If we were talking about how to save money and not spend it on cards this would be a perfect answer you gave. However, what we are talking about is how to potentially have the best ending of an auction where no one gets shut out because they have lost 1 item and can't go back to another. If an AH (** I have no inclination to ever do this as an AH, but it is done) extends credit then that could make it where folks don't get shut out if there is more than they can afford at one time. For me, if the Driers collection were sold all at once I wouldn't have had the disposable income to get my 3-4 top pieces, which I eventually did as the auctions were spread out. If it were all sold in 1 auction and, If I could have gotten 3-6 mos to pay, it would have worked for me too. BTW, I protect my 800'ish credit score so it's not like I am going too crazy with over-financing :).

Lots of good points being made in this thread. My primary want would be to have lots close individually. I really don't like waiting around for hours for a particular lot to close when there has been no recent bid activity on that lot. If there's a bidding war going on in other lots, then let those lots keep going but don't hold everything else in limbo.

I feel better now that I got that off my chest.

Hi Ryan! You know my personal stance on Legendary. I don't bid on their auctions and didn't mean to imply anybody should. Sorry. They are on this list because they close their auctions lot by lot. Didn't mean to imply anything more than that and should have said so.

jeff

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for clarifying that. Your post made it seem like that's what you were implying, especially when you mentioned voting with your dollars. I'm glad you're not encouraging people to bid with Legendary just because they close their auctions in a particular way.

-Ryan

Completely agree. I am up most mornings working on my computer at 6 AM. The last time I was up at 3 AM I obviously had no impulse control and therefore had no business making financial decisions.

http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6hbe0d9h.jpg

Jeez, this is still a hobby, right? Boycotting and organizing labor seems extreme.

Union? No.

Boycott? Sure.

The only way things are going to change in this hobby is if collectors stand up and say ENOUGH. Put your money where your mouth is.

jeff

I thought you just clarified that that's NOT what you meant to say. Which is it?

-Ryan

You guys realize that if the auctions "closed" at noon, the extended bidding times would still last until the west coast went to bed, right?

The only way that auctions are not going to last "forever" is for them to have a definitive end time, ebay style.

Ultimately, extended bidding gets more money for the items, generally speaking.

Ending the entire auction at the same time gets more money for more items, generally speaking.

The only people complaining about the late hours are buyers, I don't see any sellers complaining, or did I miss something?

Extending credit is an interesting idea for AHs that want to risk the headache, though I think that credit should come with an immediate 50-70% downpayment that is forfeited if the balance is not paid. If the buyer doesn't come through then the AH then owns the item and can sell it in the next auction, or offer it to an underbidder, with the downpayment as a cushion against future price uncertainty (and a penalty for the person who doesn't pay his debts).

As for closing times, are there any auctions that enter extended bidding on Sundays around, say, 8 PM Eastern? Sunday evenings are the peak Ebay time because that seems to be when people have the least going on in their lives. If you entered extended bidding at 8:00 EST, closed lots individually, and ran 30 minute intervals for the first hour (8:00-9:00), 15 minute intervals for the second hour (9:00-10:00), and 5 minute intervals from 10:00 PM Eastern/7:00 PM Pacific until every lot ended I think the vast majority of the lots in the auction would be over by 1:00 AM EST/10:00 PM PST, no? Sure, some people on the West Coast would have to miss dinner on Sunday night but it is a lot easier to skip dinner on the West Coast to bid than it is to skip sleeping on Sunday night to bid on the East Coast.

Edited to add: I have little experience with AHs so I apologize if that second paragraph was stupid.

Hi Ryan! Sorry for the confusion as there's two threads running through this topic that I'm not doing a very good job of separating. I am boycotting Legendary because of their fraudulent activities. Not boycotting auctions that are closing all at once. While I don't like the fact that some auctions close in the dead of night, fraudulent behavior is in a class all by itself.

In hindsight, I should have just left Legendary out of the lot by lot conversation as it just muddied a healthy discussion on auction ending times.

jeff

Jeff, Don't know why you'd want to boycott a slew of good honest auction houses just because they have different ending times.
Just place your top all bid and get some sleep.

Line of Credit
 

Approving a line of credit prior to the auction start and potential having extended time to pay for things wouldn't make a difference to me. I would not use it.

Z Wheat

Only boycotting Legendary, Jay, for different reasons as mentioned. I didn't mean to imply or throw good, honest auction houses under the bus. I know consigner preferences often drive the closing method an auction house chooses. Some may be more convenient for some than others but as long as they are honest, that's good enough for me!

jeff

Noticed this tonight while thumbing through the REA catalog: "Payment is due within 14 days of notification of lots won. Please call to prearrange and to be approved for any type of payment schedule, which can sometimes be arranged with a deposit and interest charges."

DJ

REA has always (as long as I can remember) offered generous terms to their customers on a case by case basis. I know I have almost taken them up on it a few times but in the end had the funds, if I remember correctly? Who knows with their current auction I might have to ask again!!