Closing Tonight: Love of the Game Auctions

[Al C.risafulli]

Hi everyone:

Just a reminder that the LOTG auction closes tonight, with extended bidding beginning at 9pm eastern time.

This has been a fun auction, the Fifth Anniversary auction for LOTG. There are still some excellent pieces that are undervalued, so I thought I'd bring a few to your attention:

Lot 1: Lou Gehrig Rookie, SGC EX 60 - just four graded higher

Lot 3: Philadelphia Athletics Team Ledger & Player Records (the coolest thing I've ever sold, if you're not a bidder, please at least look at it before it's gone!)

Lot #7: 1938 Goudey #274 Joe DiMaggio, SGC NM-MT 88

Lot #30: 1917 Honus Wagner Day Pinback Button

Lot 73: Gorgeous group of nine HOF Type 1 rookie and pre-rookie photos

Lot 79: 1950s Lou Darvas "Baseball Record Holders" Original Art

Of course there are lots of great prewar cards and autographs featured throughout the auction as well.

Have a look, and good luck bidding!

-Al

[CW]

Good luck, everyone!

[philliesphan]

Great auction, Al-

I'm pleased as both a bidder and a consignor (realize it's still open for a small while longer).

How I loved those two Old Judges - the images on them were startling with their contrast.

Awesome auction overall. Yet again!

[barrysloate]

Still going at 6:30. Breakfast with Al. I hope everybody got at least some sleep.

Closed as I was typing. Whew!

[tennisguy]

No sleep here; but happy with a win on the one item I wanted! Incredible auction; well done and congrats Al!

[obcmac]

As a southworth collector and relative, the southworth cabinet is my new favorite piece.

https://loveofthegameauctions.com/mo...entoryid=13489

Thanks to Al for offering up another great auction.

Mac

[Bliggity]

I woke up at 5am to see I had been skunked out of the T216s at Memory Lane, so I raised my bids and won the E101 Crawford and E101 Young at LOTG. Two good additions to my E92-family collection. Great auction as always.

[pawpawdiv9]

I raised my 1 and only bid (since outbidded) before dinner and SLEPT!!!!
It held up!!! No takers all night.

[Snapolit1]

Seemed like strong prices. Strong prices for photos across all auctions.

[Leon]

I think we all love Al (hey Al). I love him as much as the next guy, in a brotherly way of course. That said I hope there is a way to find a better way to close in the future. It was a great auction. I won some items and consign and will continue all of the above. But when a strategy is to either stay awake for 24 hours or set your alarm clock to get up at the closing, it would seem a better way to end can be had. We love ya' Al. I will continue bidding, consigning, hanging out with you....inviting you to my house, but please, from the bottom of my collector/dealer/investor heart, find a different way to close. Great auction, can't wait for the next one!!

.

[wolf441]

Originally Posted by Leon

I think we all love Al (hey Al). I love him as much as the next guy, in a brotherly way of course. That said I hope there is a way to find a better way to close in the future. It was a great auction. I won some items and consign and will continue all of the above. But when a strategy is to either stay awake for 24 hours or set your alarm clock to get up at the closing, it would seem a better way to end can be had. We love ya' Al. I will continue bidding, consigning, hanging out with you....inviting you to my house, but please, from the bottom of my collector/dealer/investor heart, find a different way to close. Great auction, can't wait for the next one!!

.

+1. A sign that an auction is running too long is when you wake up at 4:30 AM to go to the bathroom and are still the high bidder and then get up at 8:00 AM to find that you've been outbid at some point before the close!

and with that said, I also agree that Al is a great guy!!

[philliesphan]

Well - as a collector based in London, I very much appreciate all auctions that go past 1 a.m. EST, because I sleep like a baby, and deal with bids when I wake up in the morning.

