+1. Chris, I completely agree with you. I have the highest regard for REA/Brian and his crew, but as I see it, the only folks that should be happy with last night's debacle are those bidders who won lots because other bidders gave up trying to get in to bid.

I love that card and was an under-bidder. It's a little bit outside my normal collection focus but I think it's a great looking card. There's not a lot of market comparisons for this card.

Regarding the N154 in the link for the previous post.... did they super-impose the head of the candidate on to the body of one of those female baseball players from the female baseball cards that were issued? I never really noticed that before...

Edited to add... yes, that was a strong price! I can't imagine the consignor is disappointed in that result.

http://www1.coe.neu.edu/~dan/N48/go.html
http://www.oldcardboard.com/n/n154/n154.jpg matches the first one.

the hammer on this "numerically graded" strip was outrageous!

https://bid.robertedwardauctions.com...e?itemid=52265

Here's some more: https://flickr.com/photos/31037508@N...57699801558315

Uhhhhh, I just got an Email from REA that I won this lot. ( Hence the no outbid text). It was clearly MY confusion this morning and not any sort of communication on REAs end

Trends?
 

There is soooooo much stuff on this auction that it’s hard for me to follow. What trends did everyone see? What went strong and what didn’t? I consigned some unopened boxes and my hockey/basketball did well but baseball a little softer than expected

I bid on around 53 different items and won 3. I thought everything looked about right but that is just me. The issues affected me but not to the extent I won or lost anything because of them nor did i pay a higher price for the items I did win. I wouldn't want to be that hosting company today.

I have the most upmost respect for REA...but after all that went on last night and the fact that the issues here on the west coast where quite horrible i just walked away from my computer and just gave up on the auction after multiple hours of trying to bid. These issues ran for a good part of the afternoon. and to be honest i figure REA and the Consignor lost out on 5-10k in additional income.

The argument could be made that i should just put my top bid from the get go...but lets be honest that is not the way that I personally run auctions. So this is on me. But hind site....knowing that these issues effected people for more than just a few hours. They should extended the bidding by one full day.

I am sure if you tack on my bids in addition to all of the others REA lost out (PURE GUESS) to be really clear atleast 100-150k in additional income. But that is just a pure guess i am throwing a number out there...

But it happens...there will always be another auction but REA should change its policies where if there are major website issues that last longer than X they should allow for a full day extension. It only benefits them and the Consignor and ironically the bidders that really want the item.

Just my two cents right or wrong.

And did anyone see that 59 Aaron psa 8 for 900$ ~ something tells me someone either miss bid or the website was causing bidding issues

https://bid.robertedwardauctions.com...e?itemid=52427

Whoever got this one got a pretty good deal I think...

Leon, I don't understand how you can say the REA issues didn't affect you regarding the 3 items you won. Had some (many?) bidders not given up trying get into the auction to place additional bids, you might not have won any of the 3 lots.

My "white whale" in this auction was this Western Playground of Peckinpaugh, https://bid.robertedwardauctions.com...e?itemid=52134 , which I wanted for my collection of 1924 Senators. I am shocked at what it sold for (I didn't win it), especially as a nice SGC 30 of another player sold for half of what Peckinpaugh sold for. I assume two WP set collectors badly needed the Peckinpaugh card.

Speaking of cards that went strong, how about this PC: https://bid.robertedwardauctions.com...e?itemid=51979 I realize there are some hard-core T210 collectors, but "holy moly, that's a lot of moolah."

Thanks for sharing, very nice set.

I definitely wouldn't want to be the hosting company either, but it is impossible for anyone to say exactly how much the outages cost in bids. Like most years, I didn't see many bargains. I was quite shocked by the Tango Eggs Evers. I understand it is the only one known, but $11k?!?

DJ

Holy cow, I think they did super-impose the presidential candidates heads on the bodies of women for the N84 series.

Not sure the consigners always lost money. I was high bidder on a lot at 12. Then got outbid twice, but got in another bid and was leading at 12:30. Then got outbid again. I put in one final bid at 12:45, which held up. So there were eight bids on the item after 12...

I can say it because I lived it. None of my won items were bumped for the last few hours and I won all 3, a few below my up to bids.

ps...now that I think about it maybe there was one lot bumped once but not to my high autobid, after the issues started.

Val--It was a breathtaking final hammer for the postcard of the seven-year old son of Goldsboro's manager. Ironically, as the back attests, the card originally came from Fred Stoehr's estate. Stoehr played for a short time with the 1910 Goldsboro Giants. Despite my early bidding, i didn't with the card!

Cheers,
Mike

I'm not a tech guy, but should a hosting company have a website that looks like it belongs in 1995?

http://www.createauction.com/features_hosting.html

I bid early on this postcard too but I never imagined it would sell for that final price. Amazing! Great story on it.

