Bidding strategy
Coinobsessed
Posts: 149 ✭✭✭✭
Why do people start bidding weeks ahead of the auction? For example, Great Collection auctions are open until a closing time and I see some bidders just continuously bidding till the auction closes. I understand the idea of waiting till the end, but not sure about bidding weeks ahead of time.
The second type is like Stacks or Heritage where you bid before it goes live. I assume some people put in bids and to land on a certain level.
Give me you thoughts.
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When you lose a few items because you forgot to place a last minute bid, that's a good incentive to place at least some level of bids earlier...
1) You will not be able to bid at the end, so place your max beforehand
2) Get the bid to a certain level where it is unlikely that someone will go one increment higher (mainly on gold bullion coins)
3) People are bidding up their own items or items for their friends
4) People are bidding up an item to help sell their own similar item
5) Some people don't have a strategy and just keep bidding until they take the lead (and if outbid, will come back and bid again)
I think some want to see if everything is in order for bidding, so a token bid is placed.
Others may have a limit and throw it out there right off the bat. If they win, great. If not, no biggie.
There's more shilling than one might think.
The House at times is the first one to bid. And the House, if it chooses, participates in bidding throughout the auction and up until the end.
All of the above is - IMO...
When I used to bid a decent amount on one day on GC I would place some “if I win everything I want I can still afford it” bids and then divvy up the budget better as things got bid up.
I subscribe to
2) Get the bid to a certain level where it is unlikely that someone will go one increment higher (mainly on gold bullion coins)
Yeah, I don’t get it. The only two ways I bid are sniping at the end (GC) or live by proxy (HA), which is different than Internet pre-bidding. Bidding early only drives up the price.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
I make a stupid lowball bid when bidding begins on SB or HA to get a daily email update.
Many do a final bid in the last 30 seconds. Others just put in their best bid whenever then if lose no big deal. They are already at plan investment amount.
The goal for me is buying it right in working my angle. Let’s say bid is 200 and CPG is 260. If your paying above CPG your paying above mkt retail. There may be bonus things that coin has that would drive a higher result.
The summer doldrums are a good hunting ground for many to buy near or below bid. Especially during the big ANA shows.
Putting your max bid at the end doesn't allow competitors to rethink their high bid.
On SB, I believe you have to bid on an item to get a daily update but on HA you can get the daily update just by tracking the item.
The problem is, once you have bid on an item at SB to track it, the Proxy Bid feature is then disabled for that item. This "feature" is written into their T&C.
It's an extremely flawed system. I discussed this with a couple of mid-level people from @StacksBowersGalleries at USMex last year, going so far as to give them a live demonstration in an ongoing auction. They expressed surprise, agreed it didn't make any sense, and said the issue should be addressed. Eight months later and nothing has changed thus far.
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While this certainly happens in some auctions (house bidding), I do NOT believe that this ever happens at Great Collections or Heritage Auctions. The auctioneer or owner can set an opening bid, and there may be a minimum sale value at Heritage Auctions on some high end items.
edit: I also frequently bid at DLRC and I would include them in the ethical group that does not do house bids.
I always bid and walk away. I have my number. If you want to beat it, fine. Sniping only works with timed auctions. And when everyone is sniping, you can still have someone else come in at the end with a snipe higher than yours. And the better the item is, the more likely that is to happen.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
I have been complaining about this drawback for literally years. I was told they would take a look at a fix, but here we are.
Sometimes I will place a bid weeks in advance just to get a reminder email from GC and eBay. At Heritage if the coin is close to my max bid, I will place my bid before it goes live I have only bid on a handful of coins at Stacks and I do not recall winning any of the coins.
HA specifies in the TOS that they reserve the right to bid on any lot.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
I have bid and won many HA auctions, and the only time I ever see them submit a bid is when it is from a pre-existing Internet bid or a phone bid on the spot. I think that is in there to cover such situations so nobody claims an improper bid. Lets ask @MFeld
Bidding early absolutely inflates the price. Had a coin once (15 years ago at the winter FUN auction) that I swore I wouldn’t go above $4000 on, until that was surpassed. Retail was $3250 at the time. I regrouped and ended up winning at $5750. It’s a great coin but man…. It has since caught up and is also a good upgrade candidate in which case it would be worth significantly more, so in hindsight, I don’t regret it. But, I wouldn’t have gone that high had that other person not bid early.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
From Section 22 of the HA TOS "the Auctioneer, its affiliates, or their employees may place bids on lots in the Auction."
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
I have bid strong right off the bat before only to have a better example come up at a fixed price before the auction ends. Then what to do, buy the fixed price coin and hope not to win the auction? I don't do that anymore, I wait until near the end.
No, they definitely bid and buy items. You will sometimes see them in the weekly auctions.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
I can see bidding early when I know life events are going to get in the way. I know that very rarely will I be in front of a computer screen at auction closing for the major auction houses. But I try to place bid as close to end as is feasible for me. I see no reason why somebody would continue to bid up over a matter of days or weeks. Makes no sense.
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I've done that. I just turn around and sell the one I no longer want.
Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value. Zero. Voltaire. Ebay coinbowlllc
They want to win, buy it right.
Putting bids ahead players (dealers, investors) are marking candidate purchases. These are put on a bid list that has CDN Bid, auc fee, etc. usually some number back of bid to enter. These exploratory bids are somewhat lower than CDN bid. The goal is to beat the competition.
So if CDN is bid 600, auc fee 60, bid to enter might be 540. Or some explore bid less than that. The player may input the 540 bid within seconds of Auc close. Within minutes of Auc time to do necessary research which is why done early. This is stuff for his retail inventory which will be marked up accordingly. However others may bid it up to a level that is not going to work for his agenda. Or the player may pass bc they already bidded it up too high and unable to make a decent profit from it.
So on auc day as the item is close to closing the real games begin.