Can someone explain live bidding vs. bidding through the dealer's website?

Hi,

I am trying to bid on a few lots on an upcoming European electronic auction ( H.D. Raunch).

I registered on their website.

On receiving the registration it told me that I need to register separately for an account with auctions.live-bidder.com if I wish to bid "live" at the electronic auction. To do this I had to register again and supply the same information, trade references and await approval for a 'credit limit' (still waiting for this).

What is the difference between live bidding and bidding through someone's website???
Looking at their website I can place bids through their website, or through auctions.live-bidder.com

However bids I place in one do not show in the other.

Very confusing. When I log into their website also it is unclear how to access the auctions.live-bidder.com page. I have to go to that website separately.

Is this normal or can someone explain this to me as I have never encountered it before.

Peter

 

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I suspect the website is early bids before an actual live auction takes place at a physical location. Live-bidder then has you competing against people in the room who then start the bidding against the Internet "Pre-bids"

 

That would make sense. However I have successfully placed bid in the live-bidder website. It shouldn't let me place bids on a live platform if that is the case. I am now scared to go back to the dealer's website and place bids in case I end up bidding against my self (due to the accounts being registered separately) and driving the price up to my maximums! Now, I am equally worried that the bids I have placed on the live platform will disappear at the start of the auction and I will likely be asleep due to time zones when it occurs! So confusing (for me, at least).

 

I've only bid with Rauch and used the live-bidder.com platform once before, and it was quite some time ago, so I don't remember exactly how it works. Looking at the live-bidder website for upcoming auctions right now, it shows that it allows pre-sale bidding to be done on the platform for that auction.

It's not uncommon for auction houses to allow buyers to submit bids through several different platforms (eg., pre-sale bids on their own website, via 'auction aggregators' such as sixbid and numisbids, and finally also live on platforms like biddr, thesaleroom and live-bidder), but as you've pointed out, you really don't want to submit duplicate bids on several different platforms during the pre-sale period. You especially don't want to place a pre-bid, and then bid against yourself live!

If you've already submitted pre-sale bids on the live-bidder website, then you just want to confirm that those bids have been submitted. I'd imagine that there's a link on the website to display a list of your submitted bids. Otherwise, you could always e-mail to ask for a confirmation.

 

Thanks, I have emailed them and not heard back yet.

 

You are correct to worry about that! You would indeed immediately bump up the bid to your initial max if you submitted another higher max separately to the auction house. You'll have to tune in to the live auction and be ready to continue bidding if the max you submitted through the live-bidder site is exceeded.

I'm not clear on what you have and haven't done, but it sounds like you have not yet been approved for live bidding (you said they hadn't yet communicated your bidding limit). It sounds like you have not yet successfully submitted bids. I'd wait to hear from the auction house or if it is a "must have" coin, call them right now to check on your bid or place your bid.

Some of the European auction houses can be difficult to navigate. Rauch is one of them and their live online bidding platform is one of the worst. It is also difficult to do all of this in the 24 hours before an auction. It might be too late for this particular auction.

Edited: oh, you probably aren't bidding on their auction that is taking place right now-- you're probably wanting to bid in their e-Live 23? There's time to sort it out since two days away

 

This is the first time I have pre-bid on the Raunch auction, but I got confirmation back on the bids. I used the sixbid website. We'll see what happens.

 

LOL, I'm browsing the Rauch auction via Numisbids and noticed this funny automatic German-to-English translation in my tabs:



It's a smokin' hot e-auction

 

Ugh I hate live-bidder! It is so buggy and doesn't play nice with my Mac (maybe not with any computer). I log in successfully and then click on upcoming sales and it logs me out and won't log me back in. Maybe it's a purposeful design (not allowing prebidding on live-bidder?) but the lack of explanation is very annoying.

Two big thumbs down for live-bidder.

 

What browser? That's probably where the problem is.

 

Chrome. Should I try Safari?

 

I tried in Safari and the log in problem was fixed. Thanks.

The only reason I wanted to log in was to see if prebidding activity is shown in the upcoming auction. It is not. Boo.

 

I usually chrome but sometimes, for unknown reasons, there are issues and I switch to safari.

 

Rauchen in German means smoking. I don't know how many times I've seen the sign "Rauchen Verboten".

 

The system shows my bids as active when I log in but still does not show confirmation of my credit limit being approved.

I have also not heard back on my emails either (the first was 2 days ago). I dislike chasing sellers to give them my business. It must be my years of being in retail but it is a pet peeve of mine. Hopefully they are just busy gearing up for this auction and will respond.

I cannot find any other way to contact them through their website other via the email address I received when registering...

Their contact us form which is accessible when you log into their main page does not work either!

 

Yeah... going through all of these motions today reminds me why I've only bid in a Rauch auction once.

 

This close to the auction I just dont think you will get a response. They are likely just too busy. Bidder approvals can take varying amounts of time depending on the auction house. I have registered and been approved in minutes by some (and up to $75,000 credit amazingly, others I can choose any amount up to unlimited), others it takes much more time. Some auction houses take their bidders seriously and will actually phone their references for input. I get calls all the time from other dealers asking if I know or have done business with person "X". I think that is great, and it honestly protects us all, but it does take time.

My only advice is to hold steady. At this close point in time assume your bids were entered as that is about all you can do. After all, you may be worrying about nothing. The lots may go much higher than your bids (I have seen this often when houses do pre-bidding followed by live bidding). I once entered a pre-bid on a multiple lot I thought was fair at $1,500. It hammered live for $15,000. I have no idea what treasures were in that lot, but clearly it didnt matter much as my bid was never going to make it.

 

Thanks Ken,
Great advice. I agree. I've put my bids in and will wait and see rather than worry about it.

 

I know it can be frustrating. We see coins we love, we want them and do our best to acquire them, but alas, life happens. Sometimes it is not in our control, but sometimes it is. My greatest regret in the last decade or so: last year there was a sublime Julius Caesar dupondius up for sale. I want to put together a set of 12 Caesars in the largest module base metals I can (sestertii first, smaller for those who dont have them), so this fit perfectly. This coin, the best I have ever seen, worth thousands in my opinion, was my hot 'to buy' coin. I would spend a years budget on it. I figured I would bid a few thousand, how can I lose? How? Easy. I forgot the entire auction! It went under $1,000 (if I remember right, I dont know, I posted it before). The point is, I guess, who can ever tell what happens? Sometimes its our fault, sometimes its others. We do the best we can.

I guess I might suggest that people look at the various auctions and portals and simply register now. Even if they dont have what we want now, just do it and maybe they might have that elusive coin later.

So, having said that, does anyone have any 12 Caesars in sestertii they can sell me in VF or so?

 

I once only realised I'd missed an auction when someone posted some of the very coins I wanted on this forum! Auction was Saturday not Sunday. I was devastated.