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Have you ever exercised the nuclear option at auction...

DCWDCW Posts: 6,934 ✭✭✭✭✭

....and wound up in a mushroom cloud?
I ask, because I sometimes find myself at the end of an eBay auction, rummaging through the nuclear codes with an increased heart rate as the final seconds tick off of an item I simply MUST own!
It is a dangerous game.
I'm sure someone has been burned by this technique. So any brave souls want to share their story along with the item they will be buried with?

Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."

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Comments

  • DCWDCW Posts: 6,934 ✭✭✭✭✭

    And to clarify, by "nuclear option" I mean an enormously ridiculous bid that no other sane person would think reasonable in order to own a desired piece.

    Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
    "Coin collecting for outcasts..."

  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 33,811 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 11, 2021 9:23AM

    @DCW said:
    And to clarify, by "nuclear option" I mean an enormously ridiculous bid that no other sane person would think reasonable in order to own a desired piece.

    So... you're thinking in Mutually Assured Destruction there's one sane person? ;)

  • Namvet69Namvet69 Posts: 8,620 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Not I but I do enjoy watching it happen during an auction. Peace Roy

    BST: endeavor1967, synchr, kliao, Outhaul, Donttellthewife, U1Chicago, ajaan, mCarney1173, SurfinHi, MWallace, Sandman70gt, mustanggt, Pittstate03, Lazybones, Walkerguy21D, coinandcurrency242 , thebigeng, Collectorcoins, JimTyler, USMarine6, Elkevvo, Coll3ctor, Yorkshireman, CUKevin, ranshdow, CoinHunter4, bennybravo, Centsearcher, braddick, Windycity, ZoidMeister, mirabela, JJM, RichURich, Bullsitter, jmski52

  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 33,811 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 11, 2021 9:33AM

    I've bid, but it's hard to know if it's nuclear until you go to sell.

  • bolivarshagnastybolivarshagnasty Posts: 7,348 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I can't remember ever doing this. I have certainly overpaid for coins before, but not at auction.

  • Pnies20Pnies20 Posts: 2,016 ✭✭✭✭✭

    No. After some research, I predetermine what I believe a coin is worth and won’t budge. Keeps my marriage intact.

    BHNC #248 … 108 and counting.

  • ctf_error_coinsctf_error_coins Posts: 15,433 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I nuclear bid about once a week and almost always win.

    These are the coins that are very easy to resell :o

  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 33,811 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @ErrorsOnCoins said:
    I nuclear bid about once a week and almost always win.

    These are the coins that are very easy to resell :o

    If you are bidding at prices that are easy to resell, are the bids really nuclear?

  • ctf_error_coinsctf_error_coins Posts: 15,433 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 11, 2021 9:36AM

    @Zoins said:

    @ErrorsOnCoins said:
    I nuclear bid about once a week and almost always win.

    These are the coins that are very easy to resell :o

    If you are bidding at prices that are easy to resell, are the bids really nuclear?

    My bid is a nuke bid. Whether or not others are, I do not know their mindset.

    Super easy to resell as I only nuke bid the best of the best.

  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 33,811 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 11, 2021 9:42AM

    @ErrorsOnCoins said:

    @Zoins said:

    @ErrorsOnCoins said:
    I nuclear bid about once a week and almost always win.

    These are the coins that are very easy to resell :o

    If you are bidding at prices that are easy to resell, are the bids really nuclear?

    My bid is a nuke bid. Whether or not others are, I do not know their mindset.

    Super easy to resell as I only nuke bid the best of the best.

    To me, if it's easy to resell, it's not a nuclear bid, but a very reasonable and well-informed bid.

    A nuclear bid to me is one where you can only resell at a heavy and potentially embarrassing loss. For a truly nuclear bid, the loss would need to affect one 's overall coin budget.

    If nukes were a good deal, countries would be launching nukes all the time to settle disputes.

