Unsuccessful at auction
DCW
Posts: 7,464 ✭✭✭✭✭
Recently went 0/3 at auction. Not a new experience for sure, but a different series of emotions followed.
Normally, I'd be upset at missing something that my collection needed. Something that doesn't come up frequently. Something that had the eye appeal that I'm always looking for in a new piece. But, I was fine; relieved, even. The pieces went for about twice what they "should" have, and I was the underbidder on all three lots. Take me out of the equation, and they probably would have been sold for much, much less. In a thin market, I wonder how often one person so drastically affects the price of an item. Probably many, many times
So, no regrets. I cant own them all. I got the adrenaline from placing a bid without the sweet taste of victory. Im ok with that.
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Comments
Hopefully that person will auction them again soon and there won’t be another person to bid you up. Glad your spirits are up about it.
Been there. You win some, you lose some. I move forward and enjoy the hobby. Glad you can do the same.
On my last 12 auction bids, I won 1 and was the underbidder on 10 of my remaining 11 bids. My bids were strong (IMO) and I seriously thought I would be successful on more than just 1.
So am I helping to set pricing as those other 10 would have probably hammered at a (much) lower price?
Joe.
DCW, it only takes one for our area of collecting. It’s frustrating how that happens. If we stopped bidding it may have sold for less, but yet it’s a unique item we can’t find another of for 10 years. I always look at this as “good for them” and move on. Only because there are always more coins than money! Don’t beat yourself up for it!
The thinner the market, the more important any one bidder might be.
I can relate to being the runner up on a lot of auctions. I do get discouraged when I see what the coin went for. My solace is that I know that the big boy dealers are shelling out some serious $$ especially when nuclear bids collide.
Since I am only a collector who does not sell coins, my limited income prevents me from going wild (a good thing I guess).
I bide my time and hope that the next upgrade that I need is overlooked or bypassed by the deep pocketed groups.
Wayne
Kennedys are my quest...
I tell myself in those situations that something better might come along - and sometimes it actually does.
Although we play on different fields, you are in the Stadium while I am relegated to #5 of 5 Intramural fields, you know the one off in the corner of campus that doubles as a goose reserve, I feel that apprehension when I bid as well as the agony of defeat.
I am new to coin collecting, most of my previous or other hobbies had/have abundant supply, so I have not experienced the elevated prices that result from such a finite market, and the emotional factor for the rare coin with the want it badly eye appeal. Given my lack of knowledge my purchases thus far have been largely done on eBay, and as I am only spending hundreds to a few thousand, I am able to use that marketplace primarily to determine market value. But even there I keep myself out of the bidding wars, I choose my price and bid last minute, and more often than not I lose, but fortunately most of what I am currently accumulating pops up pretty often. I'm not sure my personality lends itself to bidding on a listing that only appears every few years or more, I'd likely spend more than I "should" too often.
Hi extreme! If you are new to coin collecting, generally we here are always willing to help. It’s a tough learning curve in the beginning, but a very fulfilling hobby after that learning curve. Stick with it, learn from the many experts here, and you will find enjoyment and success in the hobby.
Next, track down the consignor and have him buy you a drink as a thank you for driving up the price
it was not me ! Better luck next time !
Top 10 Cal Fractional Type Set
successful BST with Ankurj, BigAl, Bullsitter, CommemKing, DCW(7), Downtown1974, Elmerfusterpuck, Joelewis, Mach1ne, Minuteman810430, Modcrewman, Nankraut, Nederveit2, Philographer(5), Realgator, Silverpop, SurfinxHI, TomB and Yorkshireman(3)
Some of the best auctions are the ones that you walk away with nothing.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
@Extremeengineer
Extremeengineer Posts: 1 ✭
Welcome, nice first post.
Perhaps start posting what you got on ebay so far, one or two examples, like show and tell, you might start picking up great advice here for going forward, real life lessons from this forum.
edited for major typos and grammer🤦♂️
Win few auc these days but the ones won able buy right. It’s not how many wins but how good did I do in the procurement process.
An old friend in the biz told me one time “if you won an auction you paid more than anybody else in the country.”
Nice way to look at it!
Before bidding, I decide how much I'm willing to pay (essentially, my point of indifference; happy if I get the item, not unhappy if someone wants it more.
The entire atmosphere around auctions is trying to suck us into the concept of "winning." I don't feel that I "won" if I paid more than I should have (which can mean "more than I think the coin is worth," or "more money than I can comfortably spend on the coin").
I agree. I’m in the minority, but I’ve always objected to the use of the term “Won” a coin, so I personally never use that term. When I end up as the high bidder, I didn't "Win" anything! I believe I “bought” the coin at a price I was comfortable paying. Auction houses love when we have the mentality of “winning” a lot, as that gets our emotions involved, which in reality leads to higher bidding.
You can “win” a raffle, as the value of the prize is usually higher than what you paid for the raffle. You can “win” on a lottery ticket, and the prize is usually higher than the cost of the ticket. You can “win” at the casino, or at a friendly poker game, or you “win” a bet on a ballgame. But when it comes to coin auctions, as I indicated above, all we’re doing is buying coins at prices we’re comfortable paying. The underbidder and others were not comfortable buying that coin at that price!
