just another auction (verkman)

[sflayank]

well a new low has been reached
noone else bid on the lot
i was only bidder all day and like all auctions except this one apparently u must bid by 10...so i bid in the afternoon,,,when i went to bed at 1230 i checked and i was still the hi and only bidder at the minimum
yet somehow i was outbid when i awoke this morning..the email was timed at 140 am
so how can this be? well in a steve verkman auction anything is possible...if he doesnt want to sell an item he claims that under his rules a person may bid forever if they bid on more then 10 items and yet he claims this rule is in there so you dont have to stay up late and get sniped
so i am to believe that a fictitious person who had previously bid on more then 10 items,(but not this one) decided at 140 am that this was something he wanted also
or could it be that steve who wanted 800 for the item at the national from me
just didnt want to sell it for 500
i think maybe verkman needs to open his auction books andprove to the world the winner bid on ten or more tmes before 10 oclock and then jumped in at the last minute on this item
i always say u should never bid in an auction that doesnt end each lot individually,,,because its too easy for the auction house to rig the auction
STEVE you dont want me to be sniped? change your rules with the rest of society
dont tell us the rule of 10 is in there to protect against late night snipes
its in there to protect you from selling for what you think is too cheap

[thekingofclout]

Wow! You're the same guy that always bashes Henry Yee. You are some piece of work... incredible.

[Leon]

Well a few things on this one. First of all the original poster is larry serota. Full names must be put out here when making those kind of statements. So that is done.

Now, I won't address Steve's auction. He can do that if he wants to. I will address some of the other statements above though. My auction company, Brockelman and Luckey Auctions, also ends auctions in a different manner. WE go into an extended bidding and everyone, yes every registered bidder, can still bid. We also have what might be the only written policy allowing people (3rd party, not our bidders) to audit our books. WE are 100% transparent in the auction process. I don't think you can make general statements about ALL auction companies and be correct. regards

[sports-rings]

Hi Leon,

I am not trying to stir the pot, but maybe I am missing something. What is the reason to have an extended auction if everyone can join in and bid on any item at any time?

On a separate note, I think it's fantastic that you have an open auction and allow people to view "the books". I wish others followed that model. I liked the old days on ebay when it was easy to find what your friends and collector competitors were bidding on.

[sflayank]

We have come up with what we hope is a partial solution to the un-ending auction problem. In order to discourage late bidding/sniping at extreme hours and to encourage bidding when everyone is (hopefully) awake, bids placed after 1:30 AM EST are subject to an additional buyers premium of 5%;
This is cut and paste from verkmans own rules
and they have to have placed bids on at least 10 lots prior to 10 oclock
I am not blasting anyone...if anyone here believes that abidder bid on 10 lots prior to 10pm but not the one i bid on just so they could snipe this lot at 140 am and pay 5% more i would like to sell a bridge in brooklyn to
which begs the question why didnt they bid at 1:29 and save the 5% addon fee?

[Leon]

We work for our consignors, plain and simple. Since implementing this ending strategy we have unequivocal evidence that the ending has made it where many lots get many more bids. We have given it a ton of thought and this is our method. It's best for our consignors and actually our bidders too. I can't tell you how many times I have not bid on something in an auction, then wanted to bid, but couldn't because I hadn't bid yet. It has happened to me (and no doubt almost everyone reading this) many times. As for the extension.....the extended bidding has to do with the time to close. Once we are in that time then any 15 minute increment (based on 4 equal ones every hour) that doesn't get a bid, means the auction closes automatically. We have no control over it, our bidders do. This has been our way of ending auctions for the last 3-4 and so far there have been no issues. Scott and I feel there probably isn't a perfect solution to ending....just like many good debates on this board, all sides have their pros and cons. Hope this helps.

ps...in about 10 minutes I will be out, on business, until after lunch so won't be responding to any other questions until later......

[Exhibitman]

I have no idea of the circumstances of Larry's situation and I definitely appreciate how awful it is to lose a deal at the last minute. That said, it does appear that Verkman's auction rules allow for the kind of late bidding that took place. And if the item was tough and a bargain why is it so hard to believe that someone came in and topped the opener?

As for allegations of shilling by Clean Sweep, I've purchased numerous items in Clean Sweep auctions using max bids without my max bid being hit and haven't suspected any shilling on my wins or losses. Also, remember we have collectors across multiple time zones. A 12:30 a.m. EST bid is only 9:30 for me, 6:30 for the Hawaiian collectors on this board, so a very late bid isn't by any means improbable.

[GrayGhost]

as a neutral observer, these auction policies are ridiculous, IMO. If someone closes an auction, it should be by LOT. If NO additional bids have been received by TEN, thats it.

IF there has been one or more competing bids, the ten minute rule could go into effect.

Just seems complex. Thats one of the BEST things about ebay. you put in a biid or a snipe, and you are all set. The auction JUST ENDS. But, w so many auctions not using snipe programs, I can understand the ten minute rule, but the above situation sounds a bit fishy, in that the poster checked at 1230 w no bids.

This is NOT an attack on MR Verkman either. Im just trying to give an objective viewpoint

Scott Roberts

[sflayank]

spoke to steve this morning and my title stating crooked i will retract
however i will tell you what he told me and you can draw your own conclusions
the person who bid on the lot did bid on 10 lots prior to 10 pm entitling him to bid on anything he wanted
this was the only item he bid on using this rule
this was the only item ANYONE bid on using this rule
this was the last bid placed in the entire auction
and the person who used this rule forgot the rule of paying a 5% penalty after 1:30 or didnt care
these are direct from Steve himself...i told him that telling me this made it look even worse and he said he knows but its the truth
So I will take him at his word and put this dicussion to rest

[barrysloate]

In every auction I ever ran, there was always one lot that was the last to get a bid. His explanation sounds good to me. The fact that a bidder may not have executed his bids in the most intelligent or efficient manner possible is no big deal. It's late at night, it happens.

[ajg]

My guess is you will see it in another one of his auctions,on his table for sale ,or in his back section where he sells items outright.

[Leon]

In keeping with board policy ajg is- ala.n gould

If anyone doesn't want their full name on the board then they shouldn't say things that will make it necessary. That being said I will usually cover a letter, or add a period etc.., to protect from Google searches, while still letting everyone know the name. Same policy for everyone. Always email me, PM me or post any questions pertaining to this.