  • WaterSportWaterSport Posts: 6,696 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Yes, and it sure did not bode well for the person I was bidding against and lost.

    WS

    Proud recipient of the coveted PCGS Forum "You Suck" Award Thursday July 19, 2007 11:33 PM and December 30th, 2011 at 8:50 PM.
  • ctf_error_coinsctf_error_coins Posts: 15,433 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Zoins said:

    @ErrorsOnCoins said:

    @Zoins said:

    @ErrorsOnCoins said:
    I nuclear bid about once a week and almost always win.

    These are the coins that are very easy to resell :o

    If you are bidding at prices that are easy to resell, are the bids really nuclear?

    My bid is a nuke bid. Whether or not others are, I do not know their mindset.

    Super easy to resell as I only nuke bid the best of the best.

    To me, if it's easy to resell, it's not a nuclear bid, but a very reasonable and well-informed bid.

    A nuclear bid to me is one where you can only resell at a heavy loss. For a truly nuclear bid, the loss would need to affect one 's overall coin budget.

    If nukes were a good deal, countries would be launching nukes all the time to settle disputes.

    I am in a very thin market and some of the dealers miss what I see and do not bid. Nor do collectors. I search the internet for error coins about 12 hours each day.

    Many of the nuke wars I get in are with another dealer.

    Something like ....

    My bid ..................$907

    Dealer 2 bid ..........$900

    Collector 3 bid ..... $430

    Where there is a huge difference in knowledgeable dealers' bids vs collector bids for wahtever reason.

  • DCWDCW Posts: 6,934 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Yea, I'm talking about adding zeros to your bid here. Only for those who are sick of being the underbidder and irrational enough to be OK with winning at all cost.
    The problem is when there is another madman out there with tbe same mentality and nothing to loss... but money.

    Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
    "Coin collecting for outcasts..."

  • ctf_error_coinsctf_error_coins Posts: 15,433 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I guess our definitions of nuke bids are different.

    I nuke bid on underpriced exceptional material that I view as easy to resell for a profit.

    (IMO) You view a nuke bid as a way to get the coin you must have knowing that when you resell you will lose 50%.

    Sorry, that is not the way I do coins.

  • oih82w8oih82w8 Posts: 11,867 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I have wanted a coin bad enough that I have stuck my neck out a few times...and have been on both sides...winner and loser on the bid.

    oih82w8 = Oh I Hate To Wait _defectus patientia_aka...Dr. Defecto - Curator of RMO's

    BST transactions: dbldie55, jayPem, 78saen, UltraHighRelief, nibanny, liefgold, FallGuy, lkeigwin, mbogoman, Sandman70gt, keets, joeykoins, ianrussell (@GC), EagleEye, ThePennyLady, GRANDAM, Ilikecolor, Gluggo, okiedude, Voyageur, LJenkins11, fastfreddie, ms70, pursuitofliberty, ZoidMeister,Coin Finder, GotTheBug...
  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 33,811 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 11, 2021 9:54AM

    @ErrorsOnCoins said:
    I guess our definitions of nuke bids are different.

    I nuke bid on underpriced exceptional material that I view as easy to resell for a profit.

    (IMO) You view a nuke bid as a way to get the coin you must have knowing that when you resell you will lose 50%.

    Sorry, that is not the way I do coins.

    You're a good business person which is why your bids don't meet my definition of nuke bids.

  • CatbertCatbert Posts: 6,549 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Seems to me that nuke bids only apply to collectors. Dealers have more sense since they are buying to resell short-term.

    "Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill"
  • BaleyBaley Posts: 22,658 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I don't do it either; I'd never bid more than I'd be happy winning at, and if I had to sell it, take a small loss, perhaps, but never a huge one.

    Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry

  • WAYNEASWAYNEAS Posts: 6,314 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Boris and Natasha say it is ok to launch a nuclear bid and then blame Moose and Squirrel when it fails. >:)

    Kennedys are my quest...

