Ebay strategy for 2 similar coins, auctions ending within 1 hour of each other
moursund
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Let's say you are wanting a 'several hundred dollar' coin, and there are 2 decent examples, about the same grade/quality with auctions ending within an hour of each other.
Let's further say that these items aren't super rare, but if you don't win one of these, it may be some weeks before you have another opportunity.
Which auction, if either, should get the higher max bid?
We figure that other people are also looking at the 2 auctions, and making similar calculations. Bidders may try to get a bargain on the first, so the 2nd item may go higher. Or maybe the most eager bidder will win the first, and the second will go lower...
What do you all think?
(I am not a great fool, so I can clearly not bid higher on the first auction. But you must have known I was not a great fool, you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not bid higher on the second auction...)
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Comments
Looking for my secrets are you. What about plan C. Bid fairly on the first two and if you loose hope those two winning bidders are happy and out of the competition. Wait some weeks and bid on the third auction with maybe a little extra gusto!
Years ago there were 2 coins graded the same back to back in a Heritage auction. The 1st was a dog compared to the 2nd. I bid to a point on the 1st and let it go. Won the 2nd for not too much more. Later the winner of the 1st was grumbling to me he shouldn't have let the coin I won get away!
just bid the first to your max
if you do not win it, then decide if you want to up your max on second
Don't bid on the first. The winner is likely out for the second. Bid the sale price of the first on the second coin as your maximum bid. The underbidder would need to up their bid 2 increments to beat you.
Are you assuming the other bidder(s) are interested in buying more than 1 coin?
Depends on how popular the piece is. The first auction's high bidder may be out, but if someone else is looking to get one of the two, they may bid stronger the second time around because there's no fall-back option as there was when the first auction ended. That said, if the coins really were the same, I'd probably figure out what's fair, and bid around it or a little less on the first one, and then hope for the best on the second.
As it happens, when I get duplicates in different grades to sell, I always list the highest grade first, with the thinking that some bidders for that coin may be willing to pay less for a lower grade example, but no one (or at least fewer people) bidding on the lower grade example would pay more for the higher grade. Thus, as the higher grades close, hopefully some bidders will trickle down and raise the prices on the lower grade examples.
The other solution is to buy coins that are hard enough to find that this problem all but never happens. For most things I'm looking for I'm lucky if I find one every month or two to give even a second thought to. Two ending in an hour? As if.
Use AS - Maybe bid 65 pct CPG on first nuclear bid on next. It all depends. Then set alarm on watch for about 20 min - 30 min from when first one ends take look see on where they are. If can’t buy them right, pass. Buying these for inventory not a collector. I also look at what other EBay sellers (if any) selling them for to get a feel of how competition pricing theirs. If no real competition that’s super good! If they get in bid war w each other on first my chances of buying second right may be improved.
Buying right = have reasonable odds able 2 retail it quickly on bourse (my table) or online. Won items simply marked up accordingly. My bidding GC or Bay driven on how many slabs need vs budget and plan # of slabs. Right now lots buying cash so if can’t buy rt on bay probly just wait until c wholesaler at next show (b4 public can get in). One has to work their angle. Not every play a bomb or breakaway to end zone.
It depends on how many bidders or potential bidders there are, but generally my strategy is as follows (assuming a relatively common item):
I’d put in a lowball bid on both. If I win the first one, great. But then I’d cross my fingers that someone will bid higher on the second but wouldn’t get upset if I win both because they are both bargains.
But if I lose the first, I’d put in a much higher on the 2nd. I’ve done that before and ended up winning just one and knowing I got an example of that coin at the lowest price that I could get.
The reason I don’t wait until the first auction is over before putting in a lowball bid on the 2nd is because I end up accidentally messing up on the timing and the auction ends before I get a chance.
Years ago I did it with automatic sniping programs so I didn’t have to be present, but I haven’t used those in over a decade. I used to buy a lot more off eBay back then.
