Live From Sothebys

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Posted By: boxingcardman

A number of comments seem to bypass the personal responsibility element of auction conduct. Perhaps I differ from the typical participant in auctions but I study the catalog in advance and decide what I am willing to spend. I stop if the item gets there. Someone who keeps raising the paddle despite the price spiraling out of control has to bear some of the responsibility for the outcome. Your decision, you live with the consequences, and don't whine that there was a book bid that drove up your price.

I also agree with Richard w/r/t valuing unique items. There is no "value" for them other than what deal can be reached. For something readily located, you have a market to reference. I'd be nuts to pay $10K for a nm-mt Hank Aaron rookie because I can locate one any day of the year and buy it for a fraction of that price. If I was pricing mine to sell and I asked that for it, I would not expect to sell it. If I am selling a very rare card that has only a few known examples and might not come up for sale but once every decade, I can ask what I want and if you don't want to meet my price, too bad. I do not see the harm in a book bid for a unique or very rare item, although it would move things along much better if there was simply a reserve as starting bid. That way if no one's interested it just moves on. Which points out one thing that favors book bidding: it flushes out potential buyers at levels that a seller might accept if approached after the auction, buyers that a straight reserve might not find. I know I've set minimums on items on ebay and been approached when an item did not sell with a request to sell it at a reduced price. Sometimes, I will take the deal. I am sure that if someone bids 90% of the reserve on an item, a good thinking auctioneer would try to bring the seller and bidder together to make a private deal and may well close a deal that leaves everyone better off.

I ask this seriously, not sarcastically: Are there people who have the $$ to bid on the types of items we are discussing who are actually driven to bid more if they think they are in a competition? Has anyone here ever thought "Hey, there's another bidder, I guess I'll just bid beyond my limits on this lot because there's someone else bidding?" And if so, has that been for a replaceable item (like a postwar rookie card) or has it been for a unique item or one that rarely surfaces hence isn't readily valued?