Post-auction analysis - OMGs!, LOLs!, WTFs!, whatev....

[CSM]

(your way you slightly extend the auctions, and who wants to do that?).

Bruce

Well you and your consignors want that Bruce

[Bruce]

"Because I think a lot of people bid like you said and I want to see what the item is at before I go for it.  So 4:30 is good."

Ha! I am now going to tell everyone to wait until 4:25 is left so they can see what YOU bid before they do!

Bruce

[Bruce]

Chris, yes, the consignors want ALL extended auctions that go for zillions of dollars, but if that happened then the bidders would not keep coming back.

And in the same way, if all the bidders colluded and agreed to not bid against each other, then items would go for next to nothing and I couldn't get consignments.

I think it works out best when people just bid their best bid with 5 minutes to go, and see what happens (except of course in auctions where the auctioneers have an uncanny ability to find someone to bid just under your max bid, over and over).

Bruce

[enki]

Speaking of auction strategy and pros/cons of the systems, I wonder if the people who have consigned posters for movies with names starting with letters at the beginning or end of the alphabet have a better or worse chance for getting high bids.

I bring this up because it seems that the EMP auctions start/end alphabetical.

Let's say you have an auction for a poster that starts with an "A" that multiple people want. Since it's one of the first auctions to end that day, the majority of the eligible bidders will have a bunch of "available" funds left. So they might be more generous in their bids. But as the day goes on, and more and more auctions end, the amount of money spent by the pool of bidders will go up and up, resulting in less money available. If bidding wars take place in the earlier auctions, the winner(s) might spend more money then they planned and call it quits for the day. Or some people might get lucky and win a bunch of posters they wanted, not thinking that they would, and run out of money as well. In the end, if those groups all wanted a poster that starts with "Z", that poster might actually sell for significantly less because there will be less people bidding on it.

On the flip side, it could actually work out the other way. If enough people lost out on many of the earlier auctions, and it's coming to the end of the day, they might have an excess amount of funds and be willing to spend more money then they had planned on spending just to get one of the remaining posters. It could even be an extreme case of "I lost out on all the other posters I wanted, this is the last one, and I'll be damned if I lose", resulting in even higher sale prices. Along this thinking, it could possibly hurt the "A" auctions, because people might be reluctant to spend a lot, knowing it's one of the first auctions and there are hundreds more coming.

I'm not sure which scenario is more likely, but I'm sure the above does play a factor (and probably a significant one) in the end prices of many of the auctions.

So, I am curious as to why the auctions are started alphabetically. Wouldn't it make more sense to do it "randomly", to try and equal out the playing field a little bit?

[Silhouette]

After years of auctions of I have developed a carefully thought out strategy for bidding...

Which I pretty much ignore when I am at an auction.

[archie leach]

I would alternately suggest running in reverse alphabetical order...

[Silhouette]

I bring this up because it seems that the EMP auctions start/end alphabetical.

So, I am curious as to why the auctions are started alphabetically. Wouldn't it make more sense to do it "randomly", to try and equal out the playing field a little bit?

I don't bid on them because they are laid out alphabetically, I bid on them because I want them. Besides, before that all starts I sort by condition then decide on what I want...

[Bruce]

Actually, back a number of years ago I would regularly list some auctions in reverse alphabetical order, "to give the end of the alphabet an equal chance".

This was when we sold through eBay and had to live with their crappy listing ability. But now, as has been said, you can easily sort our galleries in reverse order, so you can accomplish that yourself.

Definitely, though, far and away the most popular way the auctions are sorted is "High to Low by Price" and "Low to High by Price".

Obviously, the deep pocketed collector uses the first, and the financially challenged collector (or those who love great deals) use the second.

Also really popular are sort by condition, and sort by year (either direction).

If you are not using these sorts, you really need to start doing so.

Incidentally, back when I ran those reverse alphabetical order auctions, there was not that much of a difference. You nailed in as to why, which is that there are factors that help the items at the beginning, and factors that help the ones at the end.

