Regrets of the Memorabilia kind

[Topnotchsy]

In general I'm pretty good at enjoying the hobby without dwelling on items I missed.

Over the decades, there have been a couple of misses that sting more than others:

1)

A WWII Navy Game-Used jersey of Ted Williams was being sold at an obscure auction house. I bid in an advance and IIRC, was not around when it sold. (I think it ended Saturday, and as an Orthodo Jew, I observe Shabbat so I was not online)

Checking afterwards I saw that the final sale price was my bid, so I thought I had won, but I was informed that I had not won because my bid was through a 3rd party platform and those bids registers after the in-person bids (or something like that), and so I was not the winner.

Later the item sold at Goldin for 10x the price.

It wasn't about the loss of money. It was the fact that I had no chance of affording the jersey when it hit Goldin.


2)

I was away traveling when a Christie's auction was ending. There was a ball from the 1945 team that played in Venezuela which included Jackie Robinson right after he signed.

I was working off a phone with very poor internet connection and at the time, needed to do the math on the Buyer's Premium in my head.

I thought I was the high bidder but wasn't and lost the ball. I've never seen another like it in years of searching and it has not hit the market again (to the best of my knowledge).

Both items would have been absolute centerpieces for that area of collecting.

[HankAaron755]

Originally Posted by Topnotchsy

In general I'm pretty good at enjoying the hobby without dwelling on items I missed.

Over the decades, there have been a couple of misses that sting more than others:

1)

A WWII Navy Game-Used jersey of Ted Williams was being sold at an obscure auction house. I bid in an advance and IIRC, was not around when it sold. (I think it ended Saturday, and as an Orthodo Jew, I observe Shabbat so I was not online)

Checking afterwards I saw that the final sale price was my bid, so I thought I had won, but I was informed that I had not won because my bid was through a 3rd party platform and those bids registers after the in-person bids (or something like that), and so I was not the winner.

Later the item sold at Goldin for 10x the price.

It wasn't about the loss of money. It was the fact that I had no chance of affording the jersey when it hit Goldin.


2)

I was away traveling when a Christie's auction was ending. There was a ball from the 1945 team that played in Venezuela which included Jackie Robinson right after he signed.

I was working off a phone with very poor internet connection and at the time, needed to do the math on the Buyer's Premium in my head.

I thought I was the high bidder but wasn't and lost the ball. I've never seen another like it in years of searching and it has not hit the market again (to the best of my knowledge).

Both items would have been absolute centerpieces for that area of collecting.

I feel for you on your first story there. Nothing is worse than losing a desired item over Semantics. Especially when it was in your budget.

[HankAaron755]

I don’t hold onto regrets for items I miss out on because I know the next great piece is right around the corner. I do kick myself time to time though when there are multiple lots in a live auction, and I am bidding too conservatively on the items I “like” but don’t “have to have” if they are listed before the main item I am going after.

It seems more often than not, I miss out on these “like” items that sold for a good price and don’t win the “have to have” item because it goes for over my budget.

[Snapolit1]

What kills me is the somewhat related issue of not winning an item solely because (a) in most cases I am not locking in my top bid on an automated system and (b) I don't stay up to 3 am for auctions to close. Wake up only to find that at 2:32 ET, 11:32 PT, someone put in one more bid - a bid I would have happily surpassed was I not fast asleep.

I lose, consignor loses, and AH loses. But this is the way some shops want to do things.

[steve B]

A few, even though I'm usually on the lower end of things.

A bike from a brand I really like, not the exact style I like but one of the builders personal bikes. Went for far too little and much less than I expected.
Only to be parted out on ebay about a week later.

Same auction, used their online bidding system for a few items. Look at the finished prices and it looks like I got them all and at bargain prices. Waited a few days and asked for an invoice since I hadn't heard.
"Oh, there was an internet outage for about 100 lots, you didn't win any of them"
It was years ago and I still haven't even tried beyond looking at their listings. Won't go to their related swap meet either.