Heritage discloses auction reserves
MichaelWeems
Posts: 24
As this subject has already come up on this board, I thought everyone might like to know the full story. Here is the press release we are currently sending out:
IMPORTANT POLICY CHANGE
Heritage will now disclose auction reserves on its web sites.
DALLAS, TEXAS: Heritage is initiating a new policy of telling online bidders which lots have reserves and whether those reserves have been met.
According to Director of Internet Marketing Michael Weems, “Beginning next month, we will post a notice showing the state of the reserve for each lot that we offer at auction. Prior to all reserves for that auction being posted, the notice will read "Reserve (If Any) Not Posted Yet.” After the reserves are posted -- generally 3 days prior to the closing date for Internet-only auctions, and 7 days prior for Signature auctions -- there will be three possible states for a lot: "No Reserve", "Next Bid Meets Reserve", or "Reserve Met". This method is very similar to eBay’s, but unlike eBay, Heritage automatically raises all reserved lots to one increment below the reserve, so the bidder always knows the approximate amount of any unmet reserves.”
Mr. Weems continued, “We plan to implement the necessary Website changes in time for our March 17 Dallas Movie Posters, March 24-27 Portland ANA coin auctions, and our April 1-4 New York City Comics/Comic Art auction.”
Each of the notices will be a link to a FAQ page containing the following definitions:
Reserve (If Any) Not Posted Yet: Although many lots will not get reserves, this signifies that Heritage has not yet posted any reserves to this auction.
No Reserve: Reserves have been posted for this auction, but this lot does not have a reserve.
Next Bid Meets Reserve: The reserve has been posted on this lot, and the Current Bid has been reset to one increment below the reserve so that the next bid will be the high bidder and the reserve will have been reached.
Reserve Met: Reserves have been posted for this auction, and there is a reserve on this lot that has already been met.
Heritage Co-Chairman James Halperin explains the reasoning behind the new policy: “This is part of Heritage’s continued efforts to provide bidders with as much useful information as possible, and to save them time. Some bidders prefer not to bid against reserves, while others don’t care. Either way, we feel that the eBay model has changed the market’s expectations regarding reserves, and that this information should no longer be hidden from bidders. And since we automatically set the Current Bid on items with unmet reserves at one increment below the reserve, we are now essentially disclosing the reserve amount, which is even more revealing than eBay’s policy. The bottom line is that we would rather have bidders focus on the lots they have a good chance of actually buying in the price range they are comfortable paying, instead of having to guess. We believe the new policy of always revealing the existence or nonexistence of reserves will also help create a more level playing field between dealers and collectors, since dealer-consignors use reserves more often than collector consignors do, and unreserved lots tend to receive more bids. Our new policy is designed to make bidders more comfortable, and should increase the number of participants in our auctions, which, in the long run, benefits our consignors as well.”
The policy affects all of Heritage’s auction web sites, including:
www.HeritageCoins.com
www.HeritageComics.com
www.HeritageSportsCollectibles.com
www.HeritageCurrency.com
www.HeritageMoviePosters.com
www.HeritageGalleries.com
Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers
The World’s Largest Collectibles Auctioneer
3500 Maple Avenue, 17th Floor
Dallas, TX 75219-3941
Auctions@HeritageComics.com
1-800-872-6467
IMPORTANT POLICY CHANGE
Heritage will now disclose auction reserves on its web sites.
DALLAS, TEXAS: Heritage is initiating a new policy of telling online bidders which lots have reserves and whether those reserves have been met.
According to Director of Internet Marketing Michael Weems, “Beginning next month, we will post a notice showing the state of the reserve for each lot that we offer at auction. Prior to all reserves for that auction being posted, the notice will read "Reserve (If Any) Not Posted Yet.” After the reserves are posted -- generally 3 days prior to the closing date for Internet-only auctions, and 7 days prior for Signature auctions -- there will be three possible states for a lot: "No Reserve", "Next Bid Meets Reserve", or "Reserve Met". This method is very similar to eBay’s, but unlike eBay, Heritage automatically raises all reserved lots to one increment below the reserve, so the bidder always knows the approximate amount of any unmet reserves.”
Mr. Weems continued, “We plan to implement the necessary Website changes in time for our March 17 Dallas Movie Posters, March 24-27 Portland ANA coin auctions, and our April 1-4 New York City Comics/Comic Art auction.”
Each of the notices will be a link to a FAQ page containing the following definitions:
Reserve (If Any) Not Posted Yet: Although many lots will not get reserves, this signifies that Heritage has not yet posted any reserves to this auction.
No Reserve: Reserves have been posted for this auction, but this lot does not have a reserve.
Next Bid Meets Reserve: The reserve has been posted on this lot, and the Current Bid has been reset to one increment below the reserve so that the next bid will be the high bidder and the reserve will have been reached.
Reserve Met: Reserves have been posted for this auction, and there is a reserve on this lot that has already been met.
Heritage Co-Chairman James Halperin explains the reasoning behind the new policy: “This is part of Heritage’s continued efforts to provide bidders with as much useful information as possible, and to save them time. Some bidders prefer not to bid against reserves, while others don’t care. Either way, we feel that the eBay model has changed the market’s expectations regarding reserves, and that this information should no longer be hidden from bidders. And since we automatically set the Current Bid on items with unmet reserves at one increment below the reserve, we are now essentially disclosing the reserve amount, which is even more revealing than eBay’s policy. The bottom line is that we would rather have bidders focus on the lots they have a good chance of actually buying in the price range they are comfortable paying, instead of having to guess. We believe the new policy of always revealing the existence or nonexistence of reserves will also help create a more level playing field between dealers and collectors, since dealer-consignors use reserves more often than collector consignors do, and unreserved lots tend to receive more bids. Our new policy is designed to make bidders more comfortable, and should increase the number of participants in our auctions, which, in the long run, benefits our consignors as well.”
The policy affects all of Heritage’s auction web sites, including:
www.HeritageCoins.com
www.HeritageComics.com
www.HeritageSportsCollectibles.com
www.HeritageCurrency.com
www.HeritageMoviePosters.com
www.HeritageGalleries.com
Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers
The World’s Largest Collectibles Auctioneer
3500 Maple Avenue, 17th Floor
Dallas, TX 75219-3941
Auctions@HeritageComics.com
1-800-872-6467
Thank you,
Michael Weems
VP of eCommerce
www.HA.com
MichaelW@HA.com
Michael Weems
VP of eCommerce
www.HA.com
MichaelW@HA.com
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