Yeah, but for people who were frozen out of the site for 3+ hours and then quit, there could have been more bids that were never placed. Or, maybe not. :)

Anything is possible. There is also such thing as a phone. :cool: I started collecting late compared to many on our forum but in 1996 I don't think there were tons of internet auctions yet. Most I participated in (maybe all of them) I had to call in (or write in, which I didn't do) bids. If there was something I couldn't live without last night then I would have picked up the phone. I understand not everyone will do that. Advantage- Old fogey. :)

Me too, Leon....those were the days...we are so very spoiled these days.

These young whipper-snappers have no idea how hard we had it. :D

Brian is not stupid. He knows that the disaster of last night's auction could have a profound effect on his company. This isn't Bill Mastro who was all about fancy orange packing tape and behind the scenes fraud. I have no doubt that he will get this problem fixed in time for the next auction. Again, REA is and has been the most honest auction house in existence since I've been collecting and I have total faith in them as a bidder.

The best in the biz
 

I totally agree. I've been doing auctions for 25 years and REA has and always will be the best in the biz.

Agreed on the phone part, for sure. But for someone who has a bunch of bids in and can't afford to win them all, that guy has no idea which lots he is winning without a website to check. So, if you can't afford a bunch of high ceiling bids, then the only way to bid last night would have been to keep waiting up and hoping the site eventually worked (which many cannot do) OR to spend the whole night on the phone asking for updates on your bids so that you could go an increment or two on the items that the status of your other bids told you you could still afford. I can't imagine there were a whole lot of people that wanted to do that for anything but a must have item, and that is where I think the money was lost on this one.

I should add - I don't have any issues with REA's integrity or honesty, this is just a shitty situation that they are doing their best to fix.

Agree completely. There is not even a question that consigners lost money last night due to the site not working. People simply went to sleep and gave up on an early Monday morning. To say otherwise is to defy reality.

In looking at REA's "Recent Bids" link this morning, I'm shocked at all the bids that were entered during the final 1 1/2 hours. I was completely locked out during that entire period, and ultimately gave up.

So did the internet work for some, but not others? Or were all of those bids during the last hour entered by phone? Very frustrating, but I realize there was no clear-cut "best solution" for REA. I was just surprised it ended at a time when the site was still completely frozen. Knowing REA, I bet the next auction runs like a charm and that this was a one-time occurrence. But I'd also bet that more people will utilize ceiling bids next time around!

Doubt it; no matter how "Honest" or "protected" or whatever the bidding software claims the ceiling bid is, collectors are trained to distrust claims of auctionhouses after years and years of rampant shill bidding from many sites, eBay mostly, but also auctionhouses who allow it in their Terms of Service.
Most collectors who are told "the bids are encrypted and perfectly safe" will shrug their shoulders, and ignore it. Because someone out there wrote the code, and may have access.
The company is trying to make lemonades by offering free shipping to the buyers. I was more of an interested observer last night, but if I was a "bid at the end" kind of guy, this wouldn't make me place more early bids just waiting for others to keep bidding me up.

to be Clear I love REA.... it is my favorite AH....by leaps and bounds... hiccups happen....just need to have backup plans for the future.

:-)

High ceiling bids are fine if you're only interested in a couple items, but I had bids on 100+ lots. I can't afford to place high ceiling bids and win too many items. Sometimes focus changes during extended bidding. I went to bed when I thought double overtime had ended and I didn't receive an outbid notice. I was bummed this morning to learn that I got outbid after 1:15am.

Val,

A SGC 10 of Peckinpaugh, I assume the same card, sold in 2007 for $4650.99. So the price seemed to me to show lack of maturity on the investment, given 11 years have passed.

I had intermittent access on and off during the last hour or so...I thought I placed a updated bid, but didn't know if it when through...because the site timed out... turned out I did when I got access again, but when I went to check on it again a minute later, it timed out again, turned out I got sniped for which I didn't get to see until it ended a short time later. I wanted to stay active until the end, but gave up too.

Ricky Y

+1

As frustrating as it was for everyone, I can't imagine the sick to your stomach feeling that Brian must have had last night. I am not a computer/systems/IT guy at all, but working in finance, I've been on the phone with enraged clients who couldn't access their systems. When you are powerless to help, other than pushing/escalating with the "techies", it's one of the worse feelings in the world and you dread picking up the phone every time it rings.

So, kudos to Brian for doing his best to keep everyone informed. He posted on here multiple times, knowing that he was facing a pretty angry group of folks.

I'm sorry to anyone who missed out on a white whale, or anyone whose consignment didn't sell for as much as it should have.

