REA is open

[benjulmag]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Yeah, there is no perfect system. In a perfect world I'd like auction closes at 9 pm EST and then closes lot by lot when no bid has been placed in 15 minutes. I think a few use that now.

The idea that I have thousands burning a hole in my pocket and if I get passed on an item at 3 am, and won't go higher, damm it I'm hell bent on deploying this money somewhere and will immediately rush elsewhere to buy something is just so freakin absurd. Like we are all out of control crackheads on the floor looking for something, anything . . .

Steve,

Respectfully while perhaps this is something you would not do, others, including myself, look at it differently. Almost all collectors have limited budgets, and many/most of them cannot afford to buy everything in a particular auction they have an interest in. So they prioritize, and if possible would like the ability to shift to item B if item A becomes too pricey. I'm not sure I understand the absurdity behind that concept.

I vividly remember an auction where there was one item I wanted more than anything, even if it meant spending all my available funds on that one item. So in the wee hours of the morning the price of that item became unaffordable. I then shifted my available funds to other items that I still had a strong interest in, and won a number of them. So while I didn't get exactly what I wanted, I still felt I had a good night, consignors got more money, and the auction was more profitable for the AH.

Yes, I get it that other bidders who did not stay up got shut out of the lots I won. And one can reasonably argue the fairness of that because they refused to stay up to some crazy hour. So that is why I introduced for discussion another closing method so as to better address the concerns of all.