Why are auctions so popular?

4815162342 · #1 01-14-2015, 07:16 AM

Why auctions? Because, stuff.

barrysloate · #2 01-14-2015, 07:27 AM

Please understand I'm not saying that auction houses shouldn't exist. There are occasional bargains to be had, and there often are amazingly rare items that can't be found anywhere else.

There just appears to be so many auctions, more even than the market can support (I have to assume they aren't all profitable). But so many dealers who has retail businesses gave them up to start auction houses. I think a good retail business could be really successful. If I ask a dollar and you agree to pay a dollar, we can't shill it up from there. It's a clean transaction.

It just seems to me that bidders would be pretty fed up with all the crap that goes on and would be looking to buy cards in a different manner.

sportscardtheory · #3 01-14-2015, 07:36 AM

It's a near-guaranteed sale. That's why people use it. They may not want/like to sit and wait for weeks/months/years, they want the sale/money ASAP. Plain and simple.

1952boyntoncollector · #4 01-14-2015, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barrysloate

Please understand I'm not saying that auction houses shouldn't exist. There are occasional bargains to be had, and there often are amazingly rare items that can't be found anywhere else.

There just appears to be so many auctions, more even than the market can support (I have to assume they aren't all profitable). But so many dealers who has retail businesses gave them up to start auction houses. I think a good retail business could be really successful. If I ask a dollar and you agree to pay a dollar, we can't shill it up from there. It's a clean transaction.

It just seems to me that bidders would be pretty fed up with all the crap that goes on and would be looking to buy cards in a different manner.

You would be surprised how hard it is to do person to person sales on decent value cards. The buyer all of the sudden has bills to pay and cant pay..lots of headaches that can be avoided with an auction house.....I have had it occur on more than one occasion when a buyer tells me he cant pay a certain price then I see the same buyer bid higher on my item when its listed on ebay a few days later....even winning the item where now the buyer pays more than I asked off ebay and I net less after fees....

I also keep hearing how everyone saying prices are real high on auctions....you forget all the people on net54 that have complained their cards have sold less than market or 'cheap' at auction houses...it cant go both ways.

Leon · #5 01-14-2015, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barrysloate

Please understand I'm not saying that auction houses shouldn't exist. There are occasional bargains to be had, and there often are amazingly rare items that can't be found anywhere else.

There just appears to be so many auctions, more even than the market can support (I have to assume they aren't all profitable). But so many dealers who has retail businesses gave them up to start auction houses. I think a good retail business could be really successful. If I ask a dollar and you agree to pay a dollar, we can't shill it up from there. It's a clean transaction.

It just seems to me that bidders would be pretty fed up with all the crap that goes on and would be looking to buy cards in a different manner.

I made a good 4 figure deal with a good friend of yours yesterday Barry. He reads the board but has never posted. We emailed back and forth and I eventually sent it to him on approval. He got it and loves it. It's just not so easy to make individual sales anymore as most people want a steal and a direct sale might not be the steal they hoped for. As for our bargaining, I was asking one price, he wanted another, we met in the middle and both are happy.

ALR-bishop · #6 01-14-2015, 07:58 AM

If I was a seller , it would be to get the most possible for my item .

As a buyer it is because the stuff I still seek ( mostly unissued Topps test set items) only come up in such venues ( because sellers want to maximize their prices).

mark evans · #7 01-14-2015, 08:24 AM

I think one reason auctions are popular is because the alternative, direct sale, permits the seller to seek far more for the item than its fair market value. Just take a look at eBay now that it is predominated by BINs. The amounts sought by sellers typically far exceed VCP values. Auctions, with all their flaws, at least hold out the prospect of a buyer paying fair market value.

Of course, once a person 'overpays' via direct sale, he's then stuck with the item as he is unlikely to recoup his investment except by a similar direct sale.

GregMitch34 · #8 01-14-2015, 08:43 AM

i've never understood the complaints about buyer's fees. I presume everyone always factors that into the bidding--and the items usually sell for less than they would at eBay because of that--until fee is added. In other words, the same card might go for 420 at eBay but at an auction it would go for 350 plus 70 for the fee. Same difference. And VCP and others always include the buyer's fee in the price that card got. So again: 420 either way. If I see a card that seems to be worth about 420 I might set 350 as the limit--and know most others will do the same.

Generally.

