Best Auction Platform

[Rhotchkiss]

NOT best Auction House.

A comment was made on another thread that Fanatics took the “best auction platform” (in PWCC) and ruined it. I rarely even looked at PWCC, so I can’t comment on that. But it made think what Auction Platform do I like the best.

Personally, I think Heritage has the best platform. I like that they show what’s coming up in future auctions well ahead of the auction. I like that they show your all-in cost with buyers premium. I like that the cards/items zoom/get larger when you hover the mouse over it- I don’t have to click the item to get a good look- and I like the super zoom and the ability to move all over the picture once I do click on the item. I like that they reveal reserves early and move the minimum bid to the reserve amount days before the auction ends. I like that I can search and sort items in so many ways and that I can do the same with my bids and tracked items. I like how in extended bidding the items ending last (most recent bids) go to the bottom of my page. I love how the entire screen fits on my phone display, as opposed to the software used by REA, Memory Lane, LOTG, where I have to scroll right to see prices and the card and price are never displayed in the same view. I also like Heritage’s bid increments and how I can bid any amount, rather than having to bid only in line with the increments.

Again, I don’t want this to devolve into a discussion of the best auction house. Nor do I want discussion on best closing procedure - that has been beat to death. Rather, let’s talk about which platform- functionally- you prefer and why.

[calvindog]

I like Heritage the most as well. I don’t need to log in twice on my phone to get logged in. The site has a lot of info though and sometimes it’s hard to figure out how to use all of it. I still can’t figure out a way to search just the “make an offer” items.

[BioCRN]

PWCC/Fanatics lets you sort by "Earliest Year" as well as sport-type categories. That is very useful to me for browsing rather than specifically looking for something.

The opposite end is Goldin which too often doesn't return proper search results even when using exact terms. Browsing is hard to narrow down and searching often gives results that are not what you want. You search for "caramel" and you get results for "Carmelo Anthony" because the engine decides you can't spell or know what you really want.

A lot of the other auction houses use a couple very similar setups and even if they're not awesome, you get used to using them.

[vintagerookies51]

Heritage was overwhelming at first trying to navigate, but agreed I really like being able to see what's up for auction months in advance. Makes no sense to not be able to preview the auction until it actually starts, leaving you 2-3 weeks to try to gather the funds if your grail card happens to be in there.

[Keith H. Thompson]

except REA. I use a 29 inch Apple Mac, and with a minimum of clicks I can bid on or watch every single item I wish in an organized way that seems easy. Just yesterday I went through every single one of the 3700 or so items. I miss stuff in Heritage because of the overwhelming material in so many different categories.

[Lucas00]

Baggers Auction to me is by far the best website for the user imo. Extremely simple, the side/search bar takes you exactly where you want to go and is very phone friendly as well.

[hcv123]

Limiting the discussion to "platform". For all the reasons Ryan mentioned, it really is a great platform - the most robust and easy to navigate imo.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by calvindog

I like Heritage the most as well. I don’t need to log in twice on my phone to get logged in.

Glad to hear I'm not alone. Worthless phone login on most sites is killing me!

[parkplace33]

Originally Posted by Lucas00

Baggers Auction to me is by far the best website for the user imo. Extremely simple, the side/search bar takes you exactly where you want to go and is very phone friendly as well.

Concur. It is super easy to use.

[Kco]

Originally Posted by calvindog

I like Heritage the most as well. I don’t need to log in twice on my phone to get logged in. The site has a lot of info though and sometimes it’s hard to figure out how to use all of it. I still can’t figure out a way to search just the “make an offer” items.

logging in twice for Lelands/REA etc is quite honestly the most annoying feature, even when I elect to stay logged in I am logged out in 20 minutes. Additionlaly, I like being able to key in an amount in Heritage above the minimum next bid vs in preset increments. Their app is also very handy and easy to use.

[Stonepony]

No matter how you rank them, put Hunt at the bottom.

[perezfan]

Have never used Baggers, but agree with the OP that Heritage has thought it out the best. So many useful features, and their zoom feature for larger images is without peer.

The ease of use on a cell phone is the biggest criteria for me personally. These auctions typically end on a Friday or Saturday night (which my wife has deemed "date night"). So I'm rarely bidding on an actual computer on closing night. It really helps that Heritage actually fits the necessary info onto the cell screen, unlike the others.

I still prefer LOTG, REA and Hunts as a bidder/consignor, but in terms of functionality, ease of use, special features and ability to research archives, Heritage is top dog.

[BobbyStrawberry]

I find the REA and LOTG platforms much better than Heritage. Easier to navigate and much more straightforward.

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by Stonepony

No matter how you rank them, put Hunt at the bottom.

Being more of a memorabilia guy, Hunts is a "Top 2" auction house for me. They consistently get the stuff I love to collect. But their site is indeed awful...

If you're bidding on a $2,000 glove, you want to see both the front AND back sides. If you're bidding on a $5,000 Team-signed Ball, you want to see more than just one panel. If you're bidding on a Game-used Bat that they say is cracked, you want to see the actual crack and how severe it is. If you're bidding on an antique trophy with repair/restoration, you need to see a detailed image of the restored portion.

You should not be bidding if you have to guess at these things. They've had decades to figure this out, but just can't seem to do it.

[tiger8mush]

Clean Sweep is nice that you can place a bid right in the listings so you don't lose your spot navigating, but is SO ANNOYING with that bouncing arrow at the bottom right that I find myself scrolling quicker thru the listings than I normally would.

*LOVE* the hover/zoom functionality (as others mentioned) with Heritage

edited to add: Agreed that Hunt's format overall is the worst of the bunch. Not to mention their shipping/handling fees are higher than any other auction house in my experiences, but that is off-topic.

[BRoberts]

Originally Posted by perezfan

If you're bidding on a $2,000 glove, you want to see both the front AND back sides. If you're bidding on a $5,000 Team-signed Ball, you want to see more than just one panel. If you're bidding on a Game-used Bat that they say is cracked, you want to see the actual crack and how severe it is. If you're bidding on an antique trophy with repair/restoration, you need to see a detailed image of the restored portion.

Your complaints, which are 100 percent valid, have nothing to do with the bidding platform and everything to do with the ineptitude of the auction house.

[ruth-gehrig]

Originally Posted by calvindog

I like Heritage the most as well. I don’t need to log in twice on my phone to get logged in. The site has a lot of info though and sometimes it’s hard to figure out how to use all of it. I still can’t figure out a way to search just the “make an offer” items.

Looks like you can search "make an offer" items by active and inactive members under the "highlights" filter. Screenshot attached

[MVSNYC]

Heritage

[joshleon]

I wish REA would make an app. Many times it’s log in twice and a text confirm. Such a pain

[theshowandme]

The eBay mobile development team could teach these auction houses a few things about User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX)

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by ruth-gehrig

Looks like you can search "make an offer" items by active and inactive members under the "highlights" filter. Screenshot attached

Thank you!

[Mark17]

Heritage best
Hunt Live auctions second best
Hunt internet auctions worst

Everyone else somewhere in between.

[ricktmd]

Heritage does have a good platform as does Clean Sweep. Many of the auction houses use the same software and are all the same or very similar. What I don't like (and hope this is not straying from the question to far) are auction houses that mix up modern, pre war and post war. I get the featured items might be a mix but I like what REA and Heritage do with listing items in order from the oldest to the newest. Certain auction houses mix modern in with pre war and I wont even look at their sites as its annoying to be forced to scroll through cards you don't collect. Ebay has started that. A baseball 1901 search yields modern cards

[trambo]

I like most of what Heritage has with their website but because they auction so many things, it can be overwhelming when someone mentions a specific auction and what's in it. That said, their functionality of hiding items you've bid on makes it a better experience to me than any of the other sites. If the create auction sites (REA for one) would do that, I'd probably give them a higher ranking as it's tougher to navigate a bunch of items in that platform.

All in all, I think the least favorite to me is probably the Hunt Auction platform. Tough to navigate all the way around.

My $.02 (maybe my $.05).

[FromVAtoLA]

Heritage and Invaluable (and eBay) allow you to save keywords/searches which is a really great feature.

[theshowandme]

eBay has one feature that I do not believe any other platform has

The exclude function for searches

A simple “-“ before a keyword excludes those results

In addition to this, the “SELECT ANY IN” feature that allows you to basically chain OR filters in your search. This is accomplished by building a comma separated list of variables inside parenthesis ()

For example

If I wanted to search Ty Cobb cards from the years 1907, 1908, and 1909 while excluding T206 cards

The search would be

“Ty Cobb (1907, 1908, 1909) -t206”

Simple sweet filter magic that allows you to filter through the stuff you don’t want

I’d love to build saved searches on REA and Heritage and LOTG using that type of functionality. If this is possible and I just do not know it, please let me know!

[bnorth]

The best by a county mile is the $1 section her in the BST area. Everything starts at $1, you pay what you bid plus shipping with no silly buyers premium, and you are buying from a fellow member.

Now we just need more people to list stuff so it can grow. If you are thinking of selling something please give it a try. Auctions can start anytime and end every Sunday night.

[tjisonline]

Any of those houses that don’t that off-the-shelf auction software be.

You can tell which sites bought it because you are forced to login twice when using the iPhone Safari browser.



This is the software company (face palm).





Note: hunt’s web site is still the worst. The company itself is fine.

[gnaz01]

Their images are crystal clear and huge in size so you can spot any imperfection a mile away...

[ValKehl]

Not ragging on any apecific auction houses, but I despise the auction software used by some auction houses that won't let me set a max bid that is one bid increment higher than my current bid. For example, say the high bid on a card that interests me is $1,000 and the bid increments are $100. When I bid $1,100, I am unable to make a max bid of $1,200. Rather, the lowest max bid I can make is $1,300.

[effe]

Originally Posted by valkehl

not ragging on any apecific auction houses, but i despise the auction software used by some auction houses that won't let me set a max bid that is one bid increment higher than my current bid. For example, say the high bid on a card that interests me is $1,000 and the bid increments are $100. When i bid $1,100, i am unable to make a max bid of $1,200. Rather, the lowest max bid i can make is $1,300.

+100, especially on an inexpensive item where the bids increments are a substantial % of the expected final price.

[Exhibitman]

Heritage has the most features and information and is the best of the lot. My only real nit to pick is that I find the image viewing clunky.

[Schlesinj]

Just received an email for REA’s new platform. First auction is in January.

[Leon]

My favorite auction platforms are ones that end at sensible times. And no, I don't think 3am, in any time zone, is reasonable.
.
and a card...

[3-2-count]

Originally Posted by leon

my favorite auction platforms are ones that end at sensible times. And no, i don't think 3am, in any time zone, is reasonable.

This!