Mastro auction VERY strange!

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Posted By: Hal Lewis

I consigned 43 items to the Mastro Auction.

1 item ended at 10:00 pm CST with only 1 bid.

The other 42 items ended exactly at 12:30 CST with ZERO bids placed during the "extended" bidding period that started at midnight.

ZERO LAST MINUTE BIDS????


43 different items of all years, make and model...

and ZERO last-night bids on my items???




Obviously the only deduction that can be made from this is that everyone is putting in their "max bids" early and just going to sleep these days.

That...

or the consignor is getting screwed because the people who are still awake and being outbid on other items are TOO LATE to go back and bid on closed items like mine.


Not saying anything is "fixed" of course, because the final prices for my items seem to be great.

I was just SHOCKED to see all 43 close this early.


Anyone else have a similar story??


Maybe the internet bidding was broken?

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Posted By: Marc S.

I had no problems logging in and bidding during the extended period this evening...

I know many have commented both ways on some prices realized on this Mastro auction vis a vis previous ones over the past year or two, but this is definitely the first time in a while that I know multiple persons who seem to be getting "deals" on lots -- both those that they were following and those that they bid on because the valuations seemed like a bargain.

~ms

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

Nothing was broken. I think the 30 minute individual rule just encourages bidders to make their best bids earlier, knowing that you can't outlast the next guy anymore. Last night I was bidding on two cards that went past 1:30 - obviously I was bidding against one person on each item and it was going back and forth. Hal, compare how this auction ended with REA: REA's final prices were often 50% higher than what they were at the time the 30 minute rule kicked in. In the end, I have no doubt that the realized values would be pretty much the same in either format.

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Posted By: Bottom of the Ninth

http://www.network54.com/Forum/153652/thread/1181680287/last-1181758043/Getting+%26quot%3Bdeals%26quot%3B+in+Big+Auctions--

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Posted By: Jay

I think that Mastro's system works perfectly. They get great prices with people bidding early rather than turning the auction into an endurance contest. I think Jeff is right--the end result is the same but the path to get there is a whole lot less painful.

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Posted By: leon

I know I am not supposed to comment about some things but....I just won some lots and I think the prices were pretty strong. The stuff I picked up was both for my personal collection and some resale...There was no last minute bidding in any of them. I think the philosophy was (for me anyway) to be high or near high near the end, then bid as soon as someone outbid me...or don't bid more at all. I was pissed at myself because I let one go 15 minutes into extended before I raised it. A few lots (I think) got no more bids after extended times started....just one person's opinion and experience here......regards

edited to be less specific...

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Posted By: JK

what's your point greg?

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Posted By: Paul

Almost everything I'm interested in has had "spirited" bidding after 11 pm central. I always liked Hal's cards, so I'm kind of surprised that some of his cards weren't on my bid list.

Hal, do you still have that postcard of Cy Young pitching?

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Posted By: Marty

I won two lots that I bid on yesterday with no additional bidding. There was another lot that went up 10 times in price since last night. Two of the lots that I had bid on, but was out of closed about 1:30 EST. I wonder hop many people that are use to Mastro closing sports on Thursday and Friday were shut out with a Wednesday close?

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Posted By: barrysloate

I know many bidders prefer the system where each lot closes individually, but there is still one major and serious flaw, which we've discussed many times.

If a bidder fights for his favorite lot until 1:30 in the morning and finally has to drop out, his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th choices may have already closed. And any format that locks out a bidder who wants to raise an existing bid is not good for the consignor.

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Posted By: Jay

You could make the same arguement for auctions that close over several days. No system is perfect but this is the best by far.

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Posted By: barrysloate

I agree entirely that the perfect system has never been found and there will always be more fine tuning. I think the Mastro system is perfectly reasonable but I think it tilts a little in the bidder's favor. The system where the whole auction stays open until the end is tilted in the consignor's favor. Just my experience, some may disagree.

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Posted By: Wesley

<<If a bidder fights for his favorite lot until 1:30 in the morning and finally has to drop out, his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th choices may have already closed.>>

That is similar to what happened to me last night. By the time I was outbid on one lot, it was too late to go after other lots I had my eyes on. So in a way, this system hurts both the buyers as well as consignors.

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Posted By: Bob

I agree with Jeff. The bidding (at least on the cards I was bidding on) had very strong bid prices before the extended bidding time period began and so no one wanted to venture any higher. I don't think it was anything out of the ordinary. Only the Red Sun lot of 2 cards and the E92 trimmed Matty of the 20 odd lots I was watching had any noticeable activity after the extended period began, because the high bids were, well, so high.
The only 2 lots I watched that surprised me were the badly trimmed E94 Cobb, for going so high, and the Lionel Carter lot of 20 E98 cards, which went so low (compared to other E98 sales in REA, mastro, ebay and the BST). Since I knew who won the E98 lot and was happy for him, the only real downer of the night was my inability to win the Cobb, but such is life...
tbob

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Posted By: boxingcardman

The one I won had no more bids for days before the auction's close. I was stunned to get it as cheaply as I did--and damned happy too.