--Oh no!--the one that got away!--
 

These are the ones I remember most, the most painful--
the ones that got away--
I curse myself for weeks or more over these.

Here's my most recent, a 1927 Exhibit Ty Cobb for $77:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1927-Exhibit...vip=true&rt=nc

It was a Sunday night, and my wife and I watched an episode of Downton Abbey. It ran an hour and a quarter instead of the usual hour or less. I wound up minutes late.

I'll never see that card at that price again.

Two weeks later and I'm still in agony.

Misery loves company; show yours
and we can commiserate communally.

Snipe. Very easy.

I don't think the OP started this thread to get advice.

To the OP, I certainly empathize. I don't remember all the ones I've lost (which is a good thing), but there was a beautiful Chance Yellow Portrait that went last Sunday on which I wish I had bid more. Stung for a day, but I'm hopeful one will come around again.

To snipe or not--
 

I do usually snipe for just that reason.

But there are good reasons not to snipe as well:
For one, I love the action of a live auction--
If it's a big bid, it can be downright awesome--
I think it's much more fun to actively bid than snipe.

Sniping can also be time-consuming, particularly in figuring out a maximum bid. And sometimes I just don't have the time.
More often I fall asleep or just forget.

But there is no doubt that sniping is most reliable.
I once nodded out at the switch with three seconds left.

Advice
 

But it was only well meaning advice to avoid future agony. If the snipe falls short at least you know the card was worth more to someone else than yourself. The suggestion does not mean lack of sympathy for the loss. We can all remember such disappointments

Advice or unwanted suggestions can always be ignored by the OP....or anyone else.

To quote Cicero Grimes in "Hombre" . . . "thank you but don't give me no more advice, please." :D

You have no idea if you're up against snipers anyhow, so even with ten seconds to go where the live auction is at is essentially meaningless. Either way you have to figure out what you want to pay, and bid accordingly. For entertainment value, it's just as fun to see if your snipe wins out or not if you are following it. So I still see no reason not to snipe.

Too many to list. I wish I had pulled the trigger on any of a few 51 and 52 mantles I passed on 1-2 years ago.

Same here. I really should have listened to myself and stock piled 52 Topps Mantles. If I'd grabbed ten or so when they were at $3-4,000 a piece I would
have done very well.

My one big regret, for a while, was passing on a 1960 Topps Venezuelan Mantle while I was saving for an engagement ring. I ended up letting a beauty pass me by at a steal of a price. I got the ring, got the wife, and eventually got the card at a little more than five times what the other would have cost.... Such is life. And, like others, that was only one of many (and I have not yet landed the others).

regrets
 

I wish I had ordered more from this catalog when I originally got it

http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/...539/img064.jpg

Hombre---"Hey, I got a question. How are you planning to get back down that hill ?"

T206 Walter johnson hands at chest for $100. At the time I just didn't have the funds.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

t206 Chesbro wetprint
 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI...885&rmvSB=true

I didn't figure on being the underbidder for it, so was kind of surprised it turned out that way. At first, I kicked myself for not setting a slightly higher snipe. Then I realized it probably didn't matter, and that if I'd set a snipe high enough to actually win it, my wife might have popped a gasket.

You can find a nicer numerically graded Chesbro for less money... Seeing as that one is not a scrap .

Just a question as it would resolve any and all of your sniping gripes...have you ever tried a sniping service?

I have used many, but now prefer the one that most of us seem to use. gavelsnipe.com is free and you can just set your max and forget it.

I sometimes set snipes a week out and don't remember till the winner email comes in. :rolleyes:

I've lost snipes before where I was the highest bidder...:(...

I wouldn't worry too much about Happy Jack as I imagine that you would have had to bid a whole lot more than the "sale" price to get it. A 0 feedback bidder won it and the seller has it for sale again as a BIN, so he may have sniped his own card:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1909-T206-Ja...IAAOSwl9BWKmWM

Sniping--2 different methods--
 

Sorry for the confusion:
When I said I often snipe, I meant with a sniping service.

Although I love free [gavelsnipe], I pay [1%] for ezsniper because it waits till the last 1-3 seconds, which makes a big difference.