Some of the other auction formats force me in that "stay up all night" or just don't bid category, and many a times I've went to bed and woke up a loser. (Well - every day for that matter, but I digress)

[Peter_Spaeth]

It seems unnecessary and, frankly, obnoxious, to me. And that of course applies to all auctions with this I'll end it when I feel like it at some ungodly hour format. I cannot believe any significant additional revenue for consignors is generated by this model as opposed to either a fixed ending time which forces guys to bid, or a Heritage-style ending where most lots are over early.

[Topnotchsy]

Originally Posted by obcmac

As a southworth collector and relative, the southworth cabinet is my new favorite piece.

https://loveofthegameauctions.com/mo...entoryid=13489

Thanks to Al for offering up another great auction.

Mac

I've been reading about Southworth and his son in "The Game Must Go On." Tons of respect for them, and really powerful story.

[botn]

Doubt we will all agree on the best closing method however Heritage, who I think we can all agree is #1, has a great system. Heritage gets top dollar and their consignors seem to be happy. I agree that leaving the auction open endlessly like this is pretty silly.

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by obcmac

As a southworth collector and relative, the southworth cabinet is my new favorite piece.

https://loveofthegameauctions.com/mo...entoryid=13489

Thanks to Al for offering up another great auction.

Mac

Hi Mac, do you happen to know how long Billy lived in Nebraska before he moved to Ohio? I know that Harvard, Nebraska claims him.

[mechanicalman]

Originally Posted by Leon

I think we all love Al (hey Al). I love him as much as the next guy, in a brotherly way of course. That said I hope there is a way to find a better way to close in the future. It was a great auction. I won some items and consign and will continue all of the above. But when a strategy is to either stay awake for 24 hours or set your alarm clock to get up at the closing, it would seem a better way to end can be had. We love ya' Al. I will continue bidding, consigning, hanging out with you....inviting you to my house, but please, from the bottom of my collector/dealer/investor heart, find a different way to close. Great auction, can't wait for the next one!!

.

This is well stated, and I would "+1" it, but the only difference is that I've made it a personal policy to not consign to AHs that use this asinine closing system. I understand that LOTG's reputation is second to none, but with so many options, I feel my business should go to AHs that are more "bidder-friendly." I realize I'm just one dude, so who really cares, though I can't be alone in the sentiment.

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by mechanicalman

This is well stated, and I would "+1" it, but the only difference is that I've made it a personal policy to not consign to AHs that use this asinine closing system. I understand that LOTG's reputation is second to none, but with so many options, I feel my business should go to AHs that are more "bidder-friendly." I realize I'm just one dude, so who really cares, though I can't be alone in the sentiment.

The entire premise of this closing method, as far as I can discern, is just dumb. The idea is a bidder has a sum of money in play in the auction and, if he gets outbid at 4 am, will suddenly spring into action and deploy that money on other items he is qualified to bid on in the after hours session. Seems ludicrous for a number of reasons. First of all, many people like me go to bed and aren't paying attention to anything at 4 or 5 am other than badly needed sleep. Second, even though I bid early on items doesn't mean I still want them two weeks later. Third, closing eBay style on a sat night is a good way of having a frenzied close of bidding and catching people who will pay a premium to wrap it up and get certainty. Maybe people who just knocked off a few glasses of wine. It just makes so little sense. And if any sense. 15 minute rule per lot is simple enough.

[RedsFan1941]

the premise is not ludicrous

[Stonepony]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

The entire premise of this closing method, as far as I can discern, is just dumb. The idea is a bidder has a sum of money in play in the auction and, if he gets outbid at 4 am, will suddenly spring into action and deploy that money on other items he is qualified to bid on in the after hours session. Seems ludicrous for a number of reasons. First of all, many people like me go to bed and aren't paying attention to anything at 4 or 5 am other than badly needed sleep. Second, even though I bid early on items doesn't mean I still want them two weeks later. Third, closing eBay style on a sat night is a good way of having a frenzied close of bidding and catching people who will pay a premium to wrap it up and get certainty. Maybe people who just knocked off a few glasses of wine. It just makes so little sense. And if any sense. 15 minute rule per lot is simple enough.