I have consignors who THINK it is a huge advantage to have their item listed at the beginning, so sometimes I will do that as a favor to them, but honestly an excellent item does well no matter where in the auction it is.

Bruce

[archie leach]

I'll use different sorts at other times, but when bidding at the 5 min mark, the only useful sort is by time (ending earliest).

[enki]

Yes, I know you can SORT by many, many different methods.

But that wasn't my point.

In the end, it still comes down to when people bid and when those auctions end.

Your comments assume that most people simply find the posters they want, well before the close of auction, bid the max they are willing to pay, and then sit back and let the pieces fall where they will. I doubt this is the case, and based on other's comments, it doesn't seem to be.

With people bidding ~5 minutes before the end of the auctions, it doesn't really matter how your sort. It matters in what order they end, because that is how people are going to be bidding. And as I mentioned in my prior post, being at the beginning or end of the alphabet could have a significant impact (good or bad) on the outcome of the final selling price.

[Bruce]

But sometimes the ones at the beginning are hurt because someone is holding money to bid on something later, and had they come up the other way, they would not have had that restriction. Yes, there IS  a luck element in this regard and others, and that is why some items auction for $15 one time and $65 another (and that really does happen, and more than you might imagine).

Bruce

[tstatum]

I have very few A and B poster because I seem to lose track of time right at 8 pm.

[Bruce]

"I have very few A and B poster because I seem to lose track of time right at 8 pm."

I rest my case!

Bruce

[Charlie]

"I have very few A and B poster because I seem to lose track of time right at 8 pm."

I rest my case!

Bruce

I would say I've done this before; waited if it was ending last.  This also make me spend more too as I will have all my allotted monies by the time it comes up.  But I would also say that once I plan to bid, that money is gone one way or another.  So if I don't win my early one I end up buying stuff I don't really want later.  That is why my new rule (not to knock Bruce, but because I have very little self control with posters) is pick one thing and go all in...

[Silhouette]

That is why my new rule (not to knock Bruce, but because I have very little self control with posters) is pick one thing and go all in...

Yeah that's my rule too, pick one. So what usually happens is...

I pick that one, and I pick this one and then on the next page I pick another one and... 

[Dread_Pirate_Mel]

Definitely, though, far and away the most popular way the auctions are sorted is "High to Low by Price"....

This method is very useful because by the end of the week other collectors have already "sorted the wheat from the chaff."

[Dread_Pirate_Mel]

Some screenshots of recent notable US Ebay sales....

[Harry Caul]

Some screenshots of recent notable US Ebay sales....

That is a lot to pay for a auction with a stock photo... that was not the actual item (I asked).

[Tob]

I've never seen that Fistful teaser before...love it!

A pretty banged up Park Circus Goldfinger quad went for £32 earlier...I wonder if it was mint whether it would have reached the heights of that From Russia With Love that went a few months back.

[erik1925]

The original BIN listed for this original French KONG poster was $29,000.00 (with a Best Offer option included). The seller took a best offer of $10,500.00 



http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item20c012069c&item=140661360284&nma=true&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&rt=nc&si=B7FCY432OHvSPkvJXZGlB8sDEDo%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

[Louie D.]

Terrible fucking artwork.

[CSM]

Not kosher enough for you Louie? 

[brude]

Terrible fucking artwork.

Not my favorite art from the movie, but a far cry from your trollish assessment.

Now, back under the bridge with ye. 

[erik1925]

Terrible fucking artwork.

Not the best, I agree. It just goes to show what can be gotten for titles like these, (along with their rarity).  

The artwork on the AFOD teaser is not all that special, either, imo. Yet is still sold for over 2K, due to its scarcity.

I would take the French KONG over that teaser, in a heartbeat. 

[Louie D.]

Not my favorite art from the movie, but a far cry from your trollish assessment.

That's your opinion, totally amateurish artwork, much like a lot of Australian daybills.