  • davewesendavewesen Posts: 5,758 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I have never seen an auction "I simply must own". If I really like it, I try to determine my max bid that I am willing to pay, and snipe that bid. There will always be people with more money than me, and if they want to pay more, more power to them.

  • ifthevamzarockinifthevamzarockin Posts: 8,498 ✭✭✭✭✭

    No nuke bids for me, I can find something else I like. ;)

    Years back I was on the receiving end of a nuke bid, it was a common 1921 P Morgan. It wasn't a high grade MS-63, it wasn't a rare Vam, it was about a $30 coin. In the last seconds of the ebay auction it popped to $1,012.00 and the buyer paid. Not sure why they wanted it soo bad but was very happy with the result. :)

    This wasn't a 6 figure coin so some may say it wasn't a nuke bid but a grand for a $30 coin doesn't happen every day.

  • CoinJunkieCoinJunkie Posts: 8,772 ✭✭✭✭✭

    "Adding a zero" implies bidding 10x what I think is reasonable. No, I've never done that. Back in the day, I may have gone double or even triple, but I'm much more circumspect in my advancing age.

  • PedzolaPedzola Posts: 1,005 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I have lost auctions with strong bids that I thought were beyond what a reasonable person would pay...

    I wouldnt call my bids "nuclear" but I certainly expected to win. I.e., I bid maybe 25% higher than all research suggests the coin should sell for.

    Seems like there is always someone who wants it more.

  • davewesendavewesen Posts: 5,758 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @ifthevamzarockin said:
    No nuke bids for me, I can find something else I like. ;)

    Years back I was on the receiving end of a nuke bid, it was a common 1921 P Morgan. It wasn't a high grade MS-63, it wasn't a rare Vam, it was about a $30 coin. In the last seconds of the ebay auction it popped to $1,012.00 and the buyer paid. Not sure why they wanted it soo bad but was very happy with the result. :)

    This wasn't a 6 figure coin so some may say it wasn't a nuke bid but a grand for a $30 coin doesn't happen every day.

    someone else bid over $1000 as well, besides the winner

  • DCWDCW Posts: 6,934 ✭✭✭✭✭

    That's true @davewesen
    @ifthevamzarockin Methinks you either missed a rare variety or the other two buyers saw something to make them believe this was the case.

    Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
    "Coin collecting for outcasts..."

  • ifthevamzarockinifthevamzarockin Posts: 8,498 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @DCW
    "Methinks you either missed a rare variety or the other two buyers saw something to make them believe this was the case."

    I double & triple checked the coin after I saw the sale price, pretty sure it was just a common Morgan but maybe they saw something I didn't. ???

  • BryceMBryceM Posts: 11,721 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Nonsense like this can get you into trouble when you're bidding on common coins with exceptional toning. No, I don't nuke bid, I'm more often the underbidder than the winning bidder (Heritage should send me a medal or something), and I'm still trying to figure out how to get people to nuclear bid on stuff I'm selling.

  • ms70ms70 Posts: 13,946 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I never did but I remember back in earlier eBay days hearing of someone who, if I remember correctly, bid something like $18K on a coin that was worth only a few hundred bucks....... and someone out nuke-bid him.

    I believe I read that story here.

    Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.

  • jesbrokenjesbroken Posts: 9,151 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I feel that if I pick an absolutely upper end or higher for the grade coin, I will do that and have done so, recently. I have not lost a coin that I used this procedure, but the coin has to be all I want for that grade and more.
    Jim


    When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln

    Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
  • MasonGMasonG Posts: 6,268 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @BryceM said:
    I'm still trying to figure out how to get people to nuclear bid on stuff I'm selling.

    Be careful what you wish for. You only find out about a nuclear bid if two bidders employ the tactic, and there are regular complaints on the eBay message boards from sellers who have had that happen and find that the winning bidder backed out because "I made a mistake when I bid" or "my cat stepped on the keyboard".

