Won an item from AH that I was the only bidder, am I overpaid?
 

Team,

What are your thought if you placed a bid on a lot on the first day of auction opening day then after 14 days you ended up winning the lot that you were the only bidder, do you think you overpaid? or you got a steal?

Could be either.
Depends what it is and how it compares to other sales and other factors
Are you able to share what it is? Pictures? Little more detail?

With the way prices have been skyrocketing, I’m going to steal Darren’s signature line and remark that overpaying today is underpaying tomorrow. :D

I would consider myself damn lucky nobody else wanted it at the price I was willing to bid.

I had the exact same thing happen a couple months ago and I was ready to bid way more during the extended bidding period.

I don't feel comfortable sharing what that was since it was an one of one "unique" memorabilia that I thought "hmmm... it is cool to have but I don't really need it, let's put in an initial bid and most likely someone would outbid me anyways..."

I would still pay for what I won but just thinking whether I am holding "bag" on an item no one wants but only I care type of thing. :)

I think if it's something you truly enjoy and wanted, that even if it was a slight overpay, than it's okay. It's difficult to quantify a purchase like that. If you feel good about it, you were comfortable bidding on it within the first place, and it was something you really wanted, then it sounds like a steal to me.

Would you feel better if your opening bid had been run up?

If you were hoping to be outbid, you shouldn't have bid at all. If you were hoping to win it, you got it for the lowest possible price. Personally, I only bid on things I want to win, and I'd rather pay the least amount possible to win them, so if I was in your situation I would be quite pleased.

Less a factor of overpaying than you just wanted a unique item that had little appeal to other people. Nothing wrong with that. I was the only bidder on an item at Golden two auctions ago. More than happy to get it for my entry level bid.

If you are the only bidder I'd say enjoy the hell out if and don't consider flipping it anytime soon. The only person who wants it at the price you paid likely now has it.

This!
 

nuff said.

I don't know. What's your annual salary and job description?

A large part of the psychology of auctions is the idea that you "won" something. Beat others out for something desirable. I know the feeling of winning something at a much lower price than what I expected it would go for and feeling some mixed emotions. Yeah, I know that sounds ridiculous. But at some point thoughts can creep in like "did I miss something" or "did I really over value the uniqueness of this." If no one else in the collecting community wanted that at that price point, was I an idiot?

Why houses that sit on the market too long are hard to sell. When someone finds out that the house has been sitting for 300 days all of a sudden it doesn't look quite so desirable. Ditto last years cars sitting on the new car lot. Is there a problem here I didn't pick up on?

You can't win them all from a financial standpoint. Stop thinking so much and enjoy your mystery item no one else wanted!!!!:D

I respect that

It sounds like you did good and potentially got a real good value.

Regardless since it is something that you wanted

Congrats

Thank you everyone... I think i will need to do some "Psychology of Bidding at Auction" classes. LOL

Someone once told me - Winning an auction means one thing, you were willing to pay more than anyone else.

Well, I can point to numerous things I've won at auction that I am really lucky to have at the price I paid, and I'll bet just about everyone on this forum can say the same.

Sometimes winning an auction means you're the guy who really understood the true value.

Quite right. And, OT...not intending in any way to hijack this thread, here is the very interesting origin of that "nuff said" or "nuf-ced" comment:

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/nuf-ced-mcgreevy/

My oldest son earned a Phd in Economics.

His thesis “Auction Theory”

Not the exact title, but close enough.

He does not allow LOL during his lectures.:D

I would consider it a steal, unless it has authenticity issues that you are not aware of (and others were)?

Jeff

I'm shocked.

Usually I dont bid until before OT. I place one bid and I am outbid minutes later, the auction closes at the exact bid, just one increment higher.

Since it was the only bid, maybe people were locked out during OT?

Auction
 

Lots of times things don’t sell for nearly what they are “worth” at auction as witnessed by the flipping that happens successfully so often. Not everyone watches every auction 100% of the time and stuff falls through the cracks every day. Just for fun I sometimes go to recent auctions that I didn’t follow or bid on and look at the items and closing prices. It’s not often that I don’t say Man I would have paid that easy on at least some of the lots. So congrats and enjoy your one of one …. of course you’ve got us all speculating about what it is… us collectors of weird stuff are going to have one heck of a wild estate sale some day!!!! Rocky

It's like having a girlfriend or a wife that nobody else on God's green earth wanted, but, heck, you try to love her with all of your heart anyway. :D

It depends on if after bidding you were hoping get out bid (meaning I over paid) or praying that nobody noticed (meaning I under paid).

at least there was no shill bidding

See I don't have this problem...every lot I bid on goes for crazy amounts of money lol. I guess that means I have good taste though or I need to make more money lol.

OH boy....!!!
 

This post really made me laugh !!

Congrats and I hope you love your item.

Like Mark17 said, we've all been there. I won a Lou Gehrig Wheaties five years ago in an auction that was advertised on this site. I kept thinking that another member would outbid me cuz I'm a small fish. But no one did and I got it, and it's the best purchase I've ever made.

I don't know if I'd be able to buy it today after the COVID price surge. I didn't think Wheaties had gained popularity, but everyone on eBay tripled their prices, even for Jack Armstrong!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

"To our wives and girlfriends: may they never meet." Groucho

I rarely regret items I bought; I often regret items I did not buy.

Yeah... I realized what I put on the title wasn't really what I meant but I couldn't edit post title so I just leave it like that. Fortunately most people got what I mean. :rolleyes:

more accurately . . . .


at that place and at that point in time.

You can edit the title, after you click on edit then click on go advanced and you will be able to edit the title.

Most of us got it :).....I have been the only bidder many times and was always happy with the outcome.
.

In this day and age, I am amazed when it happens. Usually with a specialty item of some sort. I was stunned to go end to end on this card:

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibi...0Back%201.jpeg

Blank backs are so hard to find.

Made a post asking a question and now your so rich and secretive that you can't share this item. You are not the richest guy here nor do you have a collection remotely as eclectic or rare as multiple guys/gals here. Waste of a thread on a guessing game for an item that is probably not what you make it out to be. Congrats on your steal of the century:rolleyes: