast may have bigger collections after having won more auctions late at night, but it has cost them more because they can only acquire them by first outbidding the East Coast collectors!

[Archive]

Posted By: Jamie

2:00 AM and I hit the sack. It's crazy! They really need a new, more fair system. I liked the way Sloate did it. Of course he is in Brooklyn and has that east coast sensibility.

Yes, I want to win the card, but not at the expense of the quality of my life! When did that auction end, anyways, 3:30 in the morning?

I was really bummed out not to get the T205 Stahl PSA 8... that thing was so gorgeous.

Oh well, might as well only participate in the east coast auctions. (just kidding!)

[Archive]

Posted By: Chris

it seems like some computer programmer could create a program to refresh the page and once the words "outbid" or the color red appears, it could enter in a bid one dollar at a time until the words "high bidder" appear, if that makes any sense.

[Archive]

Posted By: 4815162342

Very feasible. The program would constantly download and parse the HTML for "Outbid", and then send the appropriate post to increase the bid.

[Archive]

Posted By: Jerry Spillman

The auction closed at 4:20 AM.

IMO the individual lot closing system is more accommodating and effective than the entire auction closing at the same time.

[Archive]

Posted By: Rob D.

Bidders would agree with you, Jerry. Consignors would not.

[Archive]

Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

What's the downside to starting the extended bidding period at 6 pm EST instead of 9 pm? The auction would have ended just after 1 am, at least a reasonable time. Many people won't leave ceiling bids and just head to bed because of the late ending.

[Archive]

Posted By: Peter_Spaeth

"the fact that it appears that someone simply won by staying awake longer"

No, someone won by bidding more than you did. There is a simple solution to this "problem" -- bid what you are willing to pay.

[Archive]

Posted By: barrysloate

The best antidote against an auction that runs all night is a ceiling bid, but nearly everyone is afraid to do so.

[Archive]

Posted By: Peter_Spaeth

If ya don't trust the auctioneer, perhaps you shouldn't be bidding in his auction.

[Archive]

Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

Peter, that might leave pretty slim pickings.

[Archive]

Posted By: Peter_Spaeth

LOL.

[Archive]

Posted By: leon

What, you don't blindly trust auction houses?

[Archive]

Posted By: Eric Brehm

At about 1AM EST it seemed that the auction clock couldn't count down past about 14 min before another bid would come in and re-set it to 15 min again. Apparently there was still quite a lot of bidding activity going on at that time. I finally gave up and went to bed. Fortunately the bids I had placed on the items I was winning never got raised so I wasn't disappointed.

[Archive]

Posted By: Rob D.

I think the only way Jeff would totally trust an auction house would be if Michael O'Keeffe owned it.

[Archive]

Posted By: Matt

Would it be inappropriate to suggest that the whole 'auction clock resets with a new 15 minutes' might just be a cover story with some auction houses and, in fact, periods go by where no bids are placed for well over 15 minutes but the house just ends the auction later when it feels like it has squeezed out every last drop? It seems inconceivable to me that a house would indeed end the entire auction at, say, 10:15 PM if, in fact, no bids were placed from 10-10:15 when they know that everyone is expecting the thing to stay open for several more hours.

My Trade/Sale Page

[Archive]

Posted By: Anonymous

Yes.

[Archive]

Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

Rob, that's where you're wrong: O'Keeffe could never own an auction house -- that O'Keeffe hates cards too much.

[Archive]

Posted By: Michael Steele

I prefer the H&S auction style of closing individual lots. For me, I am constantly adjusting funds during a major auction based on being outbid and so hitting the sack before the ending with ceiling bids is difficult.

4:20am EST is really tough during the middle of the week (I live in the CST). REA is on the weekend so a little better but I much prefer lots closing on an individual basis.

[Archive]

Posted By: smtjoy

I placed two ceiling bids and went to bid, lost one and won one under my max bid, very happy and I didnt stay up past 8pm cst.

[Archive]

Posted By: Anonymous

ooppss.
wrong thread.

[Archive]

Posted By: Jim VB

This one is one of my favorites. It's from Lew Lipsett, but I always think of it as if it could have been adapted for Barry also:


"The 10 minute rule will start at 6 P.M., April 16, 2009. The computer system will determine when bidding has stopped and the auction is over. If the auction is not concluded by 9 P.M. a five minute rule will start. If the auction continues to 10 P.M, we have the right to end the auction at any time after 10 P.M."


Basically, he's saying the auction could be over whenever he gets tired of staying up.

[Archive]

Posted By: JimB

Personally, I like that the late closings give the West coasters an advantage. What's wrong with that?
JimB