  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 45,296 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I'm not wealthy enough to nuclear bid on coins. I have to make every dollar count. I guess I've never "needed" a coin so badly that I felt it was necessary to over pay for it.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.

  • Batman23Batman23 Posts: 4,999 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I only Nuke bid when I have to have the item. Obviously there has to be a cap. Adding a couple zeros is a bit extreme though. I usually just put in a strong snipe for what I want and call it done.

    A couple years ago I had a collectible non-coin item that I had been looking for for 10-15 years. I had seen scans so I knew it existed but I never had seen a color picture of it. Then one morning there it was in all it's ebay glory with color photo. I set up my token place holder bid to keep it up on my active bid list. I watched it closely for the week and I had a gut feeling it was going to bring a strong price. I was hoping to pick it up for $100-$200. If a couple other serious collectors noticed it and were bidding I wasn't going to be surprised if it went for 2-3 times that amount. I dusted off the ole esnipe login and set a "nuclear bid" that I thought would prevail... just over $1,100 if I remember... just in case another bidder tried to nuke it at an even grand. The high bid on the final day was still under $50 and I was nervous, excited and hopeful. My nuke exploded a few seconds before the auction's end. My nuke was bigger than the other guys nuke by twice. The end price was almost $600, about 3x what I wanted to pay but half of what I was willing to nuke it for. I don't plan to sell it, I just had to have it. I figured it would be many more years if I ever saw another.

  • goldengolden Posts: 9,017 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I thought that I did on a National Bank Note back in the 1970's. I was the 4th highest bidder! I still think about that note.

  • coinbufcoinbuf Posts: 10,712 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @PerryHall said:
    I'm not wealthy enough to nuclear bid on coins. I have to make every dollar count. I guess I've never "needed" a coin so badly that I felt it was necessary to over pay for it.

    I could not have said it better.

    My Lincoln Registry
    My Collection of Old Holders

    Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
  • jmlanzafjmlanzaf Posts: 31,613 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Zoins said:

    @ErrorsOnCoins said:

    @Zoins said:

    @ErrorsOnCoins said:
    I nuclear bid about once a week and almost always win.

    These are the coins that are very easy to resell :o

    If you are bidding at prices that are easy to resell, are the bids really nuclear?

    My bid is a nuke bid. Whether or not others are, I do not know their mindset.

    Super easy to resell as I only nuke bid the best of the best.

    To me, if it's easy to resell, it's not a nuclear bid, but a very reasonable and well-informed bid.

    A nuclear bid to me is one where you can only resell at a heavy and potentially embarrassing loss. For a truly nuclear bid, the loss would need to affect one 's overall coin budget.

    If nukes were a good deal, countries would be launching nukes all the time to settle disputes.

    Well, that's just ErrorsonCoins being Errorsoncoins. But...

    A nuclear bid does not necessarily equate to a nuclear price paid. You need two nuclear bids for that to happen...

  • jmlanzafjmlanzaf Posts: 31,613 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I once accidentally bid 999,999,999 on a coin at Heritage. The 9 on my keyboard got stuck. I corrected it before the auction closed, but I did end up winning and slightly overpaying for the coin (which I still own) because I could only reduce my bid to the high bid and no one came in later and raised it.

  • SimpleCollectorSimpleCollector Posts: 536 ✭✭✭✭✭

    No nuke bids here. I have too many other hobbies and life interests that need funding too. So set the price I am comfortable at and usually stick to it...

    Sometimes if I am on streak where I keep losing everything, I may place a bid 20-25% above my perceived target, but on those I still very rarely win, seems that instead the person putting the nuke bids pays more.

  • WalkerfanWalkerfan Posts: 8,896 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 11, 2021 6:25PM

    I've done it. Got stung REAL BAD a time or two but it usually works out 'OK'. :#

    I'll pass on some advice that was given to me long ago:

    "in order to build your set the way you want, sometimes, you just have to pay up."

