How Do You Feel About Public Auctions Without Live Viewing?

I think the lots I have interest in are going on Thursday. I'll see you guys there. I'll probably be the guy pulling out my hair in frustration due to the realizations.

Had a successful Dutch run today. Most around estimate and below my max. Reached for one since the others were below. Plenty to keep me busy this Fall, but do have an eye on Cherrystone for tomorrow To feel out the prices there. .

What does "bid is in the book" mean?

"To the book" usually means that the lot went to a bid "on the books" meaning someone who left a bid prior to the start of the live session.

You'll also frequently hear "against the book" or "with the book against the room" or "with the book against the net" during live bidding, meaning live/Internet bidders are bidding against a higher bid left by someone before the session.

Well, Cherrystone lots 1333 and 1334 were Passed. I really thought that they would do well given the lack of bulk WW material on the market. No scans though. Overexuberant openings perhaps?

Won the few DCA lots I really needed or wanted (while passing on many others) and bolted before I got into big trouble. A few simply went way too high for me, personally.

Some of the smaller US had very interesting and desirable material but 50% of Scott at hammer? I have zero clue but kind of assuming those were collectors with no interest or worries about resale?

DCA worldwide stuff was hot today . Many over estimates and some double the estimates . There must of been a lot of collectors buying those country lots . It couldn't be resellers there wasn't much room to tack on to some of those lots .

I know the stuff I liked had a lot of bidders and the winners were mostly different ,so it wasn't due to a HOG ,it was being spread around .

The higher auction prices and 'action' I've been seeing on ebay (not my own, but auctions I've bid on) really seems to coincide with the onset of COVID. The only explanation I can think of for that, unless pure coincidence, is that there are at least a few (or many?) new/dormant collectors who suddenly had time on their hands and jumped back in to stamp collecting - unaware of the massive value shift in the last 20 years? I know when I came back in a few years ago, it took awhile to realize what price I should be paying and stop 'over' paying for things because they all looked so cheap compared to what I was used to paying in 1980.

Someone has tons of money to burn and isn't concerned with the price. Things are literally going for 3-5 times what they went for 2 years ago. NYStamps, TD?, NobleSpirit all seem to have some 'magic' that get folks to bid and chase bids on every item they sell. I put something up for auction (at any price .01-$$$$), I can't catch a bid until the end of the auction. I really would like to know the trick :-)

I watched the Cherrystone auctions on Monday and Tuesday (missed the U.S. session so I could have a tooth extracted!) Not being familiar with the prices of foreign stamps or any of the material, I was REALLY shocked at the prices for everything, but just watching and trying to learn ahead of some auctions coming up I want to be part of. SAN is a pretty 'busy' user interface - not sure how to get a handle on what all is there and important to know. All the 'estimates' seemed to be below the opening bids and they all seemed to just blow by the estimates and opening prices.

When the auction house says they want 'cash' do they mean a check or credit card or ? Nobody accepts electronic payments like Paypal, etc????

So the auction houses charge BOTH the seller and the buyer a significant fee?

Do higher end items (expensive/high quality) get better realizations via the auction houses than ebay/hip? Seems like few bidders, but deep pockets as thousand dollar single items flew by constantly, which I don't see happen on ebay that often (they happen, but only a few a day maybe....)?

I have a few select personal 'wants', but I'm interested in getting a few of these 'bigger' lots I hear so much about here on SCF and diving into the work of parsing them out for resale - kind of mini-projects to keep me busy and sane in retirement. I've been retired for almost 3 years now, and especially with COVID, starting to go a little nuts. I can't say I want to go back to work and commute and attend meetings all day long, but I do miss having the 'purpose' of work to concentrate on :-)

Commissions are usually around 15-20% for the buyer and the seller - they can be higher. Payments - in the UK at least - are by debit card, credit card (some houses no longer accept these) or bank transfer. The ones I use don't accept Paypal.

ebay reaches far more people, but would you risk buying a high-priced individual stamp on ebay?

Yes, but I guess "high price" may be different for different people. I have bought several in the $250-$1000 range on ebay. I don't think I have yet paid more than that for anything in my stamp collection.(?) My intent is to only buy 'with a certificate' if over $500ish. Hasn't always worked out, but....So far, with one exception, I feel I've made out just fine with my ebay purchases. I go too cheap, I get crap, I spend a little more, I usually get something decent, spend a lot more sometimes I get something special.

I did just get ripped off by someone (in Italy? Ireland? Russia?) on Hipstamp. I bought something too good to be true, didn't look at the sellers history, paid the bill, and 2 days later the store was gone....poof. Hip said 'not my problem', Paypal said 'don't see a problem', nobody else to go after since I don't have their address, phone number, bank account number, credit card or anything else. Fortunately, I've since been able to get Paypal to reconsider since the item has now 'not arrived'. I haven't won yet, but I think I will. Given that what they did is apparently soooooo easy to do and perhaps get away with, I guess I should consider myself lucky is hasn't happened before or often :-)

SAN is tricky. Here is how I approach it, and it is a slow thing - not a hurry up and bid thing.

Aside from searching which is quirky on SAN, when it comes to auctions, I only look at the Newly Listed auctions. I click on each one, and learn what material they carry. Over time you develop your favorite auctions that align with your collecting needs, so you can avoid clicking on each one. Get a sense of the type of stamps and prices you are looking at. Read the terms sheets for the auctions. Fees vary wildly, as do rules. For stamps that you like, click to watch them. Observe the pre-auction bidding. See how things pan out.

Only when you are comfortable with a bid on a stamp should you enter one, preferably through the live bidding process.

Now the word of caution. Bidding in the live auctions is a thing. I don't believe them to be the most honest experiences you encounter in life at some of the houses (collusion, backroom dealings, etc), but know your limits in what you are willing to pay, stick to them, do your due diligence and try to enjoy it.

Auctions on SAN are where I buy almost all my material now (worldwide or country lots, no US). It really is the best place - from specific auction houses - to find a lot of good stamps at good value. Keep what I want and sell the rest, not only self-funding but getting nice profit on it too.

Some auction house start their estimates too high, but others start at $10 or so, and even in these Covid days, not too hard to find bargains IMO.

I did up a little cost calculator to stop me from "overenthusiastic bidding" in the live auctions, since it can be easy to get caught up in the buzz of live bidding. Against the SCV/estimated value posted, it puts in the percentage of SCV I can expect to sell it for, house commission, taxes, shipping, Paypal fees (when selling), etc. It has been very useful, since it puts a hard upper limit on what makes sense to pay for a lot and I never bid up past that.

GMOT -said --"I never bid up past that " I break that rule often when I was working . For 24 years I worked spring ,summer and Fall ,starting at 4:30 am to 8:00 pm pushing a crew of guys doing hot asphalt ,after they went home at the end of the day ,then go out writing estimates and looking for work .

Then in the late Fall ,I look for stamp auctions to buy to work on during the winter months . The point I am making is who cares about price if your enjoying yourself and you had a good year , just buy it and the heck what other people thinks it is worth ,it is your fun time and believe me when I told other bidders before the auction -----I am going to take that lot home with me .

There must be other collectors in the same situation .......buying stamp auction lots because of other reasons not just what "you think it is worth "

"Worth" is in the eye of the beholder. If you specialize in a certain usage or variety and a lot/collection contains such material, you may be willing to spend far more than a general collector would for the same material. I've knowingly overpaid for material I wanted depending on scarcity or how it dovetailed with existing material in my collection; at that point the value/worth is irrelevant.

A Scott-minimum stamp with the right characteristics could be priceless to a particular collector.