Bliggety won 2 cards due to this " dumb" closing

[Gradedcardman]

Start your own auction house and set the rules to appeal to everyone. Good luck with that. It is what it is, don't like it then move on to Heritage only, BST here or ebay. So much whining lately.

[Bliggity]

Originally Posted by Stonepony

Bliggety won 2 cards due to this " dumb" closing

If I didn't always have to get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I'd lose a lot more auctions

[mantlefan]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

It seems unnecessary and, frankly, obnoxious, to me. And that of course applies to all auctions with this I'll end it when I feel like it at some ungodly hour format. I cannot believe any significant additional revenue for consignors is generated by this model as opposed to either a fixed ending time which forces guys to bid, or a Heritage-style ending where most lots are over early.

Peter speaks the truth!

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Stonepony

Bliggety won 2 cards due to this " dumb" closing

And if the rules were different he might have adjusted his strategy accordingly and still won. And by your logic, maybe Al should have run it until 10AM today to pick up more guys who woke up later than Dan only to find they were shut out of Memory Lane. In fact, why ever end it, there always could be one more bid.

[Stonepony]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

And if the rules were different he might have adjusted his strategy accordingly and still won. And by your logic, maybe Al should have run it until 10AM today to pick up more guys who woke up later than Dan only to find they were shut out of Memory Lane. In fact, why ever end it, there always could be one more bid.

I was just stating a fact, logical or not.

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by Stonepony

Bliggety won 2 cards due to this " dumb" closing

I won something too. That doesn't make the closing time any less ridiculous.

[BeanTown]

Makes to much sense to have all the bidders at their computer with a firm time of when the 15or 20 minute clock will start on each lot. Having all active bidders ready and logged in should create bidding wars. Yes HA, Huggins and Scott, Brockleman, and even Hunt have figured this out with closing lots individually.

Nothing like giving an advantage to West Coast collectors. Hope everyone uses the optional text messaging for when you are outbid. Nothing like getting woke up at 4 or 5 AM saying you've been outbid.

[Snapolit1]

I know the AH response is always "put in a max bid and you have nothing to worry about". But I'm generally not happy putting in max bids. Many times they have worked out fine, but I don't love putting a marker down that I will pay hundreds or even thousands more that the then winning bid. Not saying anyone isn't honest but, well, there are people in this business I don't trust as far as I can throw them. Not Al C. who a fair player and an excellent all around dude.

[prewarsports]

Not a plug in any way whatsoever, but when we first started RMY Auctions we had the traditional closing times as others, letting the 15 minute rule end the auction. Our first auction went to 6:30 am the next morning and I knew something had to change as it was just crazy. I like my sleep as much as the next guy and we started the 15 minute rule with a hard closing time if it goes to that point and could not be happier. Extended bidding still runs for around 6 hours to thin the herd but you know exactly when the auction will close and everyone gets some sleep. I was worried when we first started doing it that somehow we would regret it, but for us it has been a win-win for everyone involved. Just my 2 cents as I also hate the all night thing from a bidders standpoint.

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by Gradedcardman

Start your own auction house and set the rules to appeal to everyone. Good luck with that. It is what it is, don't like it then move on to Heritage only, BST here or ebay. So much whining lately.

Why is expressing an opinion whining? Please explain. I thought expressing opinions was the point of these boards.

[tombocombo]

This method plays on emotionally tired people! Typically rational, and logical decisions are difficult at best at 4:30 a.m. Sending emails at 1:54 am and 5:55 am to stimulate further bidding? If this were a once a year auction with many exciting lots done solely on an annual basis, maybe this would generate a buzz and fun filled night. I'd even order a late night pizza! Realistically I will need two, or three days to sync back to regular sleep. The current LOTG format does have a future, just has to be refined. At 15 pulling an all nighter was intriguing, at 52 maybe not so appealing. With all due respect my opinion on this matter may seem harsh; however if some of the suggestions are at least thought out it would be much appreciated.
tom killeen

[insidethewrapper]

If nobody has bid on a certain item for 30 minutes, close it, seems simple to me.

