REA is open

[RCMcKenzie]

I'm not complaining. I got some good deals on some neat stuff. I would have spent more money had it gone on till 2 AM. C'est la vie.

[t206fanatic]

Originally Posted by RCMcKenzie

I'm not complaining. I got some good deals on some neat stuff. I would have spent more money had it gone on till 2 AM. C'est la vie.

think I would have spent more as well, but the extra sleep was nice.

[ruth-gehrig]

The Midwest Warehouse consigner of 17 lots is probably waking up on a high note. $50,000 plus BP on a box of Mickey Mouse Gum

[packs]

Marquard signed T206 only went for $1,200. Ouch. Guess that market will need a long time to recover.

[Rhotchkiss]

Great auction (hate the hard stop, all lots at midnight, ebay-style auction though - see below).

Aside from the D303 Lajoie, I got totally blown out. The E107 Lajoie went for crazy money and I finally backed off the T206 Willetts Brown Lenox once it pushed past $16k. Crazy prices on these. I also thought may of the rare-back T206s did well, especially the Wajo and Young Hindus, and the Speaker BL 350. I would have bid on several of these and others, but the hard stop at midnight scared me and I just backed off everything.

In my opinion, the steal of the auction was the E107 Plank for under $10k.

All-in-all, I expect consignors are happy.

On a different note, I have grown to very much dislike the every lot closing at midnight thing. Its basically like Ebay now. I had no idea how much I would be in for, or how much of my max bids would be used, so it was very difficult to estimate the parameters of my potential liability. As a result, i just gave up. I strongly prefer the close at 3am or the lot-by-lot closing. Having an Ebay-type closing in an auction of this size and magnitude is really tough in my opinion.

[CuriousGeorge]

It would make far more sense for Brian to close all of the lots that haven’t had a bid on them for say 15 minutes at midinight and then leave the rest, maybe 5% or so, to operate on even a 5 minute rule. This way the consignor gets more for their items and you get to walk away when the price gets too high for you rather than getting sniped with seconds left. Everyone would benefit and then you’re not left with a queasy feeling at midnight when it should be a happy moment for you.

[ullmandds]

wonder what the reserve was on that e121 ruth that didn't sell...someone's greedy!!!!

[CuriousGeorge]

And I agree with you Ryan on the E107’s. I have no idea why the Lajoie went so crazy and the Plank was so cheap that I considered buying a second one. I took the Waddell instead.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Not directed at Ryan, but after countless discussions it's abundantly clear that no matter what closing format is used, there are going to be people who dislike it.

[benjulmag]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Not directed at Ryan, but after countless discussions it's abundantly clear that no matter what closing format is used, there are going to be people who dislike it.

So true.

With the sharp midnight closing, there likely was money left on the table. On one of the lots I was bidding on, after I was topped at the 11:59 (and therefore faced with the reality, not the hypothetical, of being topped), I tried to get in one more bid, but lost out by two or three seconds.

There have been countless discussions how to have the best of all worlds -- to get maximum dollar for the consignor yet at the same time allow bidders to keep bidding on ALL their lots until the entire the auction closes, yet to do it in a way where one can get to sleep at a reasonable hour.

I've often wondered why the following method hasn't been tried (unless the software doesn't exist):

1. Start extended bidding at the earliest reasonable hour (REA's is 6 pm, which is earlier than other AHs do);
2. With each succeeding constant time interval, say, one hour, to reduce the period after which if a bid is not received, the auction closes. So if the time interval is 15 minutes at the start of extended bidding, to reduce it by, say, 3 minutes every hour. Then, when it is down to 3 minutes, to reduce it by one minute each hour. When the interval has been reduced to one minute, all remaining bidders will need to be glued to their computers/devices as if the bidding is live, and I suspect the auction will end very quickly.
3. Accompanying this would a redesign of the list of a bidder's items so as to always show on the top and in a different font/color those items that have been topped. This will address the difficulty that bidders who are watching many lots have in noticing which lots have been topped, a concern especially relevant as the bidding interval gets down to one minute.

Needles to say, there are an infinite number of ways to implement the above concept in terms of when extended bidding begins, time period after which bidding intervals decreases, how much to decrease the interval, etc. But my point is that while there may never be a closing method that satisfies all, I'm not persuaded the hobby has yet to hit the ideal method.

[JoeRand]

Agree. I was on it and then bailed at the very end because I already have several autos from the Great Pittsburgh Find. The legit ones out there are still undervalued but real pieces of history.

[Snapolit1]

Many significant bids on memorabilia in both REA and Heritage. But was passed in the last furlong in REA on some nice stuff and was fast asleep for hours when my Heritage stuff closed. Oh well. A complete shut out. Maybe time to get the roof repaired instead.

No business in the world where people stand in line with a fistful of thousands of dollars but have to stay up past their bed time for an opportunity to hand it to you. I should have sold my house by having a line around the block in the middle of the night. Probably would have worked like magic.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Hard too to imagine another business (I am probably wrong) where a bunch of dirtbag lowlifes hold such sway over otherwise highly successful and sophisticated people.

[bobfreedman]

I believe the best closing method is Love of the Game's where if a lot gets a bid in the first extended period (about 10% of the items), it will then go into the second overtime period thereby eliminating the need for most people to stay up as 85% - 95% of the lots will close in the first extended period. Simple but effective

[Rhotchkiss]

Originally Posted by bobfreedman

I believe the best closing method is Love of the Game's where if a lot gets a bid in the first extended period (about 10% of the items), it will then go into the second overtime period thereby eliminating the need for most people to stay up as 85% - 95% of the lots will close in the first extended period. Simple but effective

I agree. I like LOTG's closing system a lot. Then again, their is not much not to like about LOTG

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Hard too to imagine another business (I am probably wrong) where a bunch of dirtbag lowlifes hold such sway over otherwise highly successful and sophisticated people.

Ah, prob true in all high end collecting. I see those high end car auctions on TV. I’d be amazed if the same types of chicanery don’t go on there. Ditto coins, stamps and many other things.

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Hard too to imagine another business (I am probably wrong) where a bunch of dirtbag lowlifes hold such sway over otherwise highly successful and sophisticated people.

Is this your way of saying you were shut out again?

[HawkFan70]

I got sniped at the end of my one remaining card. I slowly lost all 5 that I had at the beginning of the extended session. Oh well, I guess I need to be a little more aggressive.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by calvindog

Is this your way of saying you were shut out again?

LOL no my post had nothing to do with REA.