[Archive]

Posted By: tbob

My experience with Hunt's yesterday has left me with a sour taste in my mouth. I placed a maximum bid on my lot of $2600. Barry Sloate had also left an absentee bid on the lot of $2400, so the lot officially opened up at $2500. The lot officially ended with a live bidder winning at $2600. I do not understand why the live bidder wouldn't have had to bid above $2600 as my bid was made days before. So the bottom line was I bid $2600 and lost the lot to another bidder who 3 days later entered his bid for $2600. I guess the winning bidder might have gone ahead and bid $2700 and won the lot but the basic principle is that if you place an absentee bid in their auction you are basically screwed because unless someone calls out your bid from the side of the hall, it will go unnoticed. Maybe the theory is that since live bidders pay immediately, Hunt's would rather take the bid of a live bidder than deal with an internet bidder. This is not the first time this has happened to me, happening in an ebay live auction also. I don't think it is right and I won't be involved in any more of their auctions. I hold nothing against the winning bidder but I think the entire process is unfair. I know that Barry Sloate is now trying to figure out if he won any lots in the auction as his other 3 lots all ended at his maximum bid, as did mine, so he is unsure if he were the winning bidder or not. It's just not a good system...