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Posted By: Joann

Barry,

Maybe the place to start with smaller increments is the point at which the potential loss of the next bid becomes important to the seller. I've never consigned so I don't know, really. And of course, all money is important to the seller.

But I'm thinking that if a card is worth (to the people bidding in that auction which is the market for that card) $125, and the bidding is sitting at $120 with the next bid at $132 it will stop there and the seller has lost $5. He probably won't mind.

But at some point he might mind? Maybe a card is "worth" $1675 and currently sits at $1600, with next bid at $1760. Here, it's more likely to stay at $1600 and the seller is out $75 so maybe he does mind a little more. With a 5% increment the next available bid would be $1680 and he'd probably get it.

So where to start? Maybe where the 5% next bid would be about $50 or so? So at $1000? Then instead of the jump being $100 and the seller potentially losing out on $50 or so, the $1050 bid would be available.

Obviously this is all very individual. To me I think leaving $50 or so on the table would start to irritate. Ohter's would probably not even notice.

Joann