Hey Steve,

I wanted to point out that this auction closed at 6:30 am EST, which was 3:30 am PST. It wasn't really helpful to me on the west coast to have this closing time. It seems to me that the closing time helped the east coast more than the west. Of course, it would be next to impossible to predict that those on the east coast could go to bed, get up at 6:00 am, and continue bidding, but it isn't really a benefit to be on the west coast all the time either (like never having any big shows here). I happened to wake up at 2:30 to hit the head, and noticed that I had lost out on a bid in Memory Lane, which had closed, while I was asleep. It isn't always greener on the other side of the fence. Just an observation from the other side.

Ed

Agreed, they would have bid earlier.

Bidders are always going to try to bid as close to the end of an auction as possible, that's never going to change. The AH's are the ones that decide if this late bidding frenzy occurs at 1am or 6am based on when the bidders think/believe the auction will truly close.

Like
 

I appreciate your opinion for sure. Its the way I read it and that's it. I don't like the closes either but don't have the time r ambition to start an auction company. Just seems this forum is getting to more of a bitch session than anything.

Oh well...It happens

Well taken Ed. One man's super late night is another's early morning.

Agree 100%.

Agree with Greg and subsequent posts, Al is making unwarranted assumptions about what would or would not have happened in a different system. I doubt tens of thousands of dollars were the result of drunken exhaustion.

+1

Exactly what I wanted to say, but Greg, Todd, and others beat me to it. Those heavy bids are placed in the wee hours because those heavy bidders aren't compelled to bid early. If they were told the auction would be closing at midnight, every last one of those bids would still be executed, only earlier.

And I too support Al and think he is doing an amazing job. When he started his business five years ago, he asked me about my experiences as an auctioneer, and I told him the single hardest thing to do is get good consignments. He has outdone anything I could have imagined for him. He is a champ!

Hybrid auction ending for the masses
 

Let me know if this hybrid ending option has been mentioned before or is in practice already...I'm not afraid to be knocked down from my creative lofty perch.

I like the overall concept of the REA auction setup, with initial bids needing to be in by noon EST (although I think this could be pushed back later to 2pm or 3pm, as folks in the PST zone need to be up and perkily bidding before 9am). The 15 (or 30 for smaller auctions) minutes rule for bids on any item in the auction following the initial bid period is also a good rule for those bidders who allocate funds. My main departure would be that at midnight all lots that haven't received a bid in the last 15 minutes would close (let's call it a semi-hard close), leaving behind only the lots that have high bidding interest, and these lots would INDIVIDUALLY close after no bids have been received in the past 15 minutes (starting with a fresh clock at midnight).

Seems like you could satisfy both camps (consignors and bidders) with this type of hybrid setup.

Feel free to poke holes into my idea...remember, I am a collector that tolerates pinholes, punch holes, and shotgun blast holes in my cards.

Brian

Brian, those were the days with the land lines and the all nighter auctions. The only thing you left out is how they kept up with the bids.... It was on the chalk board on the wall. Then if you requested a call back, you would get a ringing phone call in the middle of the night. Glad we have progressed from those kind of auctions 20 years ago.

Al, You run a great auction and work harder than most auctioneers. You are a one man show and I would love to see you add another member or two to your team. Have to agree with all the other posters on the Spirited bidding. Spirited bidding will occur whatever time the auction is about ready to close. Many serious buyers just wait until last call or the fair warning email. I don't believe you are doing the consignors a favor by not creating bidding wars when everyone is awake and alert. Spirited bidding happens at REA from 1130-1200. Spirited bidding happens at Heritage from 11-1130, and Spirited bidding happens at Huggins and Hunt from 10-1030pm. What do you think they all have in common????

(Answer) all the bidders know when to be on their smart device/computor to bid. Let the war begin which doesn't favor collectors/dealers who live in a certain timeframe.

This old fart is a long-time collector who much, much prefers the entire-auction closes-at-once method over the lots-close-individually method because I am one of those who often has to decide where to allocate and re-allocate his auction budget during the auction and because I also believe that consignors fare better. In fact, I do not and will not consign to auction houses that employ the lots-close-individually method. And, I am delighted by the way REA modified its closing method last year - this may not be total perfection, but REA is getting close!

Auction Close
 

+1! Well said Val. As an avid collector, nothing is more frustrating then getting outbid on a lot(s) and not being able to reallocate your funds to another lot because it's closed. Additionally, the Consignors get crippled in this scenario because their lots are now closed whereby bidders cannot come back and bid on the closed lots.

application sent.

I don't get what all the fuss is about. If there is a card I'm very interested in new I will put a max bid in before going to bed. If the interest is high enough I will try to stay up, and would prefer an earlier end time. But this format was a lot better than when heritage cut off bids on the final day at 9 am pst. I found that way more ridiculous than ending an auction at 3 or 6 AM.