Shillers, Shenanigans & Shibboleths - The Elusive Underbidder

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

Wisely you review recent auction data to see what you might ask for the card. You find a recent auction with a price that surprises you on the "high" side. You surmise that if some one paid that much for the card, there must be an underbidder out there that would happily pay almost that much. If that underbidder sees your listing, then both you and he would consummate a successful deal, a true win-win.

So you set your price below the recent auction sale in hopes that the underbidder appears as your buyer. Days pass with nary a whisper regarding your listing. You may even be maligned by some for your "museum" pricing. But is this fair. You have done your homework. Somewhere out there someone out there bought the same card for more and another also wanted it, yet your sought underbidder remains elusive.

Hello Frank,
This is the smoke and mirrors effect I see time after time in the hobby that sometimes defies a conclusive or rational explanation. It would be easy to assume the high price point was the result of nefarious bidding however I think sometimes, it is as innocent as a collector, or two (because it takes two to tango), getting caught up in the moment.

I do consult recent sales before I decide to sell something and it now requires effort and reasoning to be able to interpret the data provided because so many factors can influence the final price. Maybe it was a very high end example and someone thought they could get a grade bump. Maybe the card had exceptional centering as we know the hobby loves centered card. Maybe this was the first time in a couple years this card was sold and sadly maybe it just was someone tinkering with the sale's process.

Just my thoughts...

Chase

[Leon]

I agree with this. There is likely more than one explanation for someone buying a card at a higher price than one sold or listed. I remember when selling some of my items in auction, I had left one of them on my for sale website by accident. It sold in auction for more than I had it listed for on my site. The winner in auction asked if he could have it at my site price (*you know who you are ) and I had to say "no".

Originally Posted by Lorewalker

Hello Frank,
This is the smoke and mirrors effect I see time after time in the hobby that sometimes defies a conclusive or rational explanation. It would be easy to assume the high price point was the result of nefarious bidding however I think sometimes, it is as innocent as a collector, or two (because it takes two to tango), getting caught up in the moment.

I do consult recent sales before I decide to sell something and it now requires effort and reasoning to be able to interpret the data provided because so many factors can influence the final price. Maybe it was a very high end example and someone thought they could get a grade bump. Maybe the card had exceptional centering as we know the hobby loves centered card. Maybe this was the first time in a couple years this card was sold and sadly maybe it just was someone tinkering with the sale's process.

Just my thoughts...

Chase

[pbspelly]

I think psychology and bidders getting caught up in the moment has a lot to do with it. I used to sell old restored telephones on eBay. So-called "Lucy" phones from the 1940s, mostly. I would usually only put one or two up for sale per week, even if I had more than that in stock to sell, because if I put more than two at a time, the ending auction price for each one was lower. So a number of times, after a phone had sold to a high bidder, I would contact one or more of the underbidders and offer them another phone I had in stock. Same exact phone, sometimes nicer than the one they had just bid several times on. No one ever took me up on it. Not once.

[commishbob]

I don't know the answer but I'm impressed that you could work "Shibboleths" into a Net54 thread. :::captip:::

[Leon]

You can probably add alcohol as an ancillary explanation.

Originally Posted by pbspelly

I think psychology and bidders getting caught up in the moment has a lot to do with it. I used to sell old restored telephones on eBay. So-called "Lucy" phones from the 1940s, mostly. I would usually only put one or two up for sale per week, even if I had more than that in stock to sell, because if I put more than two at a time, the ending auction price for each one was lower. So a number of times, after a phone had sold to a high bidder, I would contact one or more of the underbidders and offer them another phone I had in stock. Same exact phone, sometimes nicer than the one they had just bid several times on. No one ever took me up on it. Not once.

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by Leon

You can probably add alcohol as an ancillary explanation.

I suppose alcohol could be considered a shenanigan or a collector’s shibboleth.

Cheers!!!