Also bad luck in that some potential bidders were probably wrapped up in what turned out to be the World Series clincher.

At the end of the day, this hobby is still a great way to get a little respite from all of the more serious things going on in the world.

Ed, thanks for letting me know this ineresting piece of info. I didn't search that far back for a comparable sale. In fact, back in 2007, I hadn't yet begun focusing on cards of all the 1924 Senators players - I was only into WaJo and Sam Rice cards at that time.

Val,

No problem. For a bit I had delusions of getting that card for $1000 or so. Then reality hit.

Ed

It was a little exasperating at times trying to figure what was going on with REA but with a little luck and some ceiling bids I was able to get most of the cards I had zeroed in on.
REA runs a class organization and it had to be frustrating with the technical glitches. One of the previous posters mentioned that it was tough trying to maneuver and navigate when you have many bids but can't afford to win all of them and thus you try to adjust your bidding based on which cards are showing activity and which ones you need to drop out of the bidding on. I think this is very true for most of us....

I fell asleep when the Site was down late. I figured an email was going to come about the bidding being extended until Monday night due to all of the issues. I was ahead on one and still in on another waiting to see if my one was going to hold, then go to the other.

Woke up and lost the one by 1 bid (I would have definitely hit it again) and the other went lower too, so they definitely missed some money. Not huge I'm sure, but wasn't happy when I woke up at 1 pm or so and it was closed.

Wish they would have extended until tonight.

Closing during chaos wasn't the best route in my eyes.

T205 collection of 31 AB backs
 

So excited as I got the T205 AB backs with 31 cards. Went higher than what I wanted to pay but may retail what I do not want. Cubbies are all upgrades and Kroh is new to me. Can’t wait to get them

Sorry I ran you up on that lot, Ken. I thought one more bid might be too much, depending on how they all grade out. Looks like a high grade group and I was mostly after the M. Brown 2/98 ex card. To me the auction ran fine as they left it open long enough for people to get their bids in. My "white whale" was the T214 Cree, but I never win my white whale, so I have a collection of SGC 86 Rabbit Maranvilles. I only win good cards when I'm plastered at like 4 AM. They are in my collection today.

I know that REA produces some eye popping prices, but the Bond Bread portrait of Jackie Robinson keeps going up and up -- $14,400 in PSA 6 and $5,100 in PSA 3. :eek:

Damn! I just picked up a psa 1 for 800 and felt like I over paid lol looks like i wont be a upgrading anytime soon

I was watching those as well. Looks like it's recognition as his true rookie is gaining steam.

There is a PSA 9 in Heritage that I expect to set a new record for Jackie Robinson Rcs. Jackie Robinson, along with Clemente and Mantle, are the best investments in the post war vintage markets and their cards are the bellwether for the hobby.

Well said.

Is there a Bond Bread Roby Port PSA 9 in that auction? I saw a Leaf Roby 9 in Heritage however that is not his rookie since it is a 1949 issue.

Server sabotage by Russian trolls in St. Petersburg? An auction house's worst nightmare.

It is already at 156k. Seems like the hobby thinks it is his rookie card. 1st national issue, check. I guess most still prefer a nationally issued mainstream card to a regional.

We've been down this road with the regional vs. national comparison, and I'm not sure why you continue to classify the BB card as a regional?

Anyhow, you're comparing a PSA 9 to a PSA 6. A PSA 9 BB Portrait does not exist. There are 3 PSA 8s which would surely produce eye-popping numbers should they come up for sale.

In comparing a PSA 6 Leaf vs. PSA 6 BB, the numbers are a lot closer, and the BB outperformed recent Leaf sales.

PSA 6 Bond Bread = $14,400

Last 5 PSA 6 Leaf sales = $9,300; $9,485; $11,400; $10,300; $9,600. A PSA 6 Leaf with excellent centering did sell for $16,156.00 about 13-14 months ago.

There is also 126 Leaf to 15 Regionals in 6. So with more than 8 times the population, the Leaf RC still sells for more than the regional. BBs sold for 6100 and 5900 this year too, but REA always gets a premium, sometimes a ridiculous one.

Bond Bread
 

13+ major cities including NY, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Baltimore, etc, is hardly a “Regional” Issue. The 47 Bond Bread portrait IS his true rookie.

that's cute how you keep calling it a regional even when you know that it's not.

Bond Bread Jackie
 

+1,000!!!!

Regional or not the BB are his rookie cards. The Leaf is more popular but not his rookie card

i never said otherwise. :confused:

What region encompasses NY, Detroit, Chicago, Baltimore, DC, Montreal, Philadelphia, etc.?

$14400 > $9300

Yes... REA does get a premium... so let's compare sales from this particular REA auction.

