CU & Superior Auction Sucks
robr1967
Posts: 264
Just wanted to drop in my 2 cents here.
Last night Superior lost a customer. This really pissed me off, and wanted to voice my displeasure. I am sure some of the sellers should be angry with this as well, but then a lot of things did bring nice prices.
Anyway, last night around 11:55 or so, I called in to try and make my last bids of the evening and try to win the cards I wanted to. Well, the phone rang and rang and rang. Finally it picked up and I got an automated response saying all reps are busy now, please hold. So I waited, and waited and waited. Finally, some little squirelly woman got on the phone and said I am sorry the auction is closed. This really pissed me off. I was on hold for the longest time waiting for someone to pick up and then when I did get someone they told me I could not bid. THAT IS BULL$HIT!!!!!!!!!!!!
I did end up winning one auction, but I a seriously think about sending it back when paid for. I seriously think superior lost a customer, the way I was handled last night.
If the auction were to be over, they should have shut off the phone and let the last few people that got thru place their bids then turn the phones off. I think this auction was run VERY BADLY.
Just my 2 cents.
Last night Superior lost a customer. This really pissed me off, and wanted to voice my displeasure. I am sure some of the sellers should be angry with this as well, but then a lot of things did bring nice prices.
Anyway, last night around 11:55 or so, I called in to try and make my last bids of the evening and try to win the cards I wanted to. Well, the phone rang and rang and rang. Finally it picked up and I got an automated response saying all reps are busy now, please hold. So I waited, and waited and waited. Finally, some little squirelly woman got on the phone and said I am sorry the auction is closed. This really pissed me off. I was on hold for the longest time waiting for someone to pick up and then when I did get someone they told me I could not bid. THAT IS BULL$HIT!!!!!!!!!!!!
I did end up winning one auction, but I a seriously think about sending it back when paid for. I seriously think superior lost a customer, the way I was handled last night.
If the auction were to be over, they should have shut off the phone and let the last few people that got thru place their bids then turn the phones off. I think this auction was run VERY BADLY.
Just my 2 cents.
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Comments
I'm sure you called 5 minutes before the auction closed to "snipe" some bids. I don't know how many people Superior has taking calls, but there are easily 200 different bidders on any given auction, and probably way more than that. If even one hundred of them called in the last 5 minutes, it's a safe bet that some will be put on hold. I called in December with 15 minutes remaining and was put on hold for 5 minutes and wanted to bid on 22 items and didn't get all of them in. The woman told me in mid-sentence while I was placing another bid that the auction was over. I was very disappointed.
I guess the lesson learned is call in 20 minutes before it ends.
My only suggestion to Superior is to keep the on-line bidding going until closing time. That would probably solve this problem.
I agree, I never understood why they stop the internet bidding at 7.
Bob
I think each strategy/system has its benefits and flaws. I do think that calling close to an auction end presents itself with some unusual circumstances, often making it difficult to get through. There is one minor auction company I know where I could not get a line through for the final 10 minutes of the auction, and by the time I did not get a busy signal, the auction was since over.
All that being said, I believe that Superior and Chris Porter run a very tight business and have an overall successful business model. I think the bidding near the end is too chaotic to allow Internet bidding right up until the end of the auction -- and I think if you really want something, you need to put in an aggressive bid before five minutes until the auction close.
I would guess, too, that certain customers may get preference/dedicate phone service, but those customers are probably the type that typically win in the high-five to six-figure dollars per auction. I think it is obvious, for example, that there was probably a bidding war up until the end for 1949 Bowman #148...
answer the phones are nice and those reviewing the lots are patient and detail oriented.
I've been very happy with the level of service to date. The items I have won were clean and
accurately described.
I can understand your frustration but I would think of it as a learning experience and follow
dude's advice.
Hang in there!
aconte
The 10 minute rule sucks!
aconte
1954
The 10 minute rule is insane in this day and age. With 90%++ of the bidders online, this rule is Krap. That applies to ALL the auction houses, not just CU.
When an auction ends at 7.00PM, then 7 it is, not when the last insomniac finally feels that he can make his move. Bid your max and move on, win or lose, not this nickle and dime game.
Given a choice, I wouldn't give ANY of them my business.
From a logistics perspective, I imagine that close to the end of an auction, it is chaotic enough trying to make sure two people on the phone aren't taking the next bid on a single card. You throw in Internet bidding, and I can envision a situation whereby four or five people are all trying to bid the same amount on the same card with less than 5 minutes remaining in the auction. Trying to determine who bid what and exactly when thus becomes problematic.
Not sure what the solution is -- I just think it might take significant software, etc. available to truly allow Internet bidding to go up until the end, and I'm not sure if that is realistic from the auctioneer's point of view.
MS-Oh how true you are on the software..
My question is this I dont understand why you must bid by 9
to continue bidding. I was very disappointed that I could not
keep going this was the first time I was really going to make
dent in my wallet only to be denied. My own problem for not
being with it. But to be honest I couldn't believe how cheap
some of the things went for.
<Given a choice, I wouldn't give ANY of them my business.>
I didn't see any GAI cards in Superior's auctions...so you're not missing much.
Regards,
Alan
Having said that - why isn't there a call in the hobby for live auctions? So many positives:
1) You have CLOSURE after each lot. I don't have to worry about someone coming along and bumping my bid four hours later, or any other nonsense. Everyone knows when the auctioneer says "going once" that they either need to raise their hand or keep their mouth shut.
2) It's doesn't apply to me so much, but how many times have a heard people complain "I wanted to bid on 10 different items, but I was afraid of winning too many." Here, you know exactly where you stand at all times. You win lot #10, you're done. You don't, you can go after lot #15.