Steve
My collecting “Pride & Joy” is my PCGS Registry Dansco 7070 Set:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/design-type-sets/complete-dansco-7070-modified-type-set-1796-date/publishedset/213996
All you can do is set a limit and stick to it. Emotions being what they are it is a sometimes difficult rule to abide by. But think of how good you will feel after you leave the auction knowing you did not overpay. That in itself leaves you the dollars to fight another day for a coin you may win w/o overpaying. I was at an auction,not just with coins, years ago. One bidder bid up every coin. Must of been the owner of the lots. When I sensed he had an "interest" in the coins I sat on my hands during the rest of the coin offerings. He had a Redbook that he was using.
I suspect I've been the underbidder more often than I've been the winner. In reality, it's the underbidder who sets the eventual sale price.
Curious you wanted 3 lots why not focus on 2 or even 1 and at least get a coin? Or maybe even then they are not affordable?
Concentrate your funds in fewer lots would that not be best than walking away empty handed. I see some bid on 10 lots or more and lose them all. Of course you will keep losing if you spread you money all over the map. Just common sens.
NFL: Buffalo Bills & Green Bay Packers
Sometimes the underbidder is the winner. Glad you feel good and relieved about it!
Even if one were to concentrate funds, it may not be a reason to get buried.
I'm sure I was the cause of many records high bids when I was putting together the PSA Nolan Ryan Master set. I do not do the same things when bidding on coins. I am playing the long game and if I don't win when I put in my bid, so be it. I will get my coin eventually. I win more than I lose, but that is because I don't bid on a lot of coin auctions. Most of my coins I buy in person.
Good for you for having a good attitude after all those losses. I too would be grateful that I lost if they went for twice what I was expecting.
Donato
Donato's Complete US Type Set ---- Donato's Dansco 7070 Modified Type Set ---- Donato's Basic U.S. Coin Design Set
Successful transactions: Shrub68 (Jim), MWallace (Mike)
@Extremeengineer Welcome aboard!!!
Be conservative on your bids while you are learning. As you gain more knowledge you can increase your bids accordingly.
Good luck with your collection.
Donato
Donato's Complete US Type Set ---- Donato's Dansco 7070 Modified Type Set ---- Donato's Basic U.S. Coin Design Set
Successful transactions: Shrub68 (Jim), MWallace (Mike)
Sometimes the underbidder is the winner of an auction.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Sometimes it just takes two or more bidders to drive up the price on something. The next time, those guys may have satisfied their desire for the piece or just didn't see it.
This is a political button, but it illustrates the point.
This button was issued during the 1940 Wendell Willkie campaign which opposed Franklin Roosevelt. The Republicans had last won a presidential election in 1928. It goes with this slogan button for Willkie.
The first time I saw this piece, it sold at auction for well over $300 including the buyers' fee. The next time I was able to buy for far less than half that from the same auction house.
BTW, the Republicans didn't get out of the dog house until 1952.
Aggressive, loaded high bidders can throw a wrench in one’s auction experience. It’s better to pass and try some other time.
@DCW - You have a great eye and seem to focus a lot on items that are truly rare (e.g. R8+ CWTs). It doesn’t surprise that there could be fierce competition on the lots that interest you!
Losing every lot is not a very good strategy either unless you don't truly care about wining at least 1 coin.
NFL: Buffalo Bills & Green Bay Packers
It's really not about "winning at least one." That is the mentality most of us on this thread are trying to avoid, the insatiable need to "win." It's letting go of things that are going too far.
Like @NewEnglandRarities mentioned earlier, there are exceptions to this where you know you are going to spend years looking for another and you pay up now. That is different than needing to win something just for the sake of one's ego
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Totally agree especially with items like Exonumia, colonials, etc. There is a big temptation to just go in and feel like a winner, but in these specialized areas, there are always things we sometimes hunt for 10-20 years before we get to even see one, let alone have a chance to buy. However, these items can come up at any given time. I used to look a lot more at sold auctions and think, geez I should have bid more. It’s kind of a trap thinking. Stepping up is one thing, going crazy just for crazy sake doesn’t often pan out good in the long run!
Edited to add: the stuff DCW and I go after has no price guide, and often times there are no comps for many years. I recently purchased a token for over $3k that literally the book says $40! We mostly use our gut instinct, which can really help us, and also sometimes compel us to be silly chasing something that was not meant to be anyway. Often when I get outbid on something I have basically a “buy” bid for and lose, I suspect it would not have mattered if I went 1 or 2 more bids, it’s was unobtainable at any number!
Don't get me wrong, I've paid double guide for a coin ( haven't we all ) simply because the same coin/grade hadn't come up for auction in 2 1/2 years and it was the last one needed to complete a set in a particular grade. Pop 7/2. But I will not bid guide or above just to win a coin. Or instead of bidding on 10 lots, bidding on 6 or 7 allowing me to bid higher on those lots just so I can win a coin only to be buried under it.
I almost always win the lots I bid on. I go in with the mentality that I want that coin and am not going to lose it. So I put in a last second nuclear bid. My reasoning is that I buy inexpensive coins under $300 mostly so there is not much downside. And since I am extremely picky I don’t want to wait months to find another one as I am 70 and don’t know how long I will be on this earth. I also don’t intend to sell my coins as they are bought with the intention of them being a permanent addition to my collection.