Auctions also can appeal because you sometimes gets a dozen cards from the same issue that you may be interested in and can bid on them all, to a point, and jump from one to another, which you can't do in one-shot purchase.

barrysloate · #9 01-14-2015, 09:21 AM

I appreciate all the responses and see that by an overwhelming margin everyone likes auctions despite all the problems involved. I know there is still the feeling that auction allows the bidder to go as high as he wants, and that is good. It's just that rarely a day goes by without a discussion about shilling, so I wanted to see if collectors are burned out by the whole process. Apparently not, as auctions seem to still be the favorite way for buyers and sellers to conduct business.

ullmandds · #10 01-14-2015, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barrysloate

I appreciate all the responses and see that by an overwhelming margin everyone likes auctions despite all the problems involved. I know there is still the feeling that auction allows the bidder to go as high as he wants, and that is good. It's just that rarely a day goes by without a discussion about shilling, so I wanted to see if collectors are burned out by the whole process. Apparently not, as auctions seem to still be the favorite way for buyers and sellers to conduct business.

Some of us are burned out/getting burned out by the process!!!!

kamikidEFFL · #11 01-14-2015, 10:27 AM

Looks like everyone has their own opinion on auction houses. Love these type of topics

bnorth · #12 01-14-2015, 09:23 AM

I would guess auctions are popular because there isn't any other option for most. B/M card shops are almost nonexistent because with their overhead. They can't compete with the person who still lives in their Moms basement selling cards on eBay or internet forums.

I think all the auction houses popping up is for a similar reason. There is a lot less overhead running an auction house than a B/M card shop. B/M stores have rent, heat, lights, payroll, ect, ect. and no way to know if anything will be sold. An auction house has no $ in the inventory and they get a % of what is sold no matter if it is for profit or loss to the owner. They also know exactly what and when it will be sold.

jbsports33 · #13 01-14-2015, 09:40 AM

I have seen a change in online auctions, and there always seems to be a problem – which is why I slowed down the amount I post on eBay and stopped sending large amounts of items to larger auction companies. It can be very hard to trust anyone, but you need to in order to move forward with your goals as a collector or a dealer. That is why this site gives others more options to buy and sell from each other, much like a show, and I feel it works great. Online and in person auctions are getting too competitive and most of the time I just sit and watch. I try to bid at times, but it can get frustrating

Over the last 5 years or so I have taken it very slow and even wanted to start my own yearly auction, but currently happy with a few eBay auctions here and there, buying when I can and at some point open my webstore - always good to hear from you Barry

I miss your auctions - you always did a good job!

Jimmy

T206Collector · #14 01-14-2015, 10:15 AM

There is a perception that if you buy a card at an asking price that you must have overpaid for it. When you buy at auction, you are (shilling aside) buying the item at a nominal increment above the next highest bidder. It is a closer approximation of true market value at that moment in time and under those circumstances. That is why auction values are most useful in determining markets (VCP, card target, etc.), and why triggered BINs only tell you what one person was willing to pay at a certain point in time.

I recently had a guy try to sell me a card I valued at $50 for $250 because that was what he paid for it in a private sale. That $250 is an irrelevant number unless there was someone also willing to pay $240 for it. You'd like to know there may be other potential buyers out there for your card than the seller himself, who is getting out of the market on that card.

I assume this phenomenon would hold true for all scarce collectibles, where markets can more easily be determined at auction than in private sales. The rise in small auction houses exists in response to the decline of eBay as a global auction house.

dgo71 · #15 01-15-2015, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bnorth

I would guess auctions are popular because there isn't any other option for most. B/M card shops are almost nonexistent because with their overhead. They can't compete with the person who still lives in their Moms basement selling cards on eBay or internet forums.

I think that's key. Buyers eventually have to follow the sellers, and more sellers are going this route to maximize their profits. Why pay to set up at a card show and hope I can sell at my asking price when I can post in an auction, and not only sell more items with far less overhead, but also reach an infinitely greater customer base. The fact that the sellers started trending towards auctions made it inevitable that buyers would have to follow suit.

Additionally, and I know this has been proven false on many occassions right here on this site, to most collectors there is a perceived sense of authenticity coming from an auction house. I'm sure the casual collector or even one who is more advanced but lacks a resource such as this forum may have no questions about an item purchased through a major AH, but have doubts about the same item sold by some stranger set up at a card show. Really nothing logical to that line of thought but it seems to be the case.

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