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Auction advice.

J

jorogi

Ultra Member
As I mentioned elsewhere I am watching the Meuser lathe that is up for auction at UVic. I registered so that I can bid and found a cheap item to test the process on. The site said bid $11 or more, I did and I instantly get a message that I had been out bid. Bid 12 and same thing. The instant out bidding suggests to me that there is some sort of automatic option somewhere, somehow. Can anyone enlighten me on how these things work, and what the secret strategies are ?
 
jorogi said:
As I mentioned elsewhere I am watching the Meuser lathe that is up for auction at UVic. I registered so that I can bid and found a cheap item to test the process on. The site said bid $11 or more, I did and I instantly get a message that I had been out bid. Bid 12 and same thing. The instant out bidding suggests to me that there is some sort of automatic option somewhere, somehow. Can anyone enlighten me on how these things work, and what the secret strategies are ?
Click to expand...

Is this the auction item?

Lathe M.PNG


If it is, high bid appears to be $3100.00.
 
You enter your maximum and if it's more than the current maximum then you are the high bidder.
I just put in the amount I'm willing to pay. If I get out bid then I have to decide if I want to increase my maximum.

I bet the reserve on that is $4000
 
BC Auction has an FAQ that explains how the bidding works:

FAQ

  • Q. How Does Proxy Bidding work?
    A. When you place a bid, you enter the maximum amount you'd be willing to pay for the item. Your maximum amount is kept confidential from other bidders and the seller until your maximum bid has been exceeded by another bidder.
    -The BC Auction system compares your bid to those of the other bidders.
    -The system places bids on your behalf based on bid increments (see below), using only as much of your bid as is necessary to maintain your high bid position.
    -The system will bid up to your maximum amount.
    -If another bidder has a higher maximum, you'll be outbid right away. BUT, if no other bidder has a higher maximum, you win the item. And you could pay significantly less than your maximum price! This means you don't have to keep coming back to re-bid every time another bid is placed.
 
Elektrishun said:
BC Auction has an FAQ that explains how the bidding works:

FAQ

  • Q. How Does Proxy Bidding work?
    A. When you place a bid, you enter the maximum amount you'd be willing to pay for the item. Your maximum amount is kept confidential from other bidders and the seller until your maximum bid has been exceeded by another bidder.
    -The BC Auction system compares your bid to those of the other bidders.
    -The system places bids on your behalf based on bid increments (see below), using only as much of your bid as is necessary to maintain your high bid position.
    -The system will bid up to your maximum amount.
    -If another bidder has a higher maximum, you'll be outbid right away. BUT, if no other bidder has a higher maximum, you win the item. And you could pay significantly less than your maximum price! This means you don't have to keep coming back to re-bid every time another bid is placed.
Click to expand...
Ah, thanks. And yes that's the one.
 
David said:
You enter your maximum and if it's more than the current maximum then you are the high bidder.
I just put in the amount I'm willing to pay. If I get out bid then I have to decide if I want to increase my maximum.

I bet the reserve on that is $4000
Click to expand...
Probably no reserve. But, the OP IS bidding against someone that posted a Maximum amount they were supposedly willing to pay, and when a bid under that, is submitted, the system automatically adds the next Bid Increment to THAT persons account, and tells you you have failed to outbid the high bidder.

Online auctions are not at all like auction sales where the last guy with his hand (or bidding number) in the air wins (pays more than anyone else was willing to!).

There is a level of psychology involved too, on both sides. The Auctioneer would like to have at least two people creep the price up a little at a time (whats another ten bucks gonna hurt anyway?), while a smarter bidder plays the game to bid fast and fearless up to what they are willing to pay, in increments that make the other bidders flinch (like raising $100, while the auctioneer is fishing for five dollar raises). Someone takes it home. They always pay more than anyone else would! But, if it falls under what you were actually willing to pay, you are golden. And, that is where you have to "Win" an Auction. Get it for less than you were willing to pay for it, despite paying more than anyone else was willing to pay.
 
I play a different game than @David. If I really want something, I wait till the last second to bid and then submit my bid. Others hate me when I do that. It forces them to do the same. I will always lose to guys like @David unless his high bid is lower than mine. My strategy is based on finding things other bidders want for cheap or stuff nobody noticed. I have more or less stopped bidding on auctions now. Life is too short.

There are tools on line now that will bid for you using whatever strategy you want. I don't use them.
 
trevj said:
Probably no reserve. But, the OP IS bidding against someone that posted a Maximum amount they were supposedly willing to pay, and when a bid under that, is submitted, the system automatically adds the next Bid Increment to THAT persons account, and tells you you have failed to outbid the high bidder.
Click to expand...

Post #3

At the time I posted the screen shot of the item in question it states "reserve price not met".
 
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Elektrishun said:
Post #3

At the time I posted the screen shot of the item in question it states "reserve price not met".
Click to expand...

That's another issue totally. Some auctions have reserves. That means the seller won't accept bids lower than his reserved amount. It's the sellers way of making sure he doesn't get burned. Not all auctions have that.

When the auctions don't have a reserved amount, the seller just gets a buddy to bid until his ask is met. If it doesn't happen, the seller just gives his buddy his private reserve back. All bull sheist.
 
There's some weird community in the auction houses. I'm not going to say shady. But auction companies buying from auction companies to auction stuff again, I can't figure it out. If auction company A gets so much percent buyers/sellers commission then auction company B gets to resell it and gains the same buyers/sellers commission, then maybe they don't make a direct profit from the items themselves?

You're also getting into taxes, so they could be buying stuff to put into sales for a loss, while still profiting off the commissions?

It's one of those areas I'm probably smarter to not poke my nose into
 
Susquatch said:
When the auctions don't have a reserved amount, the seller just gets a buddy to bid until his ask is met. If it doesn't happen, the seller just gives his buddy his private reserve back. All bull sheist.
Click to expand...

I am familiar with pre internet farm auctions, as I am sure you are, too. Got introduced to the sometimes wild and wooly world of farm auctions through my father-in-law who was a very well known attendee and eventually worked for a small auction company.

I have been to the family farm auction where they have a "plant", somebody who is supposed to be inconspicuously bidding up items. Never worked for long. Those old auction pros would eventually sniff them out and people would start talking and pointing. Some people would then play the game in reverse, try sticking the family with their own item for an inflated price. Still have to pay a commission to the auction company when you buy it back.
 
Last edited:
Elektrishun said:
I have been to the family farm auction where they have a "plant",
Click to expand...

That's the guy I described earlier. The trouble with these new on-line auctions is that the "plant" could be in Iceland and could have 20 different profiles. I just don't like it. I've pretty much stopped doing live auctions anymore. I can't see standing in the rain with a bunch of other poor old farmers while some guy from Mexico with untaxed drug money out bids me on a computer screen.
 
Since we're talking about auctions...

Trying to remember - years ago was GCSurplus closed bidding only? I am thinking back to about 10 years ago.

Myself and a few co-workers used to peruse the Saskatchewan items and occasionally bid. If my memory is correct we would look-up the results and see weird winning bids like $137.23.

Maybe it was a bidding strategy but I recall that we thought it to be a little sketchy.

Now I see the site has a variety of bidding that includes "open" and "closed".

GCSurplus
 
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