Does anyone actually win via internet bids during the "major" auctions

Longacre

I was wondering who bids on-line during the "major" auctions that are held by ANR, Heritage, B&M, Superior, etc. I put in a bid for a particular coin during the ANR auction that was recently held, and my bid was very strong. But it seems that the coin sold for one increment over my bid. The same has happened on several other occasions. It seems that there is a bias of some sort by the floor bidders against internet bidders. I also attended the NY auction held by ANR and it also appeared that 95%+ of the coins were sold to the floor bidders. Doea anyone else have similar experiences?

rottnrog

I have won a few coins from Superior's online auctions.

Shamika

I've won many coins via the internet from ANR and Heritage.

I've also lost many coins despite strong bids.

It happens.

puff

I have won a few auctions online with the Heritage signature sales in the last year......

But I never bid on anything without having someone with considerable knowledge, and that knows what I like preview the coin(s) I am interested for me before I place any bids and give me their opinion of the coin(s).

beartracks42

I won the first internet bid I ever made. It was the LB Heritage three yrs. ago. I bid on two raw CC Morgans and won them for $549.00. PCGS graded them as 1881-CC MS64 and 1885-CC MS63. That is the only bid that ever stood up.

I have lost several internet bids at Bowers and Merena auctions with the same exact bid as my max. I have heard several others on this forum state the same thing happened to them.

Gary

WaterSport

Yes, once, But for the collector with out deep pockets, its hard to get excited with 15-20% "buyers fees" added to your bid, a month or more delivery time frame, and the loss of a winning bid if the guy at the auction bids the same amount, as the auction win defaults to those present and not "on line'.

WS

Lakesammman

It seems that there is a bias of some sort by the floor bidders against internet bidders

Huh?? The floor bidders don't care where the underbidder bids. The auction house might have a bias but the floor bidders don't.

PhillyJoe

With many of the auctions, internet bids end the night before the auction and the bid to beat has been set for the floor. Live auctions are a little scary to internet bid as several members have found out.

Joe

RYK

Is it me or does ANR's live internet bidding software simply crush ebayLive (Heritage, Superior, Goldberg) and B&M's "ringworm" (or whatever they call itisgust?

jbsteven

<< <i>Live auctions are a little scary to internet bid as several members have found out. >>



I will vouch for this (ahem....$13,500 bid that was placed for me).

rhedden

If you "leave" a bid via ebay or the auction house website, don't expect to win. That just gives your competition a few days/weeks to look at your bid and decide that they would like to beat you by the minimum amount at the live auction. In "live" internet auctions, on the other hand, I have been very successful in snaring a few coins that were just selling too cheap. I made out great, in fact. I haven't had any problems with mistaken bids via internet, but the idea does scare me.

jom

OK, here's the deal. You LOSE a lot because you were OUTBID. Hey, now isn't that incredible insight?!

Joking aside, there should be nothing "scary" about intenet bidding EXCEPT when you leave a bid that you think is a "proxy" bid but it ends up being a "straight" bid (as I call it). Let me give some examples:

From what I've been told if you bid via email or mail at Heritage they will execute your bid AS IS. So if you tell them to bid $1000 THAT will be what you put in even if the floor bidding ends at, say, $700 you would have to pay the $1000.

Now if you bid on their internet site (the one that closes the day before the auction) then it will be treated as a PROXY, meaning they will increment your bid up to your max bid. That is MUCH better obviously.

I do not know how the other auction companies handle this however.

Your next best senerio is to use this internet live software. That way you can avoid having to trust the auction company to do the Proxy for you and you do it yourself. The thing I don't like about Heritage is that they use Ebay so you pay the extra 5%....at least as far as I know. Only Superior and ANR have their own live software...that is KNOW of.

The best way is to attend the auction....BUT this live software that doesn't charge the extra 5% seems to be a great alternative.

jom

ms70

I've won from Heritage.

dbldie55

I have won numerous lots and have never attended a live auction.

scher

I have had a lot of luck on the internet..but think it wisert to look at the coin if possible and attend the auction..you can really learn a lot in person..What I do on my internet bids is go as high as possible and hope for the best..sometimes I have gotten coins way under my "max bid" somtimes I have got completely blown out...
Bruce Scher

shylock

I get a little nervous whenever I win auctions that had no bids from the floor! Hopefully Heritage is working on their own live auction software, paying EBay an extra 5% to bid in real-time is rough.

Shamika

<< <i> Is it me or does ANR's live internet bidding software simply crush ebay Live... >>



I'll second this.

lava

Auctions sometimes draw very nice coins. If you have a good eye, you'll spot them, but others will as well. Strong bidding for nice coins at auction is just the way life works. I don't think it has anything to do with bias. You simply need to get used to the fact that people are willing to pay in excess of any book value for the coin they really want.

granddad

Very informative thread.


