Online auction strategies
 

I know I’ve gone off on this topic before, but once again I’m watching two auctions that are jumping in price with days left before closing. Do people really think they’re going to scare each other off at three dollar or five dollar increments at a time?

Except for the odd occasion where someone might not be available at the auction’s close, I can’t understand why people keep wanting to pay more for items that they can get much less expensively if they just waited until the end to bid.

Sometimes people will put their max bid in, early, and forget about it. Also, maybe they are taking a spot and hoping they don't get outbid. But yeah, waiting to bid is usually better. (not always, I have stories)

In many auctions, a participant can only participate in "extended" bidding if he put in a bid a certain time before the formal "closing" of the auction. All auctions should in fact work that way. A bidder shouldn't be able to snipe in the last minute unless he bid previously.

:(

I think the people with the least money/who are least likely to go heavy at the end engage in the activity you speak of, just hoping to get lucky.

For most online auctions run by an AH (e.g., REA, LOTG, Heritage, etc.), I tend to put in a qualifying bid as early as possible, see how things stand on the last day, and then prioritize the lots I want to actively go for at that point.

On the last day, some will have already been disqualified (for me) because the bidding is too high. I never know which ones this will be, so I like having a lot of qualifier bids in so I have the option to jump around. I don't expect to win any items with my first bid, I just want to get a bid in so I can bid in "extended bidding".

Occasionally I will notice an item I want to bid on later than usual (I always try to qualify for items on the first day), so a bid would be placed after many other bids have already been placed. Again, not expecting to win it at that price, just trying to qualify (but sometimes this mid-auction bid holds up).

Very rarely, I will see that something I really want has gotten very high earlier than expected, so if I do have a max bid, I may throw that in before the last day.

For eBay, I almost always wait until the end to bid.

It's definitely an exciting phenomenon. Do you wait until the end to place your bids, or do you try to run it up early to scare off would-be competitors?

Sometimes it does seem like there are some bidders who are determined to be in the top spot, and if you top their bid, they'll come right back and re-up. If you get a couple of bidders with similar egos and need to be on top, you can run the price up pretty quick, and basically get the extended bidding over with a few days early, as the price gets run up so high a few days before closing that no one in their right mind will be willing to top that bid.

Lots of reasons I might put in a high bid or keep bumping a bid early. Some of this also depends on the auction rules and bidding increments. Could be to eliminate potential bidders in extended bidding, claim a sweet spot in the bidding pattern, potentially scare other bidders away, know sooner that it will go beyond my means and I can allocate funds somewhere else, or a combination of things. Typically, I don't think this would apply to a common issue such as most T206s or Goudey, but I feel can be used on cards that you seldom see for sale.

For items I really want, I move into the high bidder position either when the extended session begins, or quickly thereafter. Two reasons:
1. If nobody else bids, it shortens the time I have to wait to know I've secured it.
2. If I do get outbid, I want to see if my competition is playing nice. If they do, by bidding within about ten minutes, that's fine and if I'm not over my self-imposed limit, I will reply in kind. But if someone waits 29 minutes to outbid me, then I will do the same to them.

For me, the anticipation of a good upcoming auction, and then playing it out, is where the fun of the hobby is. Sitting around looking at my stuff is pleasant, but not exciting.

Jim - Sometimes you just gotta put in a huge bid and dare anyone to top it. :D

This is interesting to me - that some people find the auction format a fun way to try to be strategic. I guess that might help explain why auctions have become the dominant format even for commodity cards.

For me it's the opposite. An auction is analogous to a dealer not only not pricing their cards, but when you ask what the price is, they say "eh, make me your best offer and then check back in a week or ten days. If no one else has offered me more, then I'll sell you the card." Which, for me, is completely off-putting. I can see the appeal for cards that only rarely come up for sale. But for a T206 Roger Bresnahan or something? No thanks.

OP, read the above post. Then read it again. Then again. Read it until you understand the point being made.

I'd suggest learning the rules of online auctions before yelling at clouds.

I collect flannel (pre-1972) GU jerseys. If things were priced for sale, the good stuff would get snapped up quickly (probably by collectors other than me) and the rest would sit forever.

I remember, back in the 1980s, somebody in Michigan listed a GU Mudcat Grant Twins jersey for $50. I called immediately after seeing the ad, and of course it was already sold. The seller lamented he could've sold it dozens of times over, all the calls he was getting. Auctions are the best for flannels because it's tough to know what the sale number should be.

For common stuff, like adding a T202 to my collection of those, I either lowball bid, or look for BIN deals.