[prestigecollectibles]

I think a lot of people don't realize that the auction format is often determined by the company hosting the auction site and not the individual AH. I use Createauction, the same as RMY, REA, Memory Lane, Lelands, etc. The whole platform is the same for each AH. We can not see autobids and the auctions are set to close when there are no bids for 15 minutes. We can manually end the auction if we want but that is the only other option.

[botn]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Why is expressing an opinion whining? Please explain. I thought expressing opinions was the point of these boards.

This. I guess the answer is when that opinion is not shared by the other person, which is also pretty silly. Wasn't his post whining?

[Snapolit1]

Yep. Same kind of idiocy that has swept the country. Shorthand for I don't share your opinion.
Usually presented in some pseudo enlightened "I'm above all this" voice like this dude.
Care about what I care about? Heroic. Feel some other way? Whining.

[Topnotchsy]

Originally Posted by prestigecollectibles

I think a lot of people don't realize that the auction format is often determined by the company hosting the auction site and not the individual AH. I use Createauction, the same as RMY, REA, Memory Lane, Lelands, etc. The whole platform is the same for each AH. We can not see autobids and the auctions are set to close when there are no bids for 15 minutes. We can manually end the auction if we want but that is the only other option.

That's pretty interesting. I never would have assumed the platform could be so inflexible. Maybe it needs to be requested at the auction house level from the programmers.

The platform is the nicest to navigate of any that I've dealt with, so definitely understand using it.

On a separate note, I keep peeking at your auctions hoping that a nice 1931 Tour of Japan ball will show up so I can upgrade mine... I used to own a gorgeous copy but (regrettably) sold it.

[mechanicalman]

I actually view the comments in this thread as market feedback to the owner of the AH, who is an active member of the board. Many companies pay good money to conduct consumer research, so I would presume the comments on either side might have value to the OP as he seeks to grow and optimize his business. What he chooses to do with the feedback, of course, is his discretion.

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by insidethewrapper

If nobody has bid on a certain item for 30 minutes, close it, seems simple to me.

Mike's comment makes a lot of sense. Al, can your software be adjusted to allow individual auction lots to end in this fashion?

It's been a long time since I participated in a major auction. LOTG's site and navigation is simply superb. The process was excellent throughtout. Kudos to their ability to provide me with outbid notices.

Be that as it may, I go back to Mike's suggestion to close a given lot if nobody has bid on it for 30 minutes. I was a determined bidder, and kept going to a bit after 6 0'CLOCK IN THE MORNING, when someone threw in another bid. I had to physically give up, and give it up to my Lord Jesus. May His will be done. I had to be at church come noon. At 63, I just couldn't hold out any longer.

Funny, later that same day, about 9 PM, I went out for a 3-mile power walk. I had chosen one of my favorite cross-country routes. It was nearing dusk, but I was also determined to get a good walk it. At about 3 1/2 laps of the 5 I was planning to do, I thought to myself, "wow, I've never been this tired at 3 1/2 laps." Then it occurred to me, "oh yeah, I was up 'til 6:03 this morning fighting it out at the auction!" I kept walking hard, and believe me, I do not stroll through the park. My heart was pounding and the sweat was just pouring off me. I live in northern Indiana below Lake Michigan, where it's hot and humid. At this time of evening it was really nice, but I was stonkered, having forgetten about all those hours at the computer keeping tabs on the LOTG item I deeply wanted.

It was worth it because I won the item; had I stayed up all those hours and lost it, I would have been demoralized. Love of the Game puts on a great auction, with just this one caveat. You had better be well-rested prior to the event. Al, love ya man, but please, pretty please, listen to Mike (insidethewrapper). Go get Walter O'Brien at Scorpion to help you adjust and re-program your auction format.

Cheers, to one and all. ---Brian Powell

[spacktrack]

Obviously I don't own the auction house in question, but I do own an auction house. I consider REA a leader in many areas, especially in the area of the auction closing, which we took initiative on changing in 2016 when we switched to extending bidding starting during the day and the auction ending no later than midnight.

