Restored Honus Wagner at SCP Auctions

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by benjulmag

FWIW, the fact that the major auction houses (e.g., Sothebys, Christies, etc.) across all fields of collecting employ the method of hidden reserves with the house being allowed to secretly bid up to the reserve, suggests to me this method works in achieving the highest prices. That it might piss off some bidders who will therefore not bid is more than offset by the higher prices it generates among those bidders who participate. Conceptually it makes sense it would work, as it reduces the number of bidders required to achieve the desired price from two to one. In regard to the demand curve, for the most desirable items it is very inelastic. Because of that, bidders who really want the item will knowingly choose to take the bait and bid, fearing that, even though unlikely, if there is that "real" second bidder, they will have no chance of buying the item after the auction.

You are undoubtedly correct in all of this, because for most collectors, "stuff trumps everything." I would point out that lots of other morally questionable business practices are also quite successful for the sellers, and from time to time laws are enacted to stop them. Endless discussions here have addressed which cross the line in our hobby and and which don't, with much outrage expressed regarding the former. For me, as I said, any selling strategy that involves keeping bidders in the dark does cross that line. The fact that most AHs employ those strategies and buyers continue to patronize them doesn't change my opinion in the least.

[atx840]

12th bid came in on the Wags.

Current Bid: $919,005

[babraham]

Originally Posted by atx840

12th bid came in on the Wags.

Current Bid: $919,005

Less than a day left now...it's got a ways to go to hit their $2m+ estimate.

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by babraham

Less than a day left now...it's got a ways to go to hit their $2m+ estimate.

Agreed the clock is ticking and it will be interesting to see.

Either way I think the seller should be very happy with what he gets

[ullmandds]

$919,000...a reasonable price for such an ugly card.


I'm relieved...I was hypothesizing the easiest way to eat a t206...maybe vitamix it and put it in a smoothie???

[Rhotchkiss]

A very reasonable price indeed, but a complete miss by the AH, who estimated the card at $2mm. In my opinion, the pre-restored card would have sold for (perhaps considerably) more.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Did it actually sell/meet reserve?