Auction Faux Pas

bosox

I recently submitted a fax bid to a telephone/fax/live coin auction. My machine gave me a fax "send successful" confirmation two days before the deadline. My bid would have been the winning bid, but somehow the auction firm never put in my bid. We are talking about a high level auction firm and an expensive coin. I am writing to the auction firm for an explanation (maybe I screwed something up, but I really don't see where). Has this ever happened to anybody before? If so, how did the auction firm make things right?

ajaan

Was there floor bidding? Maybe you were outbid by a floor bidder.

bosox

There was floor bidding, but my bid was higher than the "price realized" published after the auction.

goldrush00013

Was your bid alot higher? I work phone and absentee bids for an artifact auction firm. I have seen absentee's lose an auction because the auctioneer would'nt lower the bid increment .ie. Absentee bid is 1000 , floor bid is 975 but auctioneer has been working in $50 increments.

kuhli

<< <i>Was your bid alot higher? I work phone and absentee bids for an artifact auction firm. I have seen absentee's lose an auction because the auctioneer would'nt lower the bid increment .ie. Absentee bid is 1000 , floor bid is 975 but auctioneer has been working in $50 increments. >>



Ummm, what kind of auctioneer would not look to get the best possible price for his client?? Seems to me that if I ever had an auctioneer refuse to accept a higher bid "because it wasn't high enough", I would be sure to spread the word throughout the industry (especially to those that commission the auctioneer to auction their items). Their objective is to get the best price for their client, is it not?? 1000 is more than 975, no matter how you slice it.

bosox

My bid was in the $2,000 range and was $150 higher than the "price realized".

bosox

Besides, my bid was there before the auction. If it was a floor bidder who "won", it never got up to the level of a bid they had before the auction started.

GDJMSP

You may be the winner and not realize it. If you place a bid by phone, fax or via the auction companies own web site - they usually treat your bid as a floor bidder. Their words - not mine.

It once took Superior 2 weeks to notify me that I was the winner - and I bid via their web site. But it showed the winner as a floor bidder

bosox

It's been a month and I'm staring at the hard copy of "prices realized".

goldrush00013

<< <i>

<< <i>Was your bid alot higher? I work phone and absentee bids for an artifact auction firm. I have seen absentee's lose an auction because the auctioneer would'nt lower the bid increment .ie. Absentee bid is 1000 , floor bid is 975 but auctioneer has been working in $50 increments. >>



Ummm, what kind of auctioneer would not look to get the best possible price for his client?? Seems to me that if I ever had an auctioneer refuse to accept a higher bid "because it wasn't high enough", I would be sure to spread the word throughout the industry (especially to those that commission the auctioneer to auction their items). Their objective is to get the best price for their client, is it not?? 1000 is more than 975, no matter how you slice it. >>




I'm not saying it happens all the time, but it does happen. In my particular case the auctions I'm involved in are not open to the public.
Most everyone in attendance is an asteemed member of the collecting community,as are most phone and absentee bidders.At every auction I see at least half of all lots up for sale be held up and the auctioneer starts at what the artifact would be estimated to bring. Lets say it's an item that should bring a thousand dollars,the auctioneer asks for a grand but no bids,so he dros to $800. Still no bid he keeps dropping till he hits$25 and someone then bids,this happens all the time.Now a counter bid of 50 is made then 75 and so on till he gets to 575 let's say.Suddenly someone hollars out 775 to overtake the bid by 200 when we were previously at $25 dollar increments.The lowest he will drop is $100 increment,some one calls that bid and we are at 875,the 775 bidder goes to 975. No one bids it higher than 975 , but I have an absentee bid of $1000,The auctioneer will not let me in for $25 out of courtesy to the bidder that jumped $200. I'm not sayin that it's right It just happens. 75% of the time if I had been let in to bid the other bidder would have overtaken it anyway.

ajaan

From what I read, you basically got screwed and so did the seller.

bosox

I just received a response to my letter to the auction firm. I was the high bidder, but apparently several lots were stolen , including the one that I "won". Ajaan is right about the buyer and seller getting screwed. I wonder if, absent my letter, the auction firm was going to tell any of the bidders?

wybrit

Not good. Sorry to see it went this way. I assume you are not out any money on this, though?

bosox

Not out any money. The auction firm never invoiced me. In fact they never communicated with me at all until I sent them a letter, that's why I was wondering WTF was going on. I knew I bid higher than the published "price realized".

Aethelred

I would be pissed off if I were you, but not as much as I would if I were the seller!

1960NYGiants

All this smells fishy to me. I would think long and hard about bidding with them again. Their customer service (i.e. trust) seems somewhat lacking. Just MHO.

Gene

MacCrimmon

Pitiful! All the more reason to develop a relationship with a trusted dealer who can view the coin ahead of time and place the floor bid on your behalf.

One particular firm during the past Pre-LB and LB auctions did not instill much confidence in their non-chalant attitude during the lot viewing.

BTW, bosox, very nice looking 1859 in that sig line.