3) There will be a LOT less games going on with consignors running up the auctions. Look, it's one thing to be sitting there 3 days before and calling a buddy to say "hey, kick this up a notch". Take a lot more marbles to be sitting there in the audience and make an on the spot decision.
4) Wouldn't it just be more fun? And if you have it in NYC, you'll have celebrities stop by to look at and bid on the interesting items. How "showy" is it for a guy to place a bid by phone, vs. Billy Crystal buying Mantle's MVP award in person?
I wish it was done more than just Hunt's auction - I think one of the bigger auction companys should really look into it. And you only have bids on one lot at a time, so the technology shouldn't be that great of a need.
S
Bids should be over all at once. EBAY is very successful doing just that.
Robr1967, you can't snipe or even come close to it with Superior unless you're very lucky with the timing of your call. Try a half hour earlier next time, and you'll be happy.
I believe it’s admirable that Superior doesn’t have the dreadful 10-minute rule that could extend an auction well into the next morning. I won’t participate in those shenanigans.
“1954” said above that Superior “…is a horrible opportunity to sell nice cards.” That has not been my experience. I consigned many nice vintage cards for this auction and was quite pleased to net well in excess of the aggregate SMR. I’ve done well in the past, too. Also, I do not think they are “second best” as “1954” states. I think they’re the best.
I knew you would agree. You and I like that last minute power bid. One thing that kills my chances
of winning a nice lot on Mastro is the 10 minute rule. An east coast guy who has to be at work
at 7:00 A.M with a decent commute on top of it all has to either stay up all night or put one
last bid and hope for the best. I put a bid one time at 1:45 A.M. figuring it was in the bag.
Yeah right... I was more pissed off about staying up so late than losing the lot. Unless someone
is giving cards away, I don't like to waste time and lose sleep. On the network54 board
I've read about guys staying up until the morning sun comes up. Not me. This is one reason
why I don't see me winning much with other auction houses. It almost prevents me from
bidding or following the auction closely.
aconte
With everyone wanting to wait till the last second, then getting shut down, unable to bid, I have to wonder, Are there THAT many cards you need so terribly? I'm happy putting in my max bids about 9:30 or so, and if I get anything, great, if not, I move on.
I know there is paranoia surrounding the running up of bids, but last night I won a killer 55 Bowman Mays PSA 7 for $200.00. My max bid was quite a bit higher.
Let other people pay out of their arss. ( as Jim Rome says) I don't see what the problem is with bidding early and letting the others pay too much.
But that's my perspective. I'm an auction scavenger.
I'm not gonna let a sportscard auction raise my blood pressure.
I know people are building sets, and they get impatient. But steadfastness is what its about.
You'll get them eventually. HAve a drink
............... you crack me up.
Thus I called at 8:40, and got right through. The person answering was very competent, fast and pleasant. I called again at 8:55, and got through with about 1 minute wait. At that time, they only allowed 3 lots per call, presumably to let more people in.
Anyway it is handled has pluses and minuses. I prefer the set end time over the 10 minute rule. If they were able to have a 10 minute rule per item, that would probably be ideal, but I suspect that is hard to do technically. Regarding a live auction, they tried something like that with Ebay last year, and it was a big flop. Since it was silent, it missed the excitement of a true auction. Plus, it takes a lot of time to get through 100 items you have no interest in to get to the one you do.
I agree taht it would be great if they could incorporate internet bidding into the last 2 hours also, so you wouldn't be dependent on the phone connection.
<< <i>Some of you seem surprised at the high prices that some things go for...It's not too hard to figure out that some of you are getting screwed. >>
that's a very {BiG} "fatcat" statement.
2005 Origins Old Judge Brown #/20 and Black 1/1s, 2000 Ultimate Victory Gold #/25
2004 UD Legends Bake McBride autos & parallels, and 1974 Topps #601 PSA 9
Rare Grady Sizemore parallels, printing plates, autographs
Nothing on ebay
Another way to avoid those Mastro and Supieror type auctions is to not collect anything that they offer. Then there is zero reason to bid.
to heck with those evil fascist auction houses
If you don't like Superiors rules, don't bid or bid earlier and trust that you will be treated fairly.
1954
Shane:
Two points:
1) I think, generally, Superior has a lower consignment fee than Mastro. Thus, you should be getting more bang for your buck, all else equal.
2) I think some of us have said before that we are unwilling to wait out Mastro's 10-minute rule on certain auctions. I've spent tons of money with Mastro over the years -- but I also know that I would have spent more in many instances had the timing been more appropriate toward my lifestyle. I work 60+ hours a week sometimes. Living on the East Coast, I can't sacrifice an entire night of sleep calling Mastro every half hour because I am unsure if their auction will end at 2:00 a.m, 5:00 a.m., later, or sometime inbetween. I stay up to an appropriately late time, place my final bids, and hope for the best when I wake up. If I lose out on an auction or two -- often I would have placed one more bid. Not always, but often. But working 60 hour weeks, and having to be in the office by 7:30 am sometimes means that the only way I could "assure" myself of winning is by pulling an all-nighter. As it is -- I have enough trouble convincing my wife about much of the time/money spent in these auctions.
To each their own! I think each auction format has its own advantages and disadvantages...
I totally agree with you on both points. It is very nice to know that Superiors' auction is done at 9:00 and what is done is done. I believe Mastro and Superior both offer great/rare cards that others do not. By placing it in Mastros auction allows others to participate beyond the 9:00 deadline.
1954