Louis

photog

Hi there! Jenna from ANR checking in.
This thread hits on a lot of questions, concerns, and points I hear all the time here from clients.
A quick note from me, based on our software. The best way to win a lot through internet bidding is to be proactive. By that I mean to place a realistic proxy bid before the auction occurs. By placing a proxy bid, if someone on the floor is sleeping or another net bidder misses it, if the bidding doesn't hit your max you don't pay your max bid. Now, frequently the bidding goes crazy on the floor. So I recommend that although you have entered a fair bid on the net, if you feel like you just HAVE to have the coin in question, you should follow the bidding live. Bidding live is tough as it moves so quickly, so having a bid in already is half that battle. If you see it creeping past your bid and you know you want it, then you can use the site to bid a little more to see if you can remain the high bidder- you can enter a new proxy bid and let the computer do the work, you can enter a straight bid (which is if you bid say $1000 on a coin which is at $600 the bidding jumps to that $1000 as opposed to the proxy system) or you can bid the next increment during live bidding with an enter key and a fast net connection.
It can be tough to compete against live floor bidders, but it is possible if you plan ahead!

Hope this helps in future bidding.

Jenna

coynclecter

Heritage sells a lot of thier OWN coins in thier auctions. They don't tell you which ones. Don't be suprised if they are described a little more liberally than the others.

Now here's the question. If you bid 1000 as a max on one of thier coins, do you really think you are gonna get it for 600?

flaminio

<< <i>Now here's the question. If you bid 1000 as a max on one of thier coins, do you really think you are gonna get it for 600? >>

It's happened to me, if you divide those numbers by ten. A few weeks back I bid about $100 on a coin and won it for about $60.

I look at Heritage et al. just like eBay: place your max bid, and see if you win. The Buyer's Premium is, of course, irrelevant: this amount is backed out of any bid price I might come up with, along with the rest of the S/H/I/T.

For those complaining about waiting a long time: my past few purchases from Heritage arrived within a week of auction close, priority mail.

coynclecter

<< <i>It's happened to me, if you divide those numbers by ten. A few weeks back I bid about $100 on a coin and won it for about $60. >>





My guess is that it was a consigned coin and not one owned by Heritage. How can they be an "impartial" auction house when they sell thier own stuff. Big Time Conflict of Interest.

Like contracting a dealer to go to an auction and bid for you on coins that he's selling.

kranky

Isn't it true that some auction houses bid in their own auctions (and not necessarily on their own coins)?

If so, they could be grabbing coins which they think are going too cheap and don't have any floor bidders. That would explain how internet bidders could lose by a single increment.

Bear

I just won five hotly contested coins on the ANR Auction. I make strong bids to start and

monitor them for the week before the actual auction. Basically I follow Jenna's advice and

am able to stay competative, unless a deep pocket is bidding against me.

coynclecter

Kranky:

I believe you to be 100% correct. The auction house will buy a coin if they believe it to be a "steal" by besting your Internet bid. Then they will "hype" it as "undergraded" in thier next auction and be sure you pay the full amount of your "Max" bid. An auction house that buys and sells in its own auction is a bad place to buy and sell coins.

oreville

I actually got to meet Jenna from ANR. Nice lady! Either I am getting OLD or the ladies I meet are getting younger and younger!

Jenna: I did do some of what you said and was successful on 2 of my 3 lots I tried to bid on.

One other comment that I will offer later on that might just require a minor tweaking of your system. Overall very good!

ARCO

I have won a few coins via the internet that were auctions that finished off after internet bidding and at a live auction.

Sure - I paid a lot, but I won!

Tyler

khayse

It seems almost impossible to bid via Ebay in real-time. Even with a great internet connection there's too much slop in the system and it
can't keep up with what's happening.

I usually leave proxy bids at Heritage's website. Even then I don't expect to win most of them. The people there have a better chance of
getting caught up in the bidding, of knowing that they lost their earlier bid so they can spend more on "this" lot, of really wanting to come
home with something because they came all this way and of seeing the piece in person and having a much better chance of knowing whether
it really is high end or even a possible upgrade candidate.

-KHayse

jcping

I've won one coin via the internet from ANR last Sunday.

If you are going after nice material, prepare to bid crazy money in this market

> If you bid 1000 as a max on one of "thier" coins, do you really think you are gonna get it for 600?

Never and ever. Either you get it at $1000 or not sold.

idocoins

I just won 4 coins from the B&M auction on Saturday...1 Lincoln and 3 Jeffs...

Trime

Although I attend auctions 3 or 4 times a year, I prefer to bid through the internet as proxy bids.
I try to view or have a friend or agent view the coins I am interested in, decide in advance what I am willing to pay and avoid the excitement of the live auction.
I purchase more coins thaan my budget deserves.
I find that when using a proxy approach, I am often the underbidder and would probably bid up if on the floor. Auctions are expensive addictions.