Hunts/Invaluable
 

Hunts uses Invaluable for their live auctions. They have this disclaimer of sorts on their website with regard to their live auctions:

Please note: Live Auction lots open at one increment above the second highest ceiling bid, and not at the high bid. Therefore, it is rare, but possible, during the course of incremental bidding, for a live bidder to win a lot for an amount equal to an online bidder's ceiling bid.

Huh? Maybe I'm just not smart enough to understand this. Does anyone follow this and understand what the point is? Maybe this makes sense to Scott G. and other who run live auctions. I've read it a dozen times and my head hurts.

I had to read that a few times. It looks like Live Auction bidding takes precedence over ceiling bids once they start, so they would have to revert to the second highest ceiling bid as a starting point in order for you, the live bidder to bid one increment higher, therefore tying the high ceiling bid. The highest ceiling bid at that point cannot bid any higher and you can't bid one increment higher because you wouldn't be the under bidder at that point.

Essentially, tie goes to the runner, which would be you the live bidder.

Hunts has good stuff, but the auction platform and bidding process is not particularly friendly.

Assume a $50 bid increment: On-line bidder (OLB) submits a ceiling bid of $500; another OLB submits $400. The high bid at the beginning of the live auction is therefor $450. A live bidder immediately bids $500 becoming the first bidder to get to $500. Execution of the OLB's $500 ceiling bid is now not possible since $500 is already taken. If the OLB is watching the live auction, he is shocked to see somebody else with his ceiling bid. If there are no more bids, live bidder wins.

I would think it is other than rare.

Ceiling bid
 

Isn't a ceiling bid supposed to be unknown to the auction house? i.e. - My ceiling bid is $1000, but my actual bid at that time may only be $200. Are they talking about one increment below the actual high bid?

Feel like I am back to taking the LSAT for law school here . . . .

The computer does it without the involvement of the AH, at least in theory. If the OLB high bid was $1000, the $500 bid would push him to $550.

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I guess maybe that's it.

But why do you open at anyone's ceiling bid? If OLB 1 has a bid of 400 with a ceiling of 600, and OLB 2 has a winning bid of 500 with a ceiling of 700, shouldn't the auction simply open at 500?

Our live auctions aren't simulcast, they are live only with no absentee bids so if you or your agent aren't in the room you ain't bidding.

You'd think so, but many of the online general auction platforms reveal ceiling bids to the auction companies. Auction Flex and Invaluable do, so if you see an auction company using either of those platforms be careful. We started our online auctions with auctionflex and that was one of the reasons we stopped using them.

Getting back to Hunt.....

That was an amazing auction. Incredible Vin Scully collection. And Larkin, too... surprised to see he's selling so many of his Awards and Trophies at a relatively young age..

Almost every Scully lot exceeded Hunts' pre-auction estimates by a mile. Cannot ever recall seeing such spirited and rapid bidding, and the auction seemingly ran forever. I've never seen one of these Hunt Live Auctions drag on for that long (or even close!)

If OLB1 has a ceiling bid of $600 and OLB2 has a ceiling bid of $700, the "current high bid" at the beginning of live bidding would be OLB2 at $650, assuming no other OLB's.

I can tell you from experience that you can't see the ceiling bids with invaluable. That is hidden to the auctioneer. I can't even see who is bidding, just that a bid was placed.

Sorry I thought invaluable was one of the ones that allowed that. Didn't mean to impugn you Scott. I can say with 100% certainty that you can see top bids on Auction Flex.