I'll preface my comments by saying a few things. First, I am posting here because I think it's an issue that is coming to a head. Many of things I reference are things I am speaking on generally after years of reading this board and interacting with our customers. This thread seems likely one where the topic is getting some legs and positive discussion can be achieved. Second, I am not naive enough to think that one auction closing method will work for everyone, but I think there are ways to make the closing method, whatever it is for the individual AH more palatable to bidders. And third, on a similar but different note since it's been referenced in this thread and countless others on the board, I'll say that if there's a company that you don't feel good about dealing with because you can't trust them for one reason or another, then you should consider whether or not to even do business with them in the first place. There's a lot of great people in this industry fighting every day to do the right thing in a stand up manner and there's plenty that aren't towing the same line. Chances are the cards or memorabilia you covet will come around soon again so you can be discerning with your dollars.

On to the topic of auction closings, the auction software component is just one piece of the puzzle (and I will say that as someone who has used both Simple Auction--when I started Sterling--and Create Auction with REA, both companies have been receptive to making programming changes as needed with the understanding that some changes take longer than others), but let's not forget that there's a human element of auction house owners and executives who can choose to do things in a way that benefits bidders and doesn't ask them to stay up until 6:15 AM chasing a baseball card. I decided that REA would be a leader in this area and take on the challenge of addressing the insane late night endings when in 2016 we shifted to extended bidding taking place during the day beginning at noon EST with a hard close of midnight EST if bidding hadn't shut down automatically or if we hadn't decided to end it manually. The overnight closings are an outdated thing of the past. They are a holdover from the 1970s when the only way to bid was with a catalog, notebook, and landline phone. The only time to ensure everyone had the best chance to participate was overnight when most people were at home and not working. In today's day and age of cell phones, iPads, and more, bidders can go about their daily lives, access the auction from anywhere at any time, and not be tied to a computer. We wouldn't go to our accountant at 2:45 AM or our mechanic at 4:10 AM, so why should our hobby put us out of commission for days and days while we recover from marathon auction endings where items that are worth tens of dollars and hundreds of dollars are keeping things going well into the next morning. Auction houses see a lot of data when the auction is in extended bidding, and I think there's a responsibility on the auction house to interpret that data and make their best decisions. The extended bidding format with 15 minute rule is a method we thinks works very well when administered and used correctly and not abused.

On the topic of individual lot closing versus the resetting clock, I am a staunch proponent of the 15 minute rule concept. I firmly believe that some bidders, though not all bidders, reallocate funds as the auction develops. This may be more true in a larger auction like REA where people are generally saving up for a period of time or dealers are bidding on 100+ items looking for inventory than it would be in smaller auctions that are offering more single item lots or more common, lower-dollar items, but the premise is real at all levels I'd argue. It's easy to get boxed into the notion that this is a fake ploy by greedy AHs to explain away late night closings, but when you're only watching one or two items in an auction, it's easy not to realize that some collectors are watching 15 or 50 or 100 and don't have the money to buy them all but want to walk away with something. Even from the outside, you can watch the REA recent bids page and see patterns throughout the night. It's even more obvious to us internally (and it's why we can so confidently say this to be true) when we see names jumping around to different items. Sometimes focus #1 is a $10,000 card but when that doesn't pan out there's five $2000 cards that the collector is just as happy to own. Many collectors never consider all the moving parts to an auction close or consider what it's like to be on the selling side when you want to ensure that every opportunity to achieve the highest price is afforded to you. At REA we still process dozens of phone bidders every auction (these are generally old school collectors who rely on the catalog and don't use computers), we have call backs to make on items--either from the phone bidders or from computer savvy collectors who just so happen to be out and about without access to the auction when they're outbid, and we ship catalogs to 20+ different countries and have bidders in all sorts of different time zones at any given time. We were processing bids at a rate of almost one every three seconds in the last thirty minutes of the Spring 2017 auction. Our final closing day was responsible for over 5000 bids totaling millions of dollars. I know the argument will be that individual lot closing works well for this AH and that AH, but the truth is I've been shut out on items in Heritage because of the way the clock falls on an item or two and I have to decide, and then I end up getting skunked.

