Robert Edwards Auctions STILL going strong at 8:15 AM Est!!!!

[mrreality68]

got the email

extended bidding starts at 9pm tonight. Starting with 10 minutes per lot. prices are going up. lol

[bobbyw8469]

gEEZ

[markf31]

I get that some people are really upset that REA decided to extent the auction until 9pm tonight but I will note that last night, after midnight and the system crashed, that even as other user users here were posting that they had access again at various times and that bids were being placed last night at various times, that for me personally at none of of those times was I able to access the auction at all let along place bids during extended bidding.

Im sure my experience is not unique and that while some people had access to the auction and to very limited extended bidding, other users did not have access to the auction nor access to extended bidding during these times. Maybe as some were sitting on the site, and hitting refresh they lucked into a small window that allowed them to access and bid but I can tell you from my own experience that was not the case for me.

[TMKenKen]

Bidders can make up all kinds of excuses. The bottom line is that there were ample opportunities to bid during the windows that kept opening. So far, items in which there were no bids at any time after the original scheduled Closing are now increasing as a result if the new extension. In my case, it's not that the new bidders were shut out during the 10 minute clock time (though as noted they had windows), no one had bid at all after the initial closing time. It is now costing me, plus the Buyer's Premium. Frankly, REA is insured for loss and, if this is going to be allowed, the Buyer's premium should be waived in my opinion.

[markf31]

Originally Posted by TMKenKen

Bidders can make up all kinds of excuses. The bottom line is that there were ample opportunities to bid during the windows that kept opening. So far, items in which there were no bids at any time after the original scheduled Closing are now increasing as a result if the new extension. In my case, it's not that the new bidders were shut out during the 10 minute clock time (though as noted they had windows), no one had bid at all after the initial closing time. It is now costing me, plus the Buyer's Premium. Frankly, REA is insured for loss and, if this is going to be allowed, the Buyer's premium should be waived in my opinion.

Or you can ignore the specifics in my post that detailed that I as a bidder had no opportunity at all to place any bids in any extended bidding session(s). That's the bottom line.

At 12:04 the first comment was posted here on Net54 that the auction site was slow or not responsive for people, this was when I was trying to place bids during the extended time. But I was never able to gain access again to the auction after 12:04 EST, not once, despite several attempts even when users were posting here that they had access and could bid. And I am sure I was not the only one.

Sorry this is costing you, but its obvious that not all bidders had the same opportunities in extended bidding beyond 12:03 EST. If the auction had continued as intended, you cannot possibly make assurances that no one would have placed additional bids on auctions you were winning between 12:04 and 12:10 EST.

It sucks all around to be sure.

[Peter_Spaeth]

It sucks, especially if I end up paying more for or losing the one lot I am still on lol, but under the circumstances they didn't really have much choice IMO. No win situation and make the best of it.

[Yoda]

Do we know if the REA site crashed because of a malware attack or was simply overloaded because of the massive number of bidders during extended bidding?

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by markf31

Or you can ignore the specifics in my post that detailed that I as a bidder had no opportunity at all to place any bids in any extended bidding session(s). That's the bottom line.

At 12:04 the first comment was posted here on Net54 that the auction site was slow or not responsive for people, this was when I was trying to place bids during the extended time. But I was never able to gain access again to the auction after 12:04 EST, not once, despite several attempts even when users were posting here that they had access and could bid. And I am sure I was not the only one.

Sorry this is costing you, but its obvious that not all bidders had the same opportunities in extended bidding beyond 12:03 EST. If the auction had continued as intended, you cannot possibly make assurances that no one would have placed additional bids on auctions you were winning between 12:04 and 12:10 EST.

It sucks all around to be sure.

Right, the servers went down just as the 10 minute per lot rule went into effect. So the fair (honest) solution would be for tonight, at 9:00 EST, the auction resumes at that point, with the 10 minute per lot rule in effect. Then you, and everyone who couldn't get their final bids in, would have their chance.