    “I may not believe in myself but I believe in what I’m doing” ~Jimmy Page~

    My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947)

    https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/

  • DCWDCW Posts: 6,934 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 11, 2021 4:43PM

    @Batman23 said:
    I only Nuke bid when I have to have the item. Obviously there has to be a cap. Adding a couple zeros is a bit extreme though. I usually just put in a strong snipe for what I want and call it done.

    A couple years ago I had a collectible non-coin item that I had been looking for for 10-15 years. I had seen scans so I knew it existed but I never had seen a color picture of it. Then one morning there it was in all it's ebay glory with color photo. I set up my token place holder bid to keep it up on my active bid list. I watched it closely for the week and I had a gut feeling it was going to bring a strong price. I was hoping to pick it up for $100-$200. If a couple other serious collectors noticed it and were bidding I wasn't going to be surprised if it went for 2-3 times that amount. I dusted off the ole esnipe login and set a "nuclear bid" that I thought would prevail... just over $1,100 if I remember... just in case another bidder tried to nuke it at an even grand. The high bid on the final day was still under $50 and I was nervous, excited and hopeful. My nuke exploded a few seconds before the auction's end. My nuke was bigger than the other guys nuke by twice. The end price was almost $600, about 3x what I wanted to pay but half of what I was willing to nuke it for. I don't plan to sell it, I just had to have it. I figured it would be many more years if I ever saw another.

    Well, let's see it!

    Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
    "Coin collecting for outcasts..."

  • Batman23Batman23 Posts: 4,999 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @DCW said:
    I think the scenario @Batman23 is pretty central to what I'm getting at.
    Money is certainly a factor in what I can buy and what I have to let go gently into that Goodnight...
    So, for me to personally launch a nuclear strike on an eBay auction I have certain rules of engagement:
    Defcon 1.The item has to be rare, not just in this grade but RARE as in unique or only a handful known
    Defcon 2. If I miss out on it, I may never get another shot, and may suffer sleepless nights wondering what could have been
    Defcon 3.I can consider the extra $$$ spent part of the cost of ending the hours, days, weeks, months, years of the search
    And most importantly...
    Defcon 4. I must be positive that the wife will never find out about it.

    That pretty much sums up the bullet points to justify Nuclear bidding.

  • Clackamas1Clackamas1 Posts: 729 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Yes, never got nuked though. Sometimes you must win.

  • Clackamas1Clackamas1 Posts: 729 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @DCW said:
    Defcon 4. I must be positive that the wife will never find out about it.

    See - you must just rip off the band aid and condition her, more importantly talk endlessly about it and all other purchases. She will then do one of two things; get into it just like you (big win) or never ever want to discuss again and avoid all talk about coins (win). Win-wins are possible.

  • MasonGMasonG Posts: 6,268 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @jmlanzaf said:
    A nuclear bid does not necessarily equate to a nuclear price paid. You need two nuclear bids for that to happen...

    True enough, but if the thing you bought can easily be resold for a profit, you didn't make a nuclear bid if this is the bid history:

    My bid ..................$907
    Dealer 2 bid ..........$900
    Collector 3 bid ..... $430

  • jmlanzafjmlanzaf Posts: 31,613 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @MasonG said:

    @jmlanzaf said:
    A nuclear bid does not necessarily equate to a nuclear price paid. You need two nuclear bids for that to happen...

    True enough, but if the thing you bought can easily be resold for a profit, you didn't make a nuclear bid if this is the bid history:

    My bid ..................$907
    Dealer 2 bid ..........$900
    Collector 3 bid ..... $430

    Yes, but it was unclear from EOC's comment on whether the bidding went like that or more like this:

    My bid $10,000
    Bid 2 - $13.00
    Bid 1 - $12.00

  • DCWDCW Posts: 6,934 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @jmlanzaf
    That's a good point. The true nuclear bid is usually way over the top of the underbidder's max.

    Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
    "Coin collecting for outcasts..."

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