On another similar but different topic that's been addressed in the past, auction length is often discussed. A lot of people seem to advocate a week as enough time to get everyone interested and conduct an auction. The truth is that for an event like REA, a week would be a grave disservice to bidders and consignors. It might fly for online only auctions that don't produce a catalog or an auction where the catalog is small and the items are straightforward. We entertain dozens of prospective bidders in person and handle hundreds of phone calls while the auction is open. Collectors are selling off items to raise funds and dealers are valuing dozens of sets, group lots, and auction items as they compete to acquire fresh inventory. We are showing items to additional authenticators on behalf of bidders. We are fulfilling hundreds of catalog requests and an equal number of new bidder registrations each auction. We are running advertising in a multitude of places and endeavoring to get traction outside the hobby for specific pieces and the auction as a whole. If anyone thinks they can do all of this as effectively in seven days, please send me an e-mail and a résumé.

In closing, I assure you that REA will continue to look for ways to modernize (and humanize) the auction closing method. We appreciate that so many collectors consider our auction to be an "event" and we know that for many, many years people were up til 4 AM with us waiting to see what happened. It's not always easy going out on a limb and making a change, but to us, this method of starting extended bidding during the day and closing by midnight is the happiest of mediums at this time. It may not be perfect, but we feel like at least we're on the right side of the clock and working in a way that takes into account the bidders and consignors. We're experimenting with ways to even shorten extended bidding as it is, and if they're successful and we're confident that they work well, we'll be excited to share other ways in which we are ushering the sportscard auction business into the 21st century (even if it's a little belatedly).

Brian Dwyer
Robert Edward Auctions

[mechanicalman]

Brian,

Thank you for your transparent post and your leadership.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by prestigecollectibles

I think a lot of people don't realize that the auction format is often determined by the company hosting the auction site and not the individual AH. I use Createauction, the same as RMY, REA, Memory Lane, Lelands, etc. The whole platform is the same for each AH. We can not see autobids and the auctions are set to close when there are no bids for 15 minutes. We can manually end the auction if we want but that is the only other option.

You can also do like REA and require initial bids to be in by noon and close the auction no later than midnight.

[pawpawdiv9]

REA is like Xmas.
When does the INVOICES show up? I have yet to get a email or able to pay on their LOTG site.

[h2oya311]

Originally Posted by obcmac

As a southworth collector and relative, the southworth cabinet is my new favorite piece.

https://loveofthegameauctions.com/mo...entoryid=13489

Thanks to Al for offering up another great auction.

Mac

Hi Mac -

That was my consignment. It is a very special Cabinet indeed. I don't think Al mentioned it (because he didn't know and I didn't tell him), but this was obtained by Rhys Yeakley a few years ago directly from Billy Southworth's daughter....so you are now the fourth owner of a cabinet from 1912. Pretty awesome!

[Al C.risafulli]

Hi everyone:

First, thank you all for participating in our Fifth Anniversary auction. As always, I'm incredibly thankful for all the support that my company receives from this community. It's not lost on me that five years ago, I was terrified that our first auction would close without ANY extended bidding, and today we're talking about how it goes on for too long!

Second, there are a lot of great opinions in this thread from a lot of people I respect, and one thing is for sure - we can have this conversation from now until the end of time. Trust me, I've had this discussion many times, and I recognize that there are a variety of methods to close auctions, and none are perfect. To that end, I'm going to try and make this response short and sweet, because I, too, am still recovering from the 6AM closing time!

I agree with everyone who says that 6AM is way too late (early) for an auction to close. My last auction closed at 6AM, which I attributed to the large number of lots. This time around, one reason why I deliberately kept the lot count at about half what is usually is was to determine whether a lower number of lots would result in an earlier close. Clearly, that didn't happen.

