Auctions End Too Late

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by jhs5120

I think you're not understanding my point.

We're not talking about the (very) small percentage of bidders who work until 1:00AM or 2:00AM, I myself am at the office until 1:00AM or later some nights. I'm talking about the 99.95% of East Coast bidders who are being excluded from the bidding process.

No, I completely understood your point. I'm not an idiot. And by the way, your statement "99.5% of East Coast bidders are being excluded from the bidding process" is patently false. First of all, it's a made up statement. You pulled that number out of thin air to support your complaint. It has NO factual basis whatsoever. None.

You have no idea how many east coast bidders stay up later when an auction from a major auction house is coming to an end. The ONLY input you have thus far is from the few people that have provided statements in this topic. I promise you that if all but a half percent of east coast bidders were being excluded, the major auction houses would immediately make a change, because the amount of income that they could conceivably be sacrificing would be enormous. But that is not happening. Why? Because, again, viable options were suggested to you-placing your max bid on the item you're wanting to buy, and going to bed, is a perfectly acceptable option. If I want a nice Lou Gehrig 1934 Goudey that's up for auction, and I can't be at my computer that late, I look at the card, and then I look at the recent sales history for cards of similar quality. Then, I figure what I'm willing to pay to acquire that card, and I enter that maximum bid. If it's that important that I participate in late bidding, I stay up, and take the next day off. I never had any trouble getting a day off if I wanted it.

If neither of those are options for you, you will need to look elsewhere for that card, because you're not getting it from that auction.

[jhs5120]

Originally Posted by the 'stache

If neither of those are options for you, you will need to look elsewhere for that card, because you're not getting it from that auction.

Exactly! You're excluding bidders. You (and most auction houses) are essentially saying, "If you don't want to stay up until 3:00AM don't bid." Why would any seller in their right mind make such a ludicrous statement and condition of sale?? You're clearly excluding bidders.


I still don't think you're getting this - obviously there are ways around the arbitrary encumbrance of inconvenient auction times, but why put the arbitrary rule in the way of bidders to begin with?

Are there more bidders available to bid at 3:00AM EST or 11:00 PM EST? I'll give you a hint, it's 11:00PM. That's undeniable. Why end an auction when there are less bidders available to bid? Seriously, this isn't rocket science.

Yes, you can place a max bid, but how many time have you placed a max bid and have been outbid by one increment and thought, "Damn, I should've gone higher." I know I do it several times each year, and as other users have commented, it's apparent that this is a common occurrence. These bidders were denied the ability to increase their bid because of an arbitrary rule that has absolutely no benefit to the consignor, bidder or auction house.

You can argue, well if you don't stay up late enough you obviously didn't want the card enough. Why is a person's sleep schedule a prerequisite to buying a card? Is it necessary? I've bought cards at the National before and I can tell you confidently that none of the dealers required me to send them an email at 3:00AM as well as pay the purchase price to buy a card.

The rule is arbitrary. No one could possibly deny that. There is no benefit whatsoever and one would very successfully argue that it eliminates the largest bidder pool in the auction.

I have yet to see any benefits to keeping an auction open until 3:00AM and any minor pseudo benefits that have been noted are clearly overshadowed by the obvious negatives.

The instructions you posted on how to overcome the obstacle of inconvenient auction times could more easily be solved by changing the auction format!