Important Updates From REA Including a Modern Take on the Auction Closing Method

[spacktrack]

Hi Everyone,

It’s hard to believe that September is almost over, but that means REA’s Fall Auction is just a little over a week away from going live. We’re especially excited about this auction as it will feature our largest number of lots ever and include some incredible highlights, ranging from a number of great cards offered publicly for the first time in more than a decade to exciting new finds that we’re thrilled to bring to market.

We’ve posted some highlights to our homepage at www.RobertEdwardAuctions.com as well as additional items and descriptions on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/robertedwardauctions, where you can also see pictures from our booth at the National, which had hundreds of auctions items on display all week.

Catalogs are set to mail October 7, so if you’ve moved since the Spring Auction, please be sure to update your address with us now to avoid any delay in getting your catalog. You can do this by logging into your account on our site. If you’ve never received a catalog, you can request a free copy on our website as well. Bidding will be open by the end of next week. If you need to register to bid, you can do so via our secure registration page.

This auction also introduces two important changes that we want to be sure collectors are aware of, and which we’ll be sending reminders about throughout the auction.

We’ve moved into a larger and more modern office that will allow us to continue to produce exceptional auctions for years to come. We have a new mailing address for all shipments, payments, consignment drop-offs, item previewing, etc. Our new address is PO Box 430, Chester, NJ 07930. Our street address for FedEx/UPS shipment or in-person visits is also in Chester, NJ and is available upon request. Our wiring instructions, which changed in January, remain the same. Any mail sent to our Watchung addresses will be forwarded but is subject to delay, so please make note of this new Chester address to ensure there are no delays with us getting your items, correspondence, or payments.

We are also very pleased to announce that we are introducing a new auction closing method that will once and for all eliminate the late-night/early-morning bidding that has for so long been a thorn in collectors’ sides. Effective immediately with this auction, extended bidding will begin at Noon Eastern (12:00 PM EST) on Sunday, October 30. The auction will utilize the same 15-minute extended bidding method in which the entire auction will stay open until no bids have been placed for a period of 15 minutes in the entire auction. Bidders can monitor the activity using our “300 Most Recent Bids” feature to judge the pace of the auction. If the bidding continues past 6:00 PM EST, we do reserve the right to close the auction at any time, but the auction will not, under any circumstance, continue past Midnight (12:00 AM EST).

We believe that the previous auction closing method in which extended bidding began at 9 PM and continued through the night, often beyond 5 AM the next morning, is an outdated practice that was necessitated by the absence of the internet, mobile phones, smart phones, and all the other modern technology that we enjoy today. Auctions had to end that way because it was a time when almost everyone was assured to be home and able to participate via phone. We have been monitoring the data available to us for several auctions, and the interactions with our auction via mobile devices increases dramatically each year. The auction is always accessible on a phone or iPad wherever you go.

By switching the extended bidding period to occur during the day, we believe that it will serve to engage more bidders and no longer place an emphasis on (or reward) those who can stay up the latest. We want every collector to have the opportunity to participate and pursue items that interest them right up to the last minute (and not have to choose between baseball cards or sleep). We understand that inherently there will be bidders who have activities or functions to attend during the day on Sunday. With so many options available to those bidders to participate, including accessing the auction online, receiving text notifications directly to their cellphone upon being outbid, utilizing our callback system on important lots, following the auction on the Collectable app, or calling our office directly to speak to any one of our representatives available all day, we are confident that the auction will always be available whenever it’s wanted.

We understand that change can be difficult to embrace, but we believe this is one improvement that everyone will be able to get behind.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to call or email us.

Sincerely,

Robert Edward Auctions

[Stonepony]

Fantastic plan, and thank you . Looking forward to the auction!

[jefferyepayne]

Great, great job on being an industry leader, Brian. It takes guts to do something like this but it is definitely a move in the right direction.

Bravo!

jeff

[Leon]

I am selling my shares in Folgers today. Good luck Brian and team....

[gregr2]

I like this, smart move and I hope other AHs follow suit.

[JeremyW]

Originally Posted by Stonepony

Fantastic plan, and thank you . Looking forward to the auction!

Here's to hoping the other houses follow suit. Thank you.

Greg beat me to it.

[CW]

Nice! Looking forward to it, Brian, and thanks!

[Snapolit1]

Simple and smart. Great. How much East coast money are AHs leaving on the table because people like me aren't staying up through the night or setting an alarm at 4 am. Those days are over. Smart move that benefits their customers and will intimately maximize theirs and their comsignors profits. Win win win.

[Griffins]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Simple and smart. Great. How much East coast money are AHs leaving on the table because people like me aren't staying up through the night or setting an alarm at 4 am. Those days are over. Smart move that benefits their customers and will intimately maximize theirs and their comsignors profits. Win win win.

I'm thinking it takes away the East Coast advantage of being able to go to bed and get up at 6am with the auction still running, while I conk out at 237am only to be outbid by an early riser in the east.

[glchen]

Doesn't this just mean that everyone will be placing his "snipe" bid at 11:59pm?

