How Do You Feel During Auctions?

This is kind of an open ended question, but I wanted to get insight into how you approach auctions? Do you get emotional? Are you unsure of how much you want to spend? Do have feelings of anxiety or regret right after? I feel like no matter how hard I try to approach things in a calm and collected manner, I am super excited until it starts, get nervous about the lots I am interested in, make game time decisions that could impact my collection forever, bid, back off, regret, and all of that. Usually that evening I am often happy with my winning bids, sad about the one that got away for less, and realize that it is not all misery when I finally get something back in the mail. Curious for others that participate in auctions.

It feels like when I am in a casino. But I do follow strict limits on bids.

Sometimes it's really hard to control your finger from constantly hitting the bid button just for the sake of beating someone else from getting the lot. Maybe gloves are a solution !!

All of the emotions are the strongest argument for using an agent.

I try to rank my desired purchases and put limits on the bid, individual and total. Unfortunately, the stamps don't come up in the order I would prefer, so I have to decide whether to bid or not on an early stamp that is lower ranked but will use up some of my total limit leaving less for my higher ranked stamps. Results sometimes mean I passed on some I could have got, and was still out bid on the higher ranked ones.

Do you every watch an auction and spontaneously wonder if you should bid on something else besides your original intentions? Yesterday I was thinking to myself, after looking at the Siegel Auction, should I start up a Vignette shift collection? I have a few random ones, but nothing as diverse or extreme as Vaquero. Sometimes they are so awe inspiring. I underbid a few of them, and thought it just wasn't meant to be. Clearly I thought they were worth less, than they sold for.

But now I am second-guessing, like if I did want to start one up, did I just blow the biggest shift sale? It never ends. The casino comment hits home. Stamp collecting can be addictive, and definitely feels like I am chasing a win. Like I am clearly not going to have the finest vignette shift collection. Maybe I have a compulsive problem.

I've never used an agent, but I feel like that requires a commitment to buy, and that would leave you hanging. Like a stamp that opens at $200 and goes for $500, if you told the agent $500 is your limit, you lose the ability to extend yourself at the moment. Not sure I can cope with that scenario. Some of my best acquisitions were outbidding above where I originally thought something would go, and then foregoing another lot or even the next auction date.

I simply leave commission bids with the handful of houses with which I bid. A couple have live bidding, which I'd doubtless make a mess of, and I occasionally check the progress of my items on those. On others, it's just a case of waiting for realisations. I'm relaxed.

I rarely ever do auctions anymore. For the few that I do, I decide what my maximum bid is going to be, I place it and I walk away. I win or I don't. I don't bother to watch. Let me know what I won and I'll pay you. I'm not going to fight for anything. I win or I don't.

bidding is stressful. Technology problems can happen.
And since I have an eye for undervalued lots, I lose out to the other person who has an eye for undervalued lots

And don't drink and bid.

Don't ask me how I know. (Posting for a friend)

ris - I have similar experiences, except I've never gone more than 1 bid past what I planned.
I do have a few decent shifts, but I don't value them as high as Siegel and its bidders valued them.

Here's how I approach it to try to take the emotion out of it. I watch around a dozen auction houses regularly for the material I like. A few weeks before an auction research everything I'm interested in in an auction, put them on a watchlist. Then for each one, estimate the CV shown/identified and based on that and how desirable the lot is to me, set my max bid and a priority (low, medium, high). I'm typically bidding on smaller collection lots/albums, not singles/sets or large accumulations.

During the auction, stick to the max bid set earlier. In some cases, the lot has already exceeded my max in pre-bidding ( which I don't get why people do). Will only ever exceed my max bid by an increment if it's high priority, or a medium if it's towards the end of the auction and I haven't won anything yet. I also resist the tempation to buy something "off the list" that sounds great as no one else is bidding for it if I haven't researched it - been burned by that a couple times. I turn the sound off, find that makes it easy to ignore any auctioneer hype for a lot.

I definitely lose far more than I win, but don't worry about the ones that get away - as I buy collection lots primarily for resale with an target rate of return - similar material is liable to turn up again in a few months in another auction.

~Greg

Here is how you bid in an auction. 1) determine your high bid 2) look at all the lots in case a deal comes. I have been caught flat footed and I regret it. 3) discipline 4) see number 3. 5) watch the paddle numbers. Usually the same paddle number follows me around 6) If a parent child is betting live at the auction together on a beginner collection let them have it 7) did I say discipline. 8) have the phone by you in case the internet goes out. good luck to all.

I was determined to get one particular lot at this collections auction. As it came time to actually bid, my heart rate zoomed - it was very noticeable. the lot was very competitive - mind and body racing together. Definitely not for the faint hearted. (I did get it)

I don't get wired up or emotional over bidding ,because I sat thru over 300 stamp auctions . I am the oldest active bidder at Rasdale Stamp Auctions . Something about 50 years , At Kelleher my account has been active for 30 years ,been with Cherrystone again for 30 years .

There was years that my income was a lot higher ,those years I had the attitude " I was going home with that lot ".