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Posted By: warshawlaw

Barry wrote: "But you wouldn't dare call Mastro or REA or Leland's in the middle of one of their auctions and ask them if they would sell you a lot outright. Nobody would even have the nerve to do that. So why then is it perfectly acceptable on ebay?" I'd do it except that I know that an auction house won't do it. However, I also know that auction houses do from time to time broker sales between "consignors" and well heeled buyers. It is all about money. If I had something really exceptional that I did not want to auction off publicly, I would consider approaching an auctioneer to broker it if I did not know where to sell it.

Whatever your feelings about auctioneers ending early for whatever reason, if the rules of the auction (ebay) allow for it, there is nothing inherently wrong. It is frustrating as heck but that doesn't make it wrong. Some folks are astounded by what cards are worth and will take a bird in hand, so to speak, over the vagaries of ebay. One of the spurs to auctions ending early, I believe, is that so many buyers use sniping services to place bids. A seller, particularly a novice, might panic and sell to a solid offeror if the official ebay price is nowhere. I usually watch the # of watchers; if there are a lot, I expect many snipes to run up the price, but that does not always happen. If someone offers me a fair price and the actual bids are in the toilet, I might take it and cut my risks.