Bond Bread PSA 4 sold for $5100.
Leaf PSA 5 sold for $4800.

$5100 > $4800

Nobody is taking anything away from the Leaf issue. It is easily one of Jackie's most iconic issues. I am glad to have one in my collection.

That being said, the BB issue has experienced a meteoric rise this year, similar to what the market recently saw with other iconic cards. This makes it hard to go by the previous sales of $6100 and $5900 (which were also big jumps). It has been on a continuously upward trajectory, whether you want to admit that or not.

Included in this rookie card status should be Jackie's Homogenized Bond Bread, not just the Bond Bread Portrait. Both were issued in 1947 (see long thread from Ted Zanidakis where he recalls collecting Homogenized Bond Bread cards in 1947). SGC correctly identifies the Homogenized Bond Bread card as being distributed in 1947. As Shaun and Joe point out, Bond Bread was not a regional issue by any reasonable definition of the term, but we're getting into semantics. There is no threshold between local, regional, and national distribution.

Even if a card was only distributed in limited locations during a rookie year, whose to say that it's not a rookie year card?

Let's keep it simple: if a card was distributed in the player's first year, it's a rookie year card, regardless of the size of the issue (lou gehrig 1925 exhibit is an oversized issue but that shouldn't mean it's not his rookie year card) or how many locations it was distributed in.

Well put James!

Bond Bread Jackie
 

Spot on James!

Not every player has a rookie card.

Bite your tongue (but don't spit in the cauldron)! ;)

I think this is hilarious. Ten years ago very few people cared about these cards. All of a sudden someone calls it a rookie card and now people are tripping over themselves and apparently paying six figures for the card. Sometimes I think cards should come with warning labels.

Reminds me of the T205 Matty Cycle back 37-1, was no big deal until it was auctioned off with misleading information about how tough they were. From that point on people have been paying a huge premium for the card. All it seems to take is the right person to give out some information and "Boom Goes the Dynamite" :-). As as the buyers are happy that is all that counts.

Not sure about the T205 Matty, as that has never been an area of collecting interest for me, but wrt the "Boom Goes the Dynamite", I don't think it is necessarily the "right person giving out information." We've seen a good number of cards experience an explosion at some point in time... whether it be the Sporting News Ruth, the e121 Ruth (Throwing variation), the '25 Exhibits Gehrig, '55 Topps Clemente, '47 Bond Bread, etc.

With each of those players, there is an element of intrigue that transcends the sport. With that, there has always been a premium placed on rookie cards.

Can't speak for the '25 Gehrig Exhibit card (wish I bought one when it was more affordable), but regarding the Bond Bread set...

Ten years ago, a renowned movie director with unlimited connections sought out these cards... and couldn't put together a complete set (He got 12 out of the 13). One of the biggest whales in the hobby spent 6 years during that time period trying to complete his first complete set. It is one of the few items he kept after selling much of his collection. It was only a matter of time before the card / set got noticed by "mainstream collectors."

I wish I had held onto the cards I sold.

Alfred Hitchcock? No wait, he's dead. Steven Spielberg?

Lee, I'm not sure which auction you're talking about but I think the Cycle Matty is pretty tough to come by these days in relation to price. (Caveat.. I own one as a Matty collector) SGC has graded 25 of them out of a total of about 500. Obviously PSA numbers are skewed lower since they haven't recognized it as long. Compare this to a non HOFer like the T206 O'Hara Polar Bear version where SGC has graded 120 out of a little over 300 total and check that price in relation ($10K for a PSA 4!!). I get in that case, the greater percentage of O'Hara's St. Louis are graded. Plus, I've been searching on the BST here and other places for a PSA/SGC 4 + Cycle Matty for a while and haven't seen one in years.

Spike Lee I assume. :)

I wonder if Hitchcock was a baseball fan?

Ruth, Gehrig, Jackie, Clemente. . . .if you are in this for investment purposes only there's most of your business plan right there. Transcend the sport. Iconic intriguing figures. Throw in Michael Jordan, Bobby Hull, maybe . . . a few others.

I thought the recent Kareem Abdul Jabbar auction at Golden was very instructive. An iconic figure who made a tremendous impact on his sport. Seemed to me that there was pretty muted demand for his stuff. Many items had one bid last time I looked at that auction (now closed). Hell, a week before it closed a ton of his stuff had zero bids. Yet people will pay $30,000 for a basketball card of a player frankly I have never heard of. I guess to each his own.

Abdul Jabbar sold a lot of middling stuff.

Wow! That was fast
 

Got my REA winnings today. Fantastic looking lot in my opinion. All AB backs. 2 PSA graded not shown in auction

Mercy, Ken, I am envious!

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