For those who are wondering, please believe me that I regularly analyze how each LOTG auction closes, and whether or not it would make sense to adopt a new method of ending things. In the Fifth Anniversary auction, fewer than 1% of the items in the auction received bids after 3AM. But in the case of those items, bidding was spirited well into the wee hours. A hard close would have severely hurt the consignors of those pieces. Tens of thousands of dollars were bid on those items in late bidding. Shutting them down before bidding was truly over would have done those consignors a serious disservice.

The only things I'm sure of are that A) there are lots of different opinions on the best way to close auctions, and B) whatever the best way is, it hasn't been invented yet. I do pledge to you all that we'll continue to work to find a solution that works for as many people as possible.

It's very important to me to address an idea raised earlier in this thread that might inadvertently conflate auction closing time with trusting the integrity of the auction. Please do not confuse the two. My pledge continues: if you are bidding in my auction, you can trust that you are bidding with an auction that does not shill, does not permit consignors to bid on their own material, does not have hidden reserves, does not have a house bidding account, and does not place bids in the auction. As collectors, you may have varying opinions on the closing method we use (or any new closing method we may use in the future), but it should not shake your trust in the integrity of my company.

I'll be taking a hard look - as I always do - at ways to make LOTG more bidder-friendly. For now, you can trust that the "max bid" feature is safe from auction house shilling, you can sign up to receive outbid messages by text, and you can place your bids right from your cellphone on our mobile-friendly website.

Since the weekend, I've already had numerous discussions about ways we might change the closing method for our November auction. I'll bow out of this thread now, so it doesn't degenerate into a host of back-and-forth about various closing methods - I just wanted to make sure everyone understands that I'm constantly evaluating ways to improve the company, including its closing methods, and when I find something that makes sense, you can bet I'll adopt it.

Thanks again,
-Al

[Snapolit1]

Thanks Al. I wanted to comment on the Max Bid feature, as I am the one who brought it up above in the comments. You are at the top of the list of AHs I have no qualms using it. In fact I used it liberally for the last auction. However, I do wish auctions didn't end in the wee hours and where I could just stay up and bid like I do on eBay and elsewhere and not have to put in an automatic bid just in case some due on the West Coast want to try to steal one while I'm asleep.

[Peter_Spaeth]

I was a critic of the closing time on this thread but I certainly have no issue or doubt at all with the integrity of the AH or its owner. That said, it's hard for me to believe that REA, Heritage and a number of others have moved away from this all nighter crap but LOTG can't. Respectfully, what's so unique about it?

[JeremyW]

Whether I agree or not, it's refreshing to see an auction house respond, here on Net54, to the concerns of their customers. Appreciate it.

[Mdmtx]

I hate the late night closings. I believe it is counter productive for all involved. I actually believe the prices would be higher if items closed when the masses were awake. If everyone is awake, they are much more likely to bid on alternate items or make a decision to pay more. Seems as though there is very failed logic that the best time to close an auction is when 90% (percentage is a wild guess) of the continent where the items are most traded is asleep. Maybe I'm just dense, but I would think any business mentor would read this business plan and ask one question:

Why are you alienating your customer base?

Mark Medlin

[botn]

I must have missed or glossed over any posts that suggested that Al was not operating with complete integrity. I would be interested to know how Al knows that the spirited bidding that took place in the wee hours of the AM would have cost his consignors had he picked a different closing method?

If those bidding spirited bidders were faced with a absolute closing and they knew they had one shot to be the top bid, one would think they would toss max bids in there in the closing seconds. I think most bidders know what they are willing to go to well before the close of an auction and my guess is that number does not change often in the wee hours.

[nolemmings]

In the Fifth Anniversary auction, fewer than 1% of the items in the auction received bids after 3AM. But in the case of those items, bidding was spirited well into the wee hours. A hard close would have severely hurt the consignors of those pieces. Tens of thousands of dollars were bid on those items in late bidding.

And if the bidding had ended at an earlier time--with these and all bidders told in advance of the earlier ending--you have concluded the "spirited bidding" involving tens of thousands of dollars would not have occurred?