New to auction houses - REA auction, low bids?

[Belfast1933]

Originally Posted by Belfast1933

I have only successfully bought one at a major AH and I’m wondering if low bud prices this morning mean much - I believe the REA auction ends tonight.

I think the maneuver I’ve ready by some here is to simply put in a low bud early and that gives you the option to bid actively during extended bidding into the late evening…. Does that make sense?

And should I make much of cards that are priced quite low on Sunday morning of the last day of bidding?

Thx for any experienced advice.

Jeff

As the original poster (sp?) let me first offer my thanks to all for your experienced advice.

I ended up with 3 "wins" - 1 that I really like, 1 that is fine and the 3rd is... why did a bid on that??

the one item I really wanted was completely unknown to me but just looked really cool (Red Sox opening day program, 1934 with the "New Fenway Park". If anyone here picked that up and are having regrets, call me!

Jeff

[riggs336]

Maybe I was just due for some luck, but the three cards I won all closed at prices significantly below what I was willing to pay.

[packs]

I won two items that I’d placed bids on before extended time started. They held and I’m happy.

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by riggs336

Maybe I was just due for some luck, but the three cards I won all closed at prices significantly below what I was willing to pay.

Auction fatigue big time. Particularly for the ones that are nothing amazing but same old.

[chadeast]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Auction fatigue big time. Particularly for the ones that are nothing amazing but same old.

Does this mean that you're seeing prices dropping for pre-war? If so, I must be going after the wrong cards

[raulus]

Originally Posted by chadeast

Does this mean that you're seeing prices dropping for pre-war? If so, I must be going after the wrong cards

I think we're just accustomed to the high prices now, so they don't seem as high anymore.

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by chadeast

Does this mean that you're seeing prices dropping for pre-war? If so, I must be going after the wrong cards

Many prewar cars have retreated in the last 6-9 months. Not all of course. And the high end ones people talk about about the most (Ruth, Cobb, Jackson) are typically the cards that haven't dropped, but are not rising like they were a year ago. That's what I see.

[chadeast]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Many prewar cars have retreated in the last 6-9 months. Not all of course. And the high end ones people talk about about the most (Ruth, Cobb, Jackson) are typically the cards that haven't dropped, but are not rising like they were a year ago. That's what I see.

I wish that was my experience too. I'm glad someone is getting a break! As a set collector, I'm buying mostly commons, so not often up at that top tier HOF level for sure, and I haven't seen a noticeable drop in prices this year. In fact, I've been much less successful in auctions at all levels (Ebay, Heritage, REA, etc.) this year than I was for all of 2021. It could be a byproduct of my focus on T3s and now T205s, maybe those sets are outliers. Trust me, there is no one that would be happier with a market pullback than me. I had high hopes for one in 2022 but it didn't happen for me, at least not yet.

[Vintageclout]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Many prewar cars have retreated in the last 6-9 months. Not all of course. And the high end ones people talk about about the most (Ruth, Cobb, Jackson) are typically the cards that haven't dropped, but are not rising like they were a year ago. That's what I see.

Hmmm……try & buy a pre-1930 black & white Ruth or pre-WW1 E/Candy card Cobb/Wagner……that just may change your perspective. Their cards are on fire!

[Casey2296]

It's nice to see members start to get some relief and are able to add to their collections without selling a kidney, apologies to members who previously sold a kidney (I'm in that group). Stay focused on what you want your collection to look like, it only takes one arrow (per auction) to hit your mark.

[Pat R]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Auction fatigue big time. Particularly for the ones that are nothing amazing but same old.

Auction fatigue could be one reason but there are other reasons too. I bid on 24 lots when the auction opened and all 24 were probably what you would consider "nothing amazing" I only bid on 3 (won 2) of those lots last night but I would have bid on at least 6-8 more based on the prices they were at if I hadn't already spent as much as I have in the past few weeks.

[packs]

How about some wins?

Bought one of these before they get out of reach:



And I also won this cool LA train ticket featuring a colorized photo of Babe Ruth in his Dodgers coaching uniform. The advertisement is to "meet the Babe" while he's in LA. Coincidentally, the Babe's appearance dates are listed as August 28 to 31, 1947. Less than one year later, Babe Ruth would die on August 16, 1948:

[Rhotchkiss]

I had about 20 initial bids in, but bid on nothing last night.

I was watching 4 cards, specifically. Three went for about what I expected them to go for and one was a steal. I was watching the Willard's Chocolate Ruth, the M101-5 Thorpe, and E90-1 Speaker (hot card now, about time). They all went for about what I would have expected, perhaps a little underwhelming if anything. However, in my opinion, the 1907 Dietsche Cobb SGC 3 was a steal at $9,300.

The one card that really struck me is the T206 O'Hara Polar Bear PSA 4. It closed at $25.2k, which confirms an 8/14 sale of the same grade at the same price (REA too), and shows a major increase in value in the last 4 months since the same exact card sold in Heritage in May of 2022. O'hara PB up $10k, 67%, in 4 months? Why is that? I notice Demmitt is way up too, Do you think everyone is scrambling to get to 520 and they are getting in on these two, since they are "tougher"?

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

The one card that really struck me is the T206 O'Hara Polar Bear PSA 4. It closed at $25.2k, which confirms an 8/14 sale of the same grade at the same price (REA too), and shows a major increase in value in the last 4 months since the same exact card sold in Heritage in May of 2022. O'hara PB up $10k, 67%, in 4 months? Why is that? I notice Demmitt is way up too, Do you think everyone is scrambling to get to 520 and they are getting in on these two, since they are "tougher"?

Seems that way. Elberfeld too.

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

I had about 20 initial bids in, but bid on nothing last night.

I was watching 4 cards, specifically. Three went for about what I expected them to go for and one was a steal. I was watching the Willard's Chocolate Ruth, the M101-5 Thorpe, and E90-1 Speaker (hot card now, about time). They all went for about what I would have expected, perhaps a little underwhelming if anything. However, in my opinion, the 1907 Dietsche Cobb SGC 3 was a steal at $9,300.

The one card that really struck me is the T206 O'Hara Polar Bear PSA 4. It closed at $25.2k, which confirms an 8/14 sale of the same grade at the same price (REA too), and shows a major increase in value in the last 4 months since the same exact card sold in Heritage in May of 2022. O'hara PB up $10k, 67%, in 4 months? Why is that? I notice Demmitt is way up too, Do you think everyone is scrambling to get to 520 and they are getting in on these two, since they are "tougher"?

I thought the post card back bleed through and the mouse nibble on the upper right corner held the Dietsche Cobb price back a bit, still a nice card at that price.