Ever wonder why you won that bid ?

I love E-Bay bidding. I guess I am addicted, but it gives me a thrill to try to win a bid for a reasonable price. I sometimes wonder though, why my bid is the one that won. I hope it is not because I have overbid on the coins value. I normally check the book price of a coin, deduct one grade from what is posted, and than -20 %. If I get the coin for my set price I feel fortunate, but I just can't help wondering why the other bidders have stopped. Case in point; 1917-D Type 1 SLQ. Advertised as EF with a book price of $ 175.00. I was prepared to pay $ 100.00, but won the bid at $ 58.00. I think I got a good deal, but any idea's why the other bidder's quit ?

 

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It is a worry with auctions. By definition, if you win the auction you were willing to pay more than any other bidder. It simply leads to second guesses. I have them a lot too, but simply learn to trust my judgment on relative prices of coins and let the chips fall where they may. I won an auction 2 weeks ago for $15 when I put in a max of $65, and other auctions I put in a bid for $50 and it went for $130. I still think I was right, and am happy to have one so cheap.

Really nice coin. I love Type I's.

 

The reason you win is because the other bidders are bigger cheapskates. If they wanted it bad enough, the probably would have bid more.

Chris

 

It isn't necessarily cheapskates caving in.

There's yet another reason. People have budgets. The coin you won cheaply might have been the 3rd priority for your main competition, and the 5th priority for another bidder.

They were successful on their earlier bids, and really didn't want to overextend by running your quarter up once again - they might get stuck with it, bargain or not.

That's just luck on your part, but it happens. I see it on big stamp lots that require many hours of labor. I am retired and have plenty of time to work on collectibles, and thus I tend to keep bidding in maddening small increments. They finally give up, or the wife walks in and looks at the screen at an inopportune moment.

 

Sometimes they lose their internet connection at the very last moment and can't get that bid in. I know it has happened to me!

 

If I had to guess, I'd say you got it for that price because it is not actually EF - it is VF-30 at best. It is attractive and doesn't have any immediately apparent problems, so I'd say you did ok. You paid a fair price for a raw VF coin.

 

I would be happy to own it for only $58. If I had seen it maybe I could have gotten it for $59 or $60. You made a good score.

 

people might have a set price and stick to it or they found a better coin to bid on and let that coin go.

 

Everybody has a limit. Yours was higher.

 

Yes, but a 175.00 coin for a third of the price is quite a deal to me. It's hard for me to comprehend why the bidding would end at such a low price.

 

I like the very strong date; to me, that's a big plus. I'd like it as a type coin.

 

I can only suggest that the other bidders were willing to go higher on other coins than you or someone else was. Perhaps they had needs other than this one. Therefore, their limit on this coin was lower. I have bid on numerous items at auctions. I have my limit. I'm willing to go higher on certain items because of my want or need. If I stop bidding, it's for a reason.

At one time or another I think we all have picked up something at an auction that we consider a bargain and we ask ourselves the same question. I don't care why they stopped bidding. I'm just glad they did because I got the bargain.

 

Me too.

 

You made a great buy and congrats on the win!
Lots of people..(like me) wait until the last few seconds before placing their bid in the hopes that another bidder wont have time to toss in a counter bid.

Bad thing about that is thinking about how many times I have been waiting for them "last couple seconds" and then been distracted by something and forgot to bid! Then crying after seeing the low price the item sold for!

At least it keeps me from getting into some crazy bidding war.

I really do like that coin. Thinking about getting into them myself.

 

Nice coin Dave, this is one coin I don't own....I've have had a few that were in lower grades but need a nice one my self for my type set. Maybe a nice toned one......

 

Well, the coin is around VF30, much too much wear on the leg for EF. Don't let the strong rivets fool you. They were much stronger on the 1917, than other dates. Still, I think you did very well for a raw VF Type 1

 

Did you ever just forget to up the bid on a coin till it was too late?

 

Sometimes people just aren't looking that week. I won a lot of coins for $98 shipped, and sold two pieces from the lot for $165 shipped... so go figure.

As for your coin, thigh wear looks VF-25 or *maybe* VF-30.

 

99% of coin collectors were not looking at it. Had someone contacted all of them, it would go for a 10% discount on the true value. When you take away the fact, most r not looking for it, it raises your chances. What is left is those that really want it. Probably 75% of those want for the profit only. How many people really know the true value.

You guys are living in a vacuum, you just don't know it. Coin collecting is not a large group. I am guessing, but think many ebay sellers, selling coins are just unloading grandpa's coins. Good for you guys...

Most of the posters here know all the different coins, so so many of them and you guys are like a book... 99.98% of Americans have no clue.

 

The best way to keep from missing out on an auction is to use a bid/snipe service like Bidnapper. You can set your max bid days in advance, and the service will place your bid with just a few seconds to go when it is too late for someone to enter a new bid.

Chris