Mastro auction

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Posted By: brock

Is their website not working for anyone else. Thanks

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Posted By: leon

It seems to be having an issue right now....

http://www.mastroauctions.com

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Posted By: Anonymous

Mastro is back up now...

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Posted By: Richard Dwyer

Down again. Was working earlier today. Now nothing.

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Posted By: Paul

It's working for me, & hopefully only for me, so my bids hold

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Posted By: Ted Sherman

Due to a hardware failure in a critical network component, the Mastro Auctions websites were unavailable via the Internet this morning and part of the early afternoon. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have presented to our customers. The system is back up and running on our backup system currently. We are planning on replacing the failed network component tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday, June 24th) between 2 and 4 PM Central Daylight Time (7 and 9 PM GMT). Once the installation is complete, there will be a short period of time when the site may be inaccessable while we switch back over from our backup network to our primary network. Again, this should be relatively short (15-30 minutes), but some people, such as those on AOL and some other service providers may experience slightly longer delays in connecting due to the way these companies have their systems configured. We will send out an email once the cut over is complete. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time period.

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Posted By: boxingcardman

Magic box broke. Using old magic box until new magic box arrives. Must stop collecting porn during auctions.

Sic Gorgiamus Allos Subjectatos Nunc

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Posted By: Richard Dwyer

Our Recent Website Service Issues

Further analysis of the network difficulties we were experiencing yesterday have revealed the problem to be more severe than originally anticipated and unrelated to our internal systems. Our commercial internet service provider has indicated that there is a weather damage-related, area-wide problem with our fiber optic line.
We are currently running the auction using our backup system, which can handle ordinary traffic like viewing lots and placing bids. However, because we do not want to take any chances closing the auction with our backup system and risk any service gaps at crucial closing times, we have chosen to extend the bidding until next Tuesday and Wednesday, July 1st and 2nd.
Bidding for lots 1-863 will end on Tuesday, July 1st, and bidding for lots 864-2174 will end on Wednesday, July 2nd. We apologize for any inconvenience this delay may cause, but we felt it was necessary to ensure a satisfying conclusion to the auction process.
Reminder of New Closing Time!
Please remember that effective with this Classic Collector Auction, initial bids will be due at 9:00 PM Central Time, and the 30-minute timer will kick off at 10:00 PM Central Time. We trust that you'll enjoy the extra hour of sleep after the conclusion of an exciting session!



I have mixed feelings about this. What do you think?

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Posted By: Rob D.

Seems like a no-brainer. If they don't think the system can handle the traffic on the final nights because of circumstances they can't control, it makes sense to move the ending days. If I was a consignor and they knew there could be problems and didn't address them, I'd be ticked.

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Posted By: T206Collector

...I have to say that I am very happy they are doing this. There have been a number of issues over the past few days and if they can get this cleaned up so as not to disrupt bidding, then that is a welcome resolution.


_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Visit http://www.t206collector.com for signed deadball card galleries, articles and more!

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Posted By: Matt

I certainly agree that if they are worried the servers can't handle the load they have to fix the situation. Parenthetically, I would expect an auction house of that size to have a full backup, but if they don't then they have to wait until they can get their primary back in working order.

What I think they should do, however, is give all bidders a chance to retract their bids. Consider the following real-case scenario:

A bidder is after a certain item which is available both in an ebay auction ending over the weekend and in a Mastro lot. The bidder has bid his max on the Mastro lot, figuring if he didn't win it, he would go after the one on ebay. Now, with the postponement, the one on ebay ends first and since the bidder already locked his bid into Mastro, he can't be a player in the ebay one, lest he end up with two of them.

Perhaps Mastro will see this and offer anyone who wants to, a chance to call them and retract their bid.


edited for grammar

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Posted By: Bob

It is great for the consignor. As a bidder, I'm not thrilled because I think the ultimate sold prices will increase over what they would have had the auction ended tomorrow night. You never know with last second bidding but my gut feeling is that prices will be higher with the week extension....

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Posted By: Mark

Completely agree with Bob...

Great for consignors / Bad for bidders. Prices realized will be higher with the extra exposure and time added.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Agree this may affect the bidding slightly but they are doing the right thing. Interesting that it is a weather related problem.

That darn global warming.

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Posted By: Richard Dwyer

I agree with Bob. Great for consignors / Bad for bidders.

I also don't appreciate waiting another week to find out if I'll win or lose an auction. The anticipation is killing me.

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Posted By: leon

I see it from a little different perspective nowadays.....As a collector I am in agreement with what others have said. As an auctioneer they are making the right move.....period. Auction houses work on consignments. They have to do what is best for the consignors or they won't get more/as much....and yes, I understand about the bidders too....but we will still be there, trust me. Could a bidder or two be lost, maybe, but overall this is the best decision, imo........ regards

disclaimer- Mastro advertises here......but that doesn't sway my opinion on this....

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Posted By: Mark

Great for consignors / Bad for bidders was simply a factual statement... not a judgement of what was right or wrong. If they are truly having technical issues, the decision to delay the Auction's close was the right one for Mastro and it's consignors.

I just wonder if the lackluster bidding (up until 2 days of the auction's close) came into play. This auction was not exactly setting the world on fire, as of Mastro's "decision time". Many lots that I'm watching are still sitting at about 1/3 of their worth. I can easily envision a board meeting in which they discussed this matter in depth, and decided to extend the auction (with the significant side benefit of garnering more bids and realizing higher prices).

It would be naive to assume that this factor was not thoroughly considered. I'm not passing judgement, as I would likely do the same if it were my business, and I had to answer to multiple consignors.

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Posted By: leon

I agree that there is never harm in discussing things that could be...otherwise we would be sort of naive. I will tell you though, and everyone mostly knows it, you never know how an auction lot will do until it's closed. Our first auction more than doubled the last day. Some lots went up 3x-5x the last day. Because Mastro has as much, or more experience, than almost any auction house I doubt the low prices 3 days out had an effect on them extending it. Still a good point to bring up.....but imo I doubt they did it for that reason......best regards

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Posted By: barrysloate

No way they are going to close the auction because some lots are currently underperforming. I have plenty of underperforming lots the day before my auction closes. I know they will reach their proper level.

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Posted By: boxingcardman

and all the cards I want outperform. That's how things work, right?

I really don't think Mastro panicked and extended the date because there weren't enough bids. They know that the numbers two days before a close are meaningless. I've spoken to a lot of collectors about auctions that follow an extended bidding format and we all do the same thing: submit a slew of bids the first day to qualify for the extended bidding then forget about the auction until the last day, when they see what really is worth going after. That's why the extended thing is so silly. It just encourages a lot of placeholder bidding until the extended time.

Sic Gorgiamus Allos Subjectatos Nunc