How closely do auction firms track online bidding (especially international bidders) to focus market

Longacre

I was reading the new edition of Dave's Notes on the Stack's site, and QDB made the following comment:

"Welcome to the latest edition of my Notes. Last week was a whirlwind of activity. On Tuesday and Wednesday our Brooklyn and John J. Ford Jr sales drew bids from all over the world. Action was intense by floor bidders and equally enthusiastic on the Internet and on the telephone. The auction world is changing, and rapidly, and it is just a matter of time when a complete “you are there” experience can be had via the Internet by bidders from anywhere—Eastport, Sedona, Twin Falls, Waldkirch, or Kirkby-Lonsdale—you name it!"


Obviously the internet is a powerful tool. Ever trying to look out for the auction firms, I was wondering if any of them really take the time to analyze exactly who is online and placing bids, and the locations of those bidders. I am no techie, but I assume there is a way for Stack's to determine if they are getting a great deal of bids and online tracking from people in the UK, Russia, China, etc. Perhaps that data can be used to better focus the auction firm's marketing, rather than just putting up the standard weekly advertisement in CW or NN. Does anyone know if a member of the auction firm (be it Stack's, Heritage, or any of the second tier firms) actually analyzes this data and uses it to their advantage, or are the electronic trails simply ignored because the firm is too busy getting to the cataloging for the next auction?

Does anyone know?

Coinosaurus

This is called "market segmentation" in the biz. My wife used to do it for a living. It involves computers and lots of mathematical modeing. I'm 99% sure that Heritage is doing it, and equally sure that they won't talk about it, because it is competitive information. Heritage is very concerned about it not just for coins, but for all the cross pollination they are trying to create in other areas.

bidask

<< <i>I was reading the new edition of Dave's Notes on the Stack's site, and QDB made the following comment:

"Welcome to the latest edition of my Notes. Last week was a whirlwind of activity. On Tuesday and Wednesday our Brooklyn and John J. Ford Jr sales drew bids from all over the world. Action was intense by floor bidders and equally enthusiastic on the Internet and on the telephone. The auction world is changing, and rapidly, and it is just a matter of time when a complete “you are there” experience can be had via the Internet by bidders from anywhere—Eastport, Sedona, Twin Falls, Waldkirch, or Kirkby-Lonsdale—you name it!"


Obviously the internet is a powerful tool. Ever trying to look out for the auction firms, I was wondering if any of them really take the time to analyze exactly who is online and placing bids, and the locations of those bidders. I am no techie, but I assume there is a way for Stack's to determine if they are getting a great deal of bids and online tracking from people in the UK, Russia, China, etc. Perhaps that data can be used to better focus the auction firm's marketing, rather than just putting up the standard weekly advertisement in CW or NN. Does anyone know if a member of the auction firm (be it Stack's, Heritage, or any of the second tier firms) actually analyzes this data and uses it to their advantage, or are the electronic trails simply ignored because the firm is too busy getting to the cataloging for the next auction?

Does anyone know? >>

This is a great question and one that auction firms should take to heart. Tracking where your getting your bids from would be of great importance if I was in the auction business. Especially tracking trends from overseas bidders. It would connote that the hobby is expanding if indeed more bids were coming in from international sources. Good question.