lelands and his type auctions should be made illegal

[Leon]

Originally Posted by ajg

I didn't bid in Lelands but the way they end their auction leaves the door open for fraud and chicanery. All these big auction houses have larceny in their heart. I am a 47 year old man w a family and I am not gonna stay up until 4am (or later) to bid on a baseball card. It is stupid. Close the lot after 30 minutes or so. Im not saying Lelands or any other big auction house are crooks but............hmm.............

I am a 48 yrs old man with a family and if I want something that bad I will stay up until the next weekend. Many auctions end their way so either you bid or don't. If you think staying up to bid is stupid I think bitching about not staying up is stupid....and I walk away with the cards I want and you don't. No big deal. take care

[sflayank]

as far as i know shill bidding is against the law
it simply cannot be regulated
maybe if lelands or any auction house wants to prove its honesty they should post the names of all the bidders
i can only imagine the good laugh we would all get then
AND BTW what difference would it have made if i stayed up
they have the right to close the auction anytime they want
2 seconds after the outbid notice auction was closed...so the only way for me to win the lot would have been to put in a max bid and watch the shill go to work
thats what they want...they want people to put in max bids because that enables them to screw the max bidders out of the most money...thats the goal of max bids...no one should EVER put in a max bid
youre basically telling them to go ahead and screw you

[barrysloate]

An auction house can't post the names of the winning bidders. Those bidders are entitled to their privacy. And poster ajg shouldn't really be saying what he did anonymously.

I would have left the 8500 bid and taken my chances. Maybe you would have gotten it for 7500 and been pleasantly surprised. Maybe it would have gone for 9000. Who knows? I know it's frustrating but what can you do?

[sflayank]

what u can do is go the way of the other auction houses no bids for 10 minutes 20nminutes 1/2 hr whatever lot is closed
if someone is hi bid for 7 hrs after auction closing time
i think they should win the lot

[barrysloate]

That's reasonable Larry but we've had many debates on the board regarding what the best or the fairest system is for closing bids. Bottom line is not everybody agrees. Some like closing all the lots at once better, some prefer closing each one separately. There has never been a consensus.

[sflayank]

closing all lots at an announced time is ridiculous as everyone would wait to snipe like ebay
closing all lots when you feel like it like lelands does is ludricous as the door for dishonesty is wide open..thats not saying theyre dishonest just saying the door is WIDE open
you can close an auction at midnite with a 1/2 hr no bid per lot rule and every single person in the country has the ability to bid on that lot and can watch the clock countdown on their lot and jump in again if they chose...no max bids allowed eliminates shilling as the auction house wont know how hi youre willing to go,,if a shill outbids you theyre taking a chance that youll bid again when u may not

[Jim VB]

This is the silliest thread ever, even considering the source. Every auction house sets, and publishes their own rules for bidding. If you don't like them, don't use that house. You said it yourself, many items show up in future auctions anyway.

In the meantime, you should inure yourself to the fact that those rules are written to be of maximum benefit to the CONSIGNOR, not to you. If getting maximum value for the consignor inteferes with your sleeping habits, so be it.

Coming on, a day after the auction, and saying you would have paid more, doesn't really make you a bidder.

[hcv123]

Hi Larry,

Sorry to hear about the experience. I believe as you and many do that there are some less than honorable practices at major auction houses that are at best questionable and at worst illegal. With so much financial gain at stake, I do not see that changing anytime soon. If I was in your shoes, and I was willing to go 8500 and the item was at 4500 and I didn't trust the house, I would probably have put a ceiling bid in the middle - say at $6500 - maybe there is a shill, but perhaps I still get the item for way less then I would have been willing to pay. Or maybe the same thing happens and you feel a little less worse about losing because of the higher price. Regardless, I feel your pain. I have had similar experiences. In fairness to the houses, I have won items for below my ceiling bids as well. Be well.

-Howard