Is snipe bidding killing the hobby?

[bobfreedman]

Originally Posted by murphusa

A spalding first basement trophy went for $5770 today. The price rose $2770 in the last 2 seconds

I was the direct underbidder and was shocked to lose it by that big of another snipe.

[vintagesportscollector]

Originally Posted by bobfreedman

I was the direct underbidder and was shocked to lose it by that big of another snipe.

Bob, Mark made an interesting point that the trophy may have climbed higher if sniping wasn't an option. Would you have gone higher if you were outbid earlier?

[bobfreedman]

Originally Posted by vintagesportscollector

Bob, Mark made an interesting point that the trophy may have climbed higher if sniping wasn't an option. Would you have gone higher if you were outbid earlier?

Possibly, had I been in a bidding war at night, common sense may have prevailed and I not go that high. In retrospect, I am glad I did not win and pay that much for a trophy that generally sells in the $3500 range. This may have been the case where snipes actually helped an auction out?

Sniping is just another method of bidding strategy. Sometimes you win and the price is good for the buyer and bad for the seller and sometimes vice versa. I do not think sniping is bad for the hobby as prices and bidding always find there market value generally speaking.

Personally I believe nothing is killing the hobby. I have seen prices do nothing but rise across the board. Photos? Ad Pieces? Pennants? You name it, quality stuff always will be in demand. Just my two cents

[drcy]

It could say that many things are wrecking eBay, but not the hobby itself. Though eBay used to be a major venue.

[cfhofer]

Just depends on if you think eBay is/was vital to our hobby. 10-15 years ago the pieces that were coming up for auction on eBay was simply amazing. EBay made our hobby accessible to everyone, even the non-collector. People who didn't have a clue about sports memorabilia were listing items daily. Collectors didn't need to look elsewhere for quality pieces. I think we can all agree those golden days are gone.

EBay is now a huge dumping ground, with a rare diamond in a sea of turds. With 98% of sports memorabilia listed at a fixed price eBay's auctions (and snipe bids) have become irrelevant to the hobby. Either the pieces have dried up (which seems the majority opinion here) or sellers have just abandoned eBay auctions (my hopeful opinion).

[1952boyntoncollector]

well I don't think its good for the people who 'didn't have a clue' were selling in the old days...sounds like they were getting a raw deal...if it means now that the sellers now are getting fair prices I don't think its bad that sellers aren't getting ripped off....and im a buyer mostly..

[vintagesportscollector]

Originally Posted by cfhofer

Just depends on if you think eBay is/was vital to our hobby. 10-15 years ago the pieces that were coming up for auction on eBay was simply amazing. EBay made our hobby accessible to everyone, even the non-collector. People who didn't have a clue about sports memorabilia were listing items daily. Collectors didn't need to look elsewhere for quality pieces. I think we can all agree those golden days are gone.

EBay is now a huge dumping ground, with a rare diamond in a sea of turds. With 98% of sports memorabilia listed at a fixed price eBay's auctions (and snipe bids) have become irrelevant to the hobby. Either the pieces have dried up (which seems the majority opinion here) or sellers have just abandoned eBay auctions (my hopeful opinion).

Not sure what your agenda is, but you seem to have a lot of hatred toward ebay - albeit much of it I agree is justified. You make good points, but for me ebay auctions are far from being irrelevant to my hobby/collection. It certainly is harder to search and find items, and requires more patience, but I am still purchasing many items on eBay through auctions. Maybe not all gems, and mostly smalls, but still adding valued items to my collection. It seems many people on here are continuously posting some quality items that they picked up on eBay. Golden Days gone? Yes. Irrelevant to the hobby? No, not in my opinion, at least for my hobby.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by vintagesportscollector

Not sure what your agenda is, but you seem to have a lot of hatred toward ebay - albeit much of it I agree is justified. You make good points, but for me ebay auctions are far from being irrelevant to my hobby/collection. It certainly is harder to search and find items, and requires more patience, but I am still purchasing many items on eBay through auctions. Maybe not all gems, and mostly smalls, but still adding valued items to my collection. It seems many people on here are continuously posting some quality items that they picked up on eBay. Golden Days gone? Yes. Irrelevant to the hobby? No, not in my opinion, at least for my hobby.

plus how many people here on B/S/T who are pretty knowledgeable collectors with nice wares inevitably say 'sent to ebay' and post the link........seems like good as ever..

[ooo-ribay]

Originally Posted by cfhofer

Just depends on if you think eBay is/was vital to our hobby. 10-15 years ago the pieces that were coming up for auction on eBay was simply amazing. EBay made our hobby accessible to everyone, even the non-collector. People who didn't have a clue about sports memorabilia were listing items daily. Collectors didn't need to look elsewhere for quality pieces. I think we can all agree those golden days are gone.

EBay is now a huge dumping ground, with a rare diamond in a sea of turds. With 98% of sports memorabilia listed at a fixed price eBay's auctions (and snipe bids) have become irrelevant to the hobby. Either the pieces have dried up (which seems the majority opinion here) or sellers have just abandoned eBay auctions (my hopeful opinion).

I don't know about "irrelevant" but I basically agree. Problem is, the auction houses rarely have what I'm after either. I don't want pre-war but I do want quality, last half 20th century.