A couple of bidders with similar egos and need to be on top, you can run the price up pretty quick, and basically get the extended bidding over with a few days early.

1055. The Multiple Bid Absurdity Principle
The rationale that any bid you make during the course of an auction is a wasted bid, because it harms you by needlessly and artificially raising the price of the item. Logically speaking, the ONLY bid one should ever make is an all-in, last moment snipe bid.

bidding
 

what about the ( Ebay) guy who keeps re-bidding to get to the top... ( then retracts the bid)..thats always suspicious !!

For auction houses I usually have two tiers of items I watch, first are the handful of items I’m very interested in, and secondly those I am interested in but less so. If I get priced out of the top tier I’ll start placing bids in the other items so I’m on the extended bidding sheet. For example in a recent auction I expected an item to be around $3k and with about a week left it had bolted up to $7k and out of my range. In return I placed holder bids in about 10-12 lesser items I was interested in.

Well that thinking could be put to an end by only allowing previous bidders to bid in the "last few" minutes however defined.

That is exactly how I bid, every time.

Here, too...and many friends. It's practically putting a bookmark on an item because the chances of winning with the initial bid is extremely rare.

I find it easier to hit-and-run a slew of stuff I'm interested in and rarely check to see where things are going unless it's the last hours.

In the day this happened ALL the time with PWCC auctions.

Dinosaur
 

I'm a dinosaur...I just put my bid in, what I want to pay for a card, and forget about it. I'm not really looking to "get a deal," I'm looking to pay a certain amount for a card, and if I get it fine. If I get it for less, even better. If I don't get it, I didn't want it at that price. I know I'm in the minority, but the last thing I need is bourbon-infused bidding at 2AM.

Some great collections have been built in this manner...

Bidding
 

Haha...yeah, I'm sure! I'm happy with my mediocre collection, a bourbon to end the Cubs game, and in bed by 10PMish. I just like to set a price and be done with it. I know that's not the majority opinion, but that's just my game plan...

Cheers,
Geno

Indeed!

I do the same thing. Dinosaur or not, this method works for me just fine too.

I agree with the sniping strategy for eBay and other auctions that have a hard ending.

For almost all AH auctions, you can't snipe because putting in a bid extends the bidding time, either for the entire auction or that particular lot.

Even in live auctions, after you bid, other people have a chance to top your bid (although they have to decide very quickly when compared to AH auctions).

Hear, hear! Bidding under the influence. or BUI, is often the source of buyer's remorse, chagrin, or a host of other feelings, most of which come up regularly when reviewing one's collection. Sadly.

--
Mike

Does any one bid made on a certain lot qualify you for extended bidding or do you have to keep placing bids to become high bidder to qualify for extended bidding on this certain lot?
Larry

A chunk of us that bid low and early on lots of stuff are in the market for multiple cards, but the goal isn't to win all the auctions.

It's not uncommon for me to bid on 5+ things with low/next bids just to get them on my "bidding" page on the website. Out of those 5+ items I know that I am only counting on being in the running for 1-2 of those items, but I have no idea what the market will dictate until the late bidders show up to drive the price.

I don't feel like setting a higher mark on an item when I know I'm going to be there in the last hours to check out the situation and where things stand with the bidding prices.

That said, I'm not one of those people that will stay up all night to extended-bid for hours on end. At some point it's a bid that's the highest and I walk away...but also at that point, I've already passed on a good chunk of my initial bid items.

1 bid is enough to get you to extended, even if it is not high bid. That's why you see a lot of placeholder bids at the auction open and then a flat period until the auction close gets closer.

Caveat there are two methods even in the "prelim bid to qualify" model.

1. You have to have a bid in on EACH LOT that you want to bid on in extended bidding.

2. One bid on any item makes you eligible to bid on the entire auction in extended bidding.

Not sure I see the point in model #2 but it exists.

I don't love model #2, but there I have been several instances where I've been shut out of my main watched items and I've noticed the entire auction is still open to me and then picked up items I'd previously passed over and would never have bid on in extended under model #1.

I thought Clean Sweep let you bid on anything in extended bidding if you bid on at least 10 lots in the auction.

Sterling Sports Auctions uses Method #2.

eBay is the only format where you can catch people off guard with a top all bid at the buzzer. For the legit AH's auctions, you have to outbid the experts on here with the deep pockets. You will never pull the wool over their eyes with a strategy other than bid more than them early and often.

And there are so many eyes in stuff these days, even the most remote auction house with a questionable reputation will get "over retail" bids

They’re actually a number of others that are like eBay. eBay is just the most well-known one.