[pokerplyr80]

I get the intent, but I think that's too early in the day to cut off initial bids. 9 AM on the west coast? You're probably going to end up with people signing in to bid only to find out they can't.

Personally I'd rather see individual lots closed if there are no bids for 15 or 30 minutes.

[seablaster]

Originally Posted by pokerplyr80

I get the intent, but I think that's too early in the day to cut off initial bids. 9 AM on the west coast? You're probably going to end up with people signing in to bid only to find out they can't.

I think that the 3 weeks the auction is open prior to extended bidding is probably adequate for someone to place a bid if they should feel the need to.

[gnaz01]

Thanks for the change in the ending time Brian, my wife thanks you very much!!!

[keithsky]

I can just see all the guys across the country in church services Sunday morning trying to get there bids in and the glaring look from the wives. lol

[pokerplyr80]

Originally Posted by seablaster

I think that the 3 weeks the auction is open prior to extended bidding is probably adequate for someone to place a bid if they should feel the need to.

True, but I tend to procrastinate. I doubt I'm the only one. I just think people are going to be surprised and disappointed when they log in on the final day to bid and find out they are unable to do so.

[Beastmode]

Originally Posted by seablaster

I think that the 3 weeks the auction is open prior to extended bidding is probably adequate for someone to place a bid if they should feel the need to.

+++ Although I applaud REA for doing this, feels like arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Enough already, end the auction at the closing time. PWCC has got to be on their radar. Maybe these two firms can merge and use the PWCC platform.

[jbsports33]

Brian, thanks for the update - good luck with the auction

Jimmy

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Beastmode

+++ Although I applaud REA for doing this, feels like arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Enough already, end the auction at the closing time. PWCC has got to be on their radar. Maybe these two firms can merge and use the PWCC platform.

That would make sense for the AH but for the reluctance people have to place top alls, unlike on ebay where there is no rational or even irrational reason not to place a snipe. AH is better off with overtime bids especially as people tend to get irrational or super competitive or drunk.

[botn]

No one format is going to make all bidders and consignors happy but I prefer the auctions which end on a per lot basis with a 15 min clock. Those who use this method, like Huggins and Scott, Heritage and Hunt Internet are ones that come to mind, are over very early. Lot goes beyond where you are comfortable, no problem, move on to the next one.

With the whole auction remaining open and an uncertainty as to when bids can no longer be made means having to place top alls and possibly over committing resources. This will have an impact on what I will place bids on and in all likelihood will result in my bidding on fewer lots and spending less. I am all in favor of an early ending because I rarely stay up past 1 AM PST.

[Exhibitman]

I appreciate a hard end to OT as a bidder. Not so much as a consignor who could theoretically benefit from a late bid.

It is really a misnomer to say that the whole auction remains open until the earlier of no activity or midnight EST. In reality, any lots with 0 or 1 bid effectively close at the end of the regular session because no one else can bid on them. And all other lots are open in OT only to people who've bid on those specific items in regular time. Personally, I don't see that as a benefit to consignors or bidders: the consignors are shut out of potential bids from people who are outbid on other items and the bidders are precluded from going after items with lower priority if they haven't bid on them before OT. The trade-off for that is a perception of 'activity' early as people lodge placeholder bids. Whatever. We can beat that horse again but I don't see it moving...

I will just throw in lots of placeholder bids on the first day and then ignore the auction until the last day, as usual.

[MVSNYC]

Great job, Brian! Sounds like REA is in good hands.

I will say, regarding the noon time extended bidding, seems very early. Most people on the weekends are out and about...and would just be getting ready to saddle up for battle after dinner time. Either way, we'll all be bidding and adjusting our calendars as needed.

Best of luck, looking forward to the auction.

[sgbernard]

For all the collectors who are parents of small kids everywhere, this auction closing plan is the best thing since sliced bread!

[bwbc917]

Bravo, superb idea.

[bobbyw8469]

This "west coast" format should have went away years ago. Kudos to REA for doing something about it.

[Jay Wolt]

Brian Good luck w/ the auction, looking forward to viewing it

[CrackaJackKid]

Off topic...when will the entire Fall auctions items be ready to view?

[rainier2004]

Awesome!

[3-2-count]

Brian, very cool.

I applaud the change.

Looking forward to the auction

[prewarsports]

We have been ending our auctions this way for over a year (RMY Auctions). We start extended bidding at 6:00pm with the 15 minute rule and with a hard ending at 2:00am regardless of the bidding activity so bidders know exactly when it ends and can plan their evenings. We don't do nearly the volume of REA, but I can say from experience in doing this that I dont feel we leave any money on the table. People know to head back to the computer fifteen minutes before the auction ends and there is always a flurry of activity at the end. We have not had any complaints about it at all and it has been one of the best things we ever did because we get some sleep too!

It is a win-win for everyone and I think it is a great idea for REA.

[brass_rat]

Great change, thank you, Brian and team.

Cheers,
Steve

[Exhibitman]

Sleep is for pussies anyway.