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. If can win them in final seconds give it a shot. There may be bonus things that coin has that would drive a higher result. Certainly I have paid high on stuff I really wanted.
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.
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
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.
Buffalo Nickel Digital Album
Toned Buffalo Date SetDigital Album
https://pcgs.com/setregistry/mysetregistry/album/411385 7070 Registry<
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.
I don't see the point in bidding real early unless it's a "placer bid," like $5, which you can do at Heritage to make it easier to track.
There is also the idea that you reserve your spot at the price you are willing to pay. There was an item in a Heritage auction where I was willing to bid $50,000. To out do me, the next guy had to bid $5,000 more or do a cut bid at $2,500. When the bid gets high, increments are something you think about.
As it turned out there was an agent on the floor whose client's limit was $50,000. Since I had that bid on the book, I won it. The agent/dealer came up to me after the auction wanting to buy the lot, paying me a small profit. I passed.
I would never place a substantial bid very early, however. I'd do it some hours before the sale.
Not quite the same thing, but I was live bidding on a Stack's lot a few months ago and someone else must have bid while I was in the middle of moving the slider to place my bid. Since there's no very obvious "YOU'RE WINNING" or "YOU'RE LOSING" (especially if you haven't had a bid registered yet) I thought I was the high bidder because I had used the slider and the price was at my bid level. When the lot ended I realized my bid never went through.
One incentive to place a bid early would be that most auction companies will go with the earlier bid in the case of a tie.
www.brunkauctions.com
Is it possible some people bid early to see where they’re at in the bidding to get an idea of what may be necessary to win it later. Sometimes I bid on a coin to see how far the bidding is and if it’s protected by a higher bid
Common Sense doesn’t grow in everybody’s garden.
You’re still driving up the price. Also other people will be able to see if you expose where the bidding is at. Not a good idea, IMHO.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
Just because you don't understand why another bidder acts as he does doesn't mean his reason for acting that way is misguided.
Just sayin'.
In a live auction, not a timed one, you have to be willing to be one bid higher than everyone else. Period. I think people are far more likely to get a surge of testosterone and go higher than they want. All this talk about not letting the other bidder get a chance to think about it assumes a hard close not a live close.
Even in a hard close, if my snipe is higher than yours, then you don't get a chance to get back into the bid. So there's risk even there. And I don't know what to tell you if two people go nuclear with their snipe.
The idea that there is any one strategy that is automatically superior in all circumstances is ludicrous.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
I make note of auc candidates to bid on. Jotting down description, CDN Bid, CPG. Then try win them in last 30 seconds. Don’t want give them time to bid them up.
My bidding strategy is simple. If I want the coin, I bid until I get it. If I kinda want the coin, I set a limit, bid early and win or lose, no worries either way.................... Last minute irrational exuberance is not for me.
I set the price and at the last seconds I bid, snipe, If I get it fine, if I don't I move on
No drama
Mike
My Indians
Dansco Set
You can't "snipe" a soft close.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
NO, Really...................
Mike
My Indians
Dansco Set
Lol. I tried to be concise. A soft close would require, perhaps, a different strategy.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
I have a rule that if snipes are allowed in an auction, I refuse to participate. That's why I have virtually nothing to do with eBay. Life to too short to spend it getting PO'd at an auction. The winning should win by a fair amount, not a dollar or pennies.
I respect your opinion but you’re missing out on a lot of nice coins that are on eBay and GC.
No, I left eBay actions so sad and angry that I will never participate in their auctions again. At the end of the last one, it closed with me as the high bidder and then the snip took it with no recourse to bid more. NEVER AGAIN,
I hate auctions in general, and snipe auctions are the worst.
I have done limited business with GC. They send me emails, “We miss you.” If I get sniped once, I’m done with them.
I can understand being frustrated by 'SNIPES' but I usually bid strong, so if someone snipes me, then they're gonna pay up. Sniping is also 'good', b/c the underbidder doesn't get an opportunity to go HIGHER, as he might in a soft auction close setting.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
Interesting take.
And if you lose $1000 coin by 11 cents, who cares?
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
That doesn't make sense. It's all automated, once the auction closes no more bids are accepted. If the auction closed with you as the high bidder, it doesn't matter how much higher anybody else wants to bid, it's over. If another bid was accepted, then the auction hadn't closed yet.
That was not way I was treated. The clock ran down, auction closed, “you are the highest bidder.” Then the snipe comes in and takes the lot for less than a dollar above my bid with no recourse. I don’t put up that manure.
The auction was not closed. The sniper is a super bidder who is not subject to the normal increments.
A dealer doesn’t care. You have a price you are set to pay. You don’t get it, so what? You move on to the next offering.
I don’t bid to buy something for resale. I only bid if I want it. There is a big difference.
I meant that sarcastically. I was actually on your side.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
According to ChatGPT...
If an eBay auction appears to have ended with you as the high bidder, but you later discover you did not win, several common explanations are possible:
A bid was placed in the final seconds ("sniping")
Your maximum bid was exceeded by a proxy bid
Page caching or delayed updates
Your browser or app may have shown outdated information for a short period after the auction ended.
Time synchronization issues
Network or page-refresh lag
Bottom line. Don’t bother with eBay. Only deal with those who run real actions or “soft auctions.” When you tick off someone who bids $2,500 and gets beat by 11 cents, that’s not an effective business model. No excuses.
I had this happen to me more than once. Lot closed, the snipers take for a nominal increase.