Suppose you're playing hockey and your team is ahead with 10 minutes left in the game. Some clown throws a fish onto the ice and pauses the game. What is the fair (and honest) way to deal with it? Most, if not all of us, would agree, you remove the fish, clean up the ice (in other words, deal with the problem,) and then reset the clock to right before the fish hit the ice. Right? I mean, that's obvious isn't it?

But what REA did is that, plus added an entire additional day to the auction, just to be sure the other team had ample time to score, again and again.

Which benefits them, to the detriment of honesty and fair play.

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by Mark17

Right, the servers went down just as the 10 minute per lot rule went into effect. So the fair (honest) solution would be for tonight, at 9:00 EST, the auction resumes at that point, with the 10 minute per lot rule in effect. Then you, and everyone who couldn't get their final bids in, would have their chance.

Suppose you're playing hockey and your team is ahead with 10 minutes left in the game. Some clown throws a fish onto the ice and pauses the game. What is the fair (and honest) way to deal with it? Most, if not all of us, would agree, you remove the fish, clean up the ice (in other words, deal with the problem,) and then reset the clock to right before the fish hit the ice. Right? I mean, that's obvious isn't it?

But what REA did is that, plus added an entire additional day to the auction, just to be sure the other team had ample time to score, again and again.

Which benefits them, to the detriment of honesty and fair play.

I agree 100%. What I found especially odd is that, on one lot in particular, I had the high bid for the entirely of the extended time and half of the ten-minute extension. The moment they went back online again, the high bid showing was 20% higher than my previous high bid. How did that happen?

I'm tempted to bid some more, but the whole situation has given me second thoughts.

[molenick]

As a consignor, I am glad there is an opportunity for everyone who wants to bid on my lots to get a bid in. As a bidder, I wish that the lot I was winning at 11:59 PM, and which did not receive more bids before 12:10 AM, had closed at that price and I had won it. But also as a bidder, I am glad that the other lots that I was bidding on, which I was not high bidder at 11:59 PM, and which I couldn't get a bid on before 12:10 AM, are still open.

It will cost me more to win these lots...but only if I decide to keep bidding. No one is making me bid. I would not be happy if I had a ceiling bid that kept getting pushed up today. But as someone said, that could have happened last night if the auction ended as intended and everyone had a chance to bid. But in terms of submitting new bids, I don't have to if I don't want to.

REA can do whatever they want, but I don't think waiving the buyer's premium will help. Say you are bidding on a lot at $5K ($6K with premium). They waive the premium, so if you win you pay $5K. But the premium is now waived for everybody....so someone who is willing to go to $6K will just bid the card back up again (knowing they won't have to pay a premium). If anything it will just extend the bidding because now every lot has been reset 16.67% lower (if I did the math correctly).

The other option would have been to start the 10 minute clock at, say 1:00. But that would have been unfair to the people that had to go to sleep.

I do have one suggestion. The entire 9:00-midnight period is useless. There will never be an REA auction where there is no bid on ANY lot for 10 minutes in that time period. It should go straight to a lot-by-lot close at a designated time (and I think 15 or 30 minutes would be better than 10).

Edited to add: I had not thought of Mark's idea of re-starting the auction at where it was when the problems began. I guess now it is too late because so many more bids have come in...but if feasible, that would have been a good option.

[LEHR]

I'm still up on the lot I thought I'd won last night, although it's already cost me a few hundred more. This was really a no win situation for REA and any smart AH is going to extend in an event like last night to take care of the consignors. Without quality consignors you have no auction. It sucks as a bidder but it is what it is and REA is still my favorite AH to deal with.

[AustinMike]

Originally Posted by molenick

I do have one suggestion. The entire 9:00-midnight period is useless. There will never be an REA auction where there is no bid on ANY lot for 10 minutes in that time period. It should go straight to a lot-by-lot close at a designated time (and I think 15 or 30 minutes would be better than 10).

My understanding is that is what is planned (from the email sent by REA) -

"As a result of a service interruption last night during the auction closing, the auction is extended and will close tonight, Monday, April 25 at 9 PM EDT. In lieu of extended bidding, the auction will go directly into the 10-minute lot-by-lot closing at 9 PM EDT."

I think the time between last night and 9 pm tonight is useless.