Mr_Spud
So many things to think about. I would buy the best one for what it’s worth I never need a coin I want the coin so if it’s not worth it let it go. There will be another one.
But if it is a raw problem free banging coin now that is a different story pay what it takes to get that coin. Now this is just me. I would buy it have it graded sell it then go back and buy one that matches may other coins in my set with the profit’s get my money back and do it all over again.
Now if it’s graded all the money is on the table the Big Bang will be if it has a verity of some kind that is not on the holder or it may up grade now that is hard one to do takes a good eye for that one, Good luck and be safe everyone.
But that is just me dumb Type2 thinking.
Hoard the keys.
If they are substantially similar coins I am assuming the buyer of the first will not be interested in the second, and that the underbidder will be bidding on the second.
To lose, someone would need to bid at least 2 increments higher than they did on the first coin.
The coin in question sounds like a readily available coin in a common grade, not one where it's likely someone will stretch to get it.
Sorry buddy but I gave all the eBay secrets away in your other thread. I’ll just say Caveat Emptor and eBay is still kinda the old west. I personally love it 😎
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As I recall, your "secret" is that you buy WAY TOO MUCH stuff on ebay...
Guilty as charged 😂
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I'd love to hear the worst nuclear bid stories in the history of ebay. I wonder what the highest over FMV someone has paid for an item. My worst was a cast iron bank in the shape of a plane from a college (I collect memorabilia from the college). The bid was around $20 and I put a last second bid of $300 to make absolutely sure I won. I got it for around $250.
I'm sure there are some horror stories.
Bid the most you'd be happy to pay on the first & watch the auction. Repeat if necessary.
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Must be a more common coin in the WLH or Merc Dime series, Common Morgan date/grade or an ASE if they come up often.
Well, low-end key dates come up pretty often in various series.
As a seller I can tell you all about the various buyers who placed a snipe for the wrong amount even though they won at one increment over the prior (displayed) top bid and that bid had held constant for hours or days 🤦🏻
True, but they aren't exactly the same.
"2 decent examples, about the same grade/quality with auctions ending within an hour of each other."
Who says it was the wrong amount? If it was well above the winning bid, then it may have been the right amount, and a bargain outcome. Of course, if 2 bidders each slip a decimal point in the same direction, there may be sadness...
I have screwed up royally and ended up with an inferior Isabella quarter because there were two coins going back to back in auction and my max bid was accidentally placed in the wrong window.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/quarters/PCGS-2020-quarter-quest/album/247091
@moursund Let's further say that these items aren't super rare, but if you don't win one of these, it may be some weeks before you have another opportunity.
Bid on the 1st, if you lose bid on the 2nd, if you lose wait 3 weeks and repeat.
Jim
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Just got this one. We were all sniping. 😎. One of a kind? Maybe Awesome addition to my series 😉
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@Jzyskowski1 It's interesting the person honored on your medal was born during WWI and died during WWII. I wonder if he was a casualty of the war. Very cool medal.
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That collier detail is really nice. Thanks for sharing. Peace Roy
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Dealer slight of hand.
Two of same coin offered on a list. One AU one BU as he listed them. I ordered the BU one at the BU price
Got the coin, it was AU. I went to his table at the next show which was very soon, thought it easier to return it then try the mail. He showed me the BU coin I thought I ordered at a an even higher price then on his list. I smelled a bait and switch.
I said no and asked for my money back on what he sent me.
I think he thought I was a Beginner. years later when I got a lot older I shared some research with him and he gave me
some outstanding private research he had on the coins I collected . so I guess he was making it up to me.
just another coin story after 50 years collecting.
Someone found this 😉
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The buyer who emails me 2 minutes after the listing ends to tell me they bid the wrong amount, yet they won at the absolute lowest possible amount eBay would have allowed them to bid.
Ha! What do these bidiots want you to do? 😲
Cancel the sale. I can't tell you how many times this has happened.
So how do you respond?
They get an unpaid item strike and I block them. Not much else I can do.