Best And Final Auction Bidding

What would happen if internet auctions advanced the closing time of each lot until say sixty seconds after the last bid is received?

I believe sold prices would rise.

I also believe that is a huge business change from the current time deadline auction format.

In the current format, one senses one can get a deal thus drives customers to buy on the platform. In your suggestion, the sense of a deal would be less likely.

This is what Catawiki does.

It could really throw off the published schedules of what lots are offered what days for any auction that did that. Auctions would either have to run on past closing time or risk having to add an extra day to cover the overruns.Buyers might not be willing or able to sit around well past the time they thought a specific lot would come up for bid.

I think Paradise Valley and Emerald add 5 minutes from the last bid, Kelleher weekly may also do this. Can't remember which of the internet auctions I occasionally use that do this.

I buy from a firm that does that for their online auctions. The auction proceeds on for maybe a few more minutes for a particular lot that gets a last minute bid, but then peters out. I've only seen a lot or two that continued on for more than that. I prefer that over the last second sniping on eBay. Maybe it's more psychological than rational, but I hate, hate, hate that stuff. But I'm a hypocrite since I do it myself faced with no other choice for a lot I really want.

If there is going to be change in the auction industry how about when the last lot is hammered, and the dust has settled the bid ledger be published with anonymity for bidder's ala eBay. Let me see what the book bids were, how increments were handled and how any given lot ended up where it did. A document that would be admissible. THAT is change I could get behind.

Some auctions call this a "soft close". It minimizes sniping as Oracle said above. I have mixed feelings about it. But if the auction terms are clear, then it's up to you as a bidder whether you choose to participate.

?
Isn't this always the way?
(Apart from eBay) I do not support any auctions that do not offer this.

I am with you Rod 222 … I don't support auctions that do not have reasonable in bed timing. I have lost too many lots trying to get back-and-forth between auctions that I am bidding on in there are no time differences. By that I mean sometimes an auction will have 10 items that I'm bidding on and they're all coming off at the same time and then it's compounded by a bunch of sniping!

I suspect it would have a little impact on closing times, but not much. I suspect most lots sell pretty close to what they would actually sell for if a soft-sell approach were adopted. Maybe one of two more bids (and, thus, a minute or two of 'OT') is all that the market would bear. It MIGHT result in fewer crazy bids at the last second - a $5 lot that suddenly gets a $500 bid simply to outbid anyone else's last minute (assuming) quasi-reasonable bid. It hasn't happened to me, but I have heard about 2 people going 'crazy high' on the same lot at the last second - someone gets a $25 lot for $501. I bet they don't do that twice!

Soft-close: fewer 'crazy high' bids, and a delay of only a few minutes. I can imagine longer closes for poorly described lots - like a carton of albums, loose stamps, messy stockbooks and dealer pages. I can imagine there would be many people willing to go an extra $1 on a lot like that hoping to find that one treasure near the bottom of the carton.

The soft-close is almost standard in a real auction. eBay went 'another way' with how they close, though, and many other online auction sites followed suit.

Rasdale has a 7 second clock and it seems to work fine, but they are running a single auction and the lots close sequentially on eBay it's a totally different story with many lots from different sellers closing every 60 seconds. I think a soft close would make it impossible to try and win lots from 2 different sellers.

If they instituted a soft close on eBay I would need to have my lots close sequentially. I sell 50 items a week and the auctions all close 1 minute apart so buyers can bid on more than 1 item. A soft close without sequential bidding would make it very difficult for my bidders and if they were watching another sellers auctions too it would be impossible.




As a seller I have to ask what is wrong with crazy bidders? Last week I had an item sitting at $17 with 1 minute to go and it was hammered close at $1325!!! I just had 2 bidders that really wanted the item.

Ken

I've never sold in a stamp auction but exactly what I was thinking as I read through the thread was that a "hard close" would be good for sellers. I am going to probable try my hand at selling some surplus material on eBay later in the year and I wouldn't mind some crazy bidders, though I doubt my material will be that titillating.

As a buyer I've gotten skunked a few times on eBay by very last minute bids from someone else, but I think it would be just as bad to have to keep waiting a minute or two to protect ones position, or else you've set a ridiculous high bid, and then one is just another "crazy bidder".

If you think about the traditional room auction, the item sells when the bidding stops!
Internet auctions have a well publicised end time, so this should really be fixed. This means if you want the item bid the maximum you want to pay and no more. If you bid a crazy amount you do risk a second or 3rd similar crazy bid making the price crazy!

I really don't pay much attention to auctions, period. If I do, I bid my maximum and just walk away. I get it or I don't. It's just not worth it to me to sit there and stress over it. Let me know if I won.