Quote:
Originally Posted by BobC
Justin,
That is a great point. In the other thread about this topic, in the post-war forum, I even said that if AHs were really smart they should actually think about decreasing the bid increments the farther along they got into the extended bidding period. As you stated, psychology can play a huge part in bidding. It is a heck of a lot easier for a bidder to rationalize going an extra $10-$25 on something they already bid $500 on than it is to suddenly go say another $100. People bidding want to win, and rationalizing going an extra bid or two isn't that hard when the increment is seen as small compared to the overall bid.
Plus, anybody ever go to a real live auction and not see the auctioneer throw the bid increments out the window as the bidding was coming to an end? They aren't stupid, so why don't these AHs find someone to tweak the software to have a similar effect? Shouldn't be that difficult, yet no genius has thought of doing it yet. Heck there's even sign language for that. A live auctioneer has something at $600 and he/she's asking for $700, you make a motion with your hand like you're slashing your throat, and almost universally the auctioneer will give you the lead at $650. Or does nobody do that anymore and you have to be an old fart like me to even know what I'm talking about?
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Bob:
There is at least one AH (Clean Sweep) that does basically the exact opposite of what you suggest. That AH has the 10% increments that the OP has suggested would be better for the consignor. But as the auction goes into extended bidding their policy is to add an additional 5% to the buyers premium for bids received after 1:30 AM and an additional 10% after 2;30 AM.
What is everyone's take on that policy?