USA Auction With Stamps Listed As "Bid"

Can somebody please explain to me how bidding in auction works as the starting price is listed as "bid". If I am the only bidder in the auction, what price I will get that stamp?
What is a good strategy bidding on such items?

Thanks a lot

Is this a specific auction?

Dale

The question is general but the specific was HR Harmer auctions

What do the Conditions of Sale state? If not answered there you will need to call them.

Bidding strategy is whole different question and depends very highly on the reputation of the auction house. If this is your first time bidding with them you may want to be extremely conservative. But if you provide the name of the firm someone with experience may be able to give you advice.

It depends what, if any, reserve price the auction house places on a lot (the bidder will customarily not see that reserve, but will only see an estimate). So if you bid $50 and no-one else bids, and the reserve is $35, you should get it for the latter price. However, a look around auction stories here and elsewhere will show concerns that ones maximum bid will mysteriously have secured the item. If items remain unsold, most houses will sell the lot at the reserve if you telephone them after the sale.

Thanks for the replies. I understand my bid has a decent chance to become the selling price. So if I would ask a friend to bid $1 and I bid $50, is there a good chance I will get the item for $2 or will it still be Paying $50?

I'm not sure you're reading and inwardly digesting. If your friend bids $1 by, say, email, on an item with a $35 reserve, his/her bid will simply be ignored. If you've entered a maximum emailed bid of $50 with the auction house, it should be knocked down to you for $35 in the absence of any other bids.

In Harmers and almost every other auction including eBay the auction house sets a starting bid, it might be called an opening bid or current bid but whatever they call it that is the minimum bid that will be accepted. If the item you are looking at in Harmers starting bid was $50 and you bid $50 you will not win it for less and if other bids come in it will open higher and you will not win. If the opening bid is $50 and you bid $100 and no other bids come in you may win it for $50 but as others have pointed out there may be a reserve or bids that were called in and these may cause the bid to rise above $50 and or exceed $100 and then most auction houses they will announce it was sold to the "Book" and you just don't know who the "Book" is.

There is no circumstance that it's a good idea for you to have a friend put in a bid, it just means you will win it for 1 increment higher than you would have if he hadn't bid.

Probably the best thing for you to do is watch and listen to a live auction on SAN or an auction web site. IMO the most exciting thing about stamps is bidding and buying at public auction, but it takes experience and to add to the fun each auction house does things differently. Some estimate low, some high some under describe some hype the material beyond reason you just need experience.

You can start by watching Rasdale this weekend but I don't think they have sound.

I followed and bid in the Harmer auction live on SAN.

Most lots had a reserve price which was disclosed albeit erroneously listed as 'CV' in their listings (CV usually referring to catalogue value). Lots that hadn't received any prior bids were started at one increment below the 'CV' so all that lot needed was a single bid, bringing it up to their 'CV,' to sell. Quite a few lots were passed on because the CV wasn't met.

On those lots where there was no CV listed, and 'bid' appeared instead, it seems these were lower-value lots that had no reserve and Harmer just wanted to get rid of them at any price. Some were started as low as $5. As is typical for live auctions, once someone bid $5, a few more bidders would be tempted to jump in, and most of these lots ended up going for over $50.

Australia : where I bid
there are 2 columns "res" and "bid"
I bid the reserve, if a bid comes in higher, at a later date, I get an email to that effect, inviting me to re-bid.
If there is a lot of interest, I bid at whatever I feel is "my" price, then leave it be
I do not bother at all at auction date,
I log in next day to see result, that way I do not fall to FOMO (Fear of missing out)