Better Bidding Practice on Huggins & Scott Auction

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Posted By: barrysloate

Well, since I last posted I've gotten three or four different opinions of what will work best, and I can only choose one of them. Let me think about this, speak to my software designer, and make a decision. Making a major change in the software may not be possible, I don't know. But I really do appreciate the feedback.

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Posted By: JimCrandell

Matt,

I don't think so. He says he is less likely to bid if it takes another 10% to do it.

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Posted By: Matt

exactly! How is he being less likely to bid a good thing? Presumably he as a bidder, wants to bid more, and would if it was 5% and the auction house certainly would want to encourage another bid in that scenario, so I don't understand how you are using that argument to support the current 10% system?

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Posted By: JimCrandell

Matt,

If I am bidding against him for an item and he is less likely to bid I win the item. I thus see 10% increments as benefitting me.

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Posted By: Matt

Jim - LOL. I see where you're coming from now and I'm 99.99% sure that boxingcarman was not coming from that angle. The issue here is not what will get you as a bidder more wins, since it's impossible to create a set of rules that would cause that result, since those rules would apply to everyone equally, and everyone can't possibly win more auctions if the number of auctions stays the same.

The discussion here, is what makes for a better auction experience and the argument is that if more people can get in bids closer to the final price, it's a better auction experience, and it may even benefit the consignors because it will keep more people "in" the auction.

Arguing 5% or 10% helps you personally win auctions can't make sense because it must also help the other bidders and thereby hurts you as much as it hepls you; the scenario you were discussing could just as equally have the tables turned and you be the underbidder who doesn't want to make the 10% leap.

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Posted By: JimCrandell

Matt,

A "better auction experience" is defined by me as how many items of those that I bid on did I win.

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Posted By: Matt

Jim - again, it would be impossible to create a levels set of rules that would cause you to win more auctions. Those rules apply to everyone and give everyone the same opportunity. How could everyone win more auctions with the number of auctions staying the same?

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Posted By: Red

When deep pocket bidders go after a card they want they're going to continue to increase the bid to pretty much any level it takes to win. So if a full 10% increment discourages the normal guy from bidding then the deep pocket guy will save money by not having to top the bid again.

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Posted By: barrysloate

If I had to guess I would say that 5%-10% wouldn't make any difference during the middle of the auction when most bidders are still just getting in their qualifying bids.

I think it will have an effect in the end, when a lot is getting expensive and a bidder has to make a decision whether or not to throw in one last bid or drop out.

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Posted By: Joann

Adam - I'm not sure I agree that the 10% increments raise prices realized overall for certain. Some cards may go for higher than value (b/c the next 10% overshot the value and someone bid it anyways), but some cards would also go for slightly less than value. If the most recent bid is just under and the next available bid is too high, many cards would sit at that lower value.

It would be very interesting to know what the actual split is. We can say that anything that has two aggressive bidders will be high. I would imagine that anything unique and rare might be high too - there is more likely to be two "gotta have it" bidders, and with no real way of knowing value they will bid until they can't anymore.

But for many "commodity" cards - mainstream set commons and HOF'ers even in high grades where there is at least some sense of proper value among bidders - there may in these cases be more of a chance that the bidding would stop at the last increment short of the value.

So the aggregate change in realized values for a large auction may stay the same, go up or decrease. (Wow. I am ON today aren't I? haha) It would depend on the extent to which the high-dollar "overs" for rare cards exceeded the "under" bids on the more mainstream items.

Interesting topic either way.

Joann

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Posted By: JimCrandell

Matt,

Everyone would not win. The guys who are the most price sensitive buyers would win less with 10% increments.