I forgot that the way I normally bid [99% of the time]--with 4-5 seconds left--is considered sniping as well. Once in awhile, when a card is just below my max, for instance, I might bid earlier. But I think that there is no argument that, if you don't want to be shilled, sniping, one way or the other, is the only way to bid.
That's why I do miss some auctions, because I like to bid in person, and I always wait to the last second.

In this thread, I'm not talking about cards that I underbid on, but cards I forgot/fell asleep on late at night, like that Cobb, where I never made a bid--

Doesn't anyone else ever do that?

PSA 3 T206 Plank for 15k. At the time I had all 4 T206 Cobbs in PSA 6 and I would of had to sell all 4 to have enough funds, just couldnt bring myself to do it..:(

About a year ago i missed out on a babe ruth, the italian version with lloyd, with the splash of color.

The ones I let get away I wished I had back......2 1914 CJ Mattys, 1914 CJ Jackson, 4 1952 topps Mantles 4s and 5s, and probably the most important 2 1915 Sporting News Ruths GAI auth and PSA 4. Sold both for less than $20K.

A few years ago, I wasn't really into cards. I went to a card shop in Indy and they had a T206 Cobb bat off shoulder for $170. It was creased and that was a lot of money for me at the time. I debated and left and went home. I called my dad who lived in Greenwood and told him I wanted that card and asked him to go purchase it for me. Unfortunately, the owner had taken the card with him to a card show that weekend.

The "one" that got away?!

After almost 40 years it's hard to pick one.

Stuff was so cheap then. I wish I'd been able to spend more.
Goudey Ruths vg ish 100
T206 Hofers - 10-20
Topps usa Orr rookie 100
52 Mantles in mid grades under 1000.


And as we've seen from the much older price list, the guys who were into it much earlier are probably having a good chuckle over my list as well they should. :D


Steve B

Ugly card, but would have gladly added it for my set for $10. Was so annoyed I forgot about it. Not sure if I would have gotten it for $15, but would have gone up to that.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Pied...ogZjgDqmdE8_pg

Boy, can I identify with this. I had a snipe set last night, but with 4 minutes to go, I canceled my snipe so that I could save fees. Started typing an email....and forgot :( Item went for $100 and I had a snipe set for $250. You should have heard me whining.

...so I did it again today (killed a snipe and bid by hand), but this time I stared at the clock going down for 4 minutes, then nailed it :)

That's exactly what I'm talking about, Scott.
Over the years, I've gone through that same scenario dozens of times, getting absorbed in something else while waiting for an auction to end, and then forgetting about it.

I used to set my microwave timer, and that worked pretty well.
But we got a new microwave, and the alarm isn't loud enough.
I suppose a cell-phone might have an app for such; I'll have to ask my wife as I use her old hand-me-down phone.
Now that I think of it, I'm wondering if my computer has such a function; that would be best!

Anson,

I think that your miss will work out for you as you'll get a nicer card in the future.
I know that you're collecting the set, and here's a short print that I missed/fell asleep on, that I hope you got:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1911-T205-Pi...vip=true&rt=nc

A few years back REA had a lot of Rose Co postcards and one of the names listed was "Graham". For a half second I thought to myself "Moonlight Graham?" I shrugged it off, however, because I had never heard of him having a single issue much less a Rose PC. More importantly, REA didn't highlight the the particular card with a stand alone scan or mention in the lot writeup. He was just listed as "Graham" in the list of names. I passed and continued perusing the auction. Sure enough in the REA pickup thread, there it was. A Moonlight Graham Rose PC.

Ugh, I did not ... strike two

I just missed out on a T206 Burch Fielding Piedmont 350/460 Factory 42 PSA 2 on EBay because I was being cheap. I dont even know why I sniped so low.

About a year ago, Jim Stinson put up a large lot of signed 53 Topps, including several tough ones. At the time, I didn't know him from Sam Hill, so my thought process was 'eBay auction + tough autographs - TPA certs (I know, I know) = probable fake'. If you go out to the sidewalk near my house, I think you can still see the indent I made from head banging there after I found out that he is very reputable. A bunch of them went for less than I would've paid. :rolleyes: