“Bidiot’s Anonymous” anyone a member?

I realize it’s only 6 weeks into 2021, but trying to win an auction is getting harder by the day. I’ve been more aggressive in my bidding for what I think are good for the grade coins, but still being out bid. Not sure what level of membership of “Bidiot’s Anonymous” I want to attain.



50% over NGC/PCGS price guides = Allows you to attend meeting.

100% over NGC/PCGS price guides = Official Member.

200% over NGC/PCGS price guides = showed secret hand shake.

300% over NGC/PCGS price guides = Allows you sit in front row at meetings.

400% over NGC/PCGS price guides = Lifetime Member.

500% over NGC/PCGS price guides = Le President Da!


Before Covid hit last year, I could routinely win an auction at price guide (which are high) or slightly above. Now that is all out the window.


When shows start back up will the pressure be taken off the auctions?

Or is this the new normal?

 

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Ha!! I loved the secret handshake at 200% over bid...... I went to visit a client once with a factory guy. The factory guy was a Mason but I didn't know it. We went in and shook hands and the clients eyes lit up.... Oh!! You are a Mason!!!...... I was bamfuzzled. As soon as those two shook hands, our deal was done..... I tried for five years to bribe that man into teaching me that secret Mason handshake.

 

As most of you know I collect Early Dated European coins. Many pieces ,
even if they are considered common or scarce, rarely come up for auction.
With my desire to have as many different pieces, I learned early on to
go BIG. In fact for the last 15 years. With collecting these coins COVID19
is just a minor annoyance. Regularly I bid 500% of the estimate. For me
guides are for rolls of wheat cents or modern day proof sets. With this
said, I am a BIDIOT. In fact I am a founding member and charter member.
I am proud of it and I wear the T-shirt proudly. As I said in a previous post,
when it comes to your collection, it's all about what you got, not the ones
you let slip away. Even at 500% or more I've lost dozens of coins.

 

Indeed I have been on occasion...but if not quite to such degrees (those upper percentages). But understand it's all about how much one wants something. At least I feel a bit better, now, for both the past and the next time Thanks for sharing.

 

LOL, I think I did join this club years ago. My late wife was into error coins and she was not able to attend an action with me that had two up for bids. I did not find anything in the lots that I wanted to bid on so I was sitting there to get her one or both of those errors. The first one came up and the bidding was busy to start with. It finally came down to me and one other guy. I made him pay for that one.......but I finally did give up. When the second coin came up, the same thing happened. Well, I was not going to go home empty handed! When it came down to me and the same guy again, I just held my number up in the air and it didn't take him too long to figure out that I was not backing down this time. He repaid the favor and made me pay for that second coin. I know it was at least four times what I should have paid, but the wife was happy! My name is Shawn and I'm a bidaholic.

 

been a member for years but didn't know it until just now!

 

I've noticed the trend for high bid prices during the auctions I usually follow as well. So far I've been disciplined enough to refrain from "wanting a coin at all costs". I'm assuming that once the majority of people get vaccinated and the numbers of Covid-19 cases become minimal (optimistic), this craziness will end. I'm sure the price guides will soon reflect the current hot market.

 

Never heard of Bidiot before but love that moniker. Will use it among my numismatic friends.

 

Local auction here ( Idaho ) with silver going $10 + over spot

 

One group I would rather not get into.
That's why I've been trying to swap more. Some people seem to think red book is low boundaries.

I like to wait, lurk, and buy when I truly find something good. None good and well priced? Wait a week and look again. I've been looking for a Maine centennial half for a looooong time now but not going for it. Thats whats kept me from buying whizzed or cleaned coins.

 

Ten dollars over spot for silver, I can wait.

 

I swear that with a seller or two on fleaBay, as the auction nears it's end - only a few hours left - some bidder comes out of the woodwork, places a nuclear bid, then retracts, leaving my maximum as my "last bid." This is why I have been placing my max bid lately with a sniping service and NOT publicly as SOME sellers know enough to do this bid retraction crap.

This exposes whatever my maximum bid is to the seller, one in particular who I think might be a member here and / or on another "notable" numismatics forum.

I have also had the occasion that IF my high bid isn't "high enough", I have had my bid and the auction cancelled within minutes of it's close, before the sniping service hits.

Case in point: I publicly bid $15.00 on an item worth many times that amount. The opening bid was around $5 if I remember correctly. I had a sniper service set up to bid nearly $100 a few seconds from the auction end. I guess no one else had any interest in this item, so my "opening" bid of $5 ($15 actually) held to minutes before the auction end. The auction was cancelled by the seller, my bid cancelled and the item relisted, with about one minute left.

But to your point: I recently dropped a nuclear bid on something as a snipe only to discover someone else ALSO had a nuclear bid on it. Fortunately (or not) my nuke was a tad bit larger than his nuke, and I won, which qualifies me for the "secret hand shake" . . . . . .

LOL

Z

 

Zoid's Motto:

I lose money on every numismatic transaction, BUT MAKE UP FOR IT IN VOLUME . . . . .

z

 

I have certainly noticed a strong bidding trend at Heritage, GC and the one eBay vendor I bid at. I have not yet joined the Bidiot ranks but the potential is always there.

Not to ignore the genuine financial and other suffering some people in our society are suffering, the numbers clearly show the overall US savings rate up from 7% pre-pandemic to about 17% today. Many people are flush with cash but with limited venues in which to spend it, so....money goes into hobbies that can be indulged on the internet, like coin auctions. One possible explanation and just my own opinion.

 

I'll never win an auction - my target bid is always blue book price minus buyer's premium and sales tax - BA told me to get lost

 

Astute point . . . . .

Z

 

Definitely this. If you've noticed, the price of wood (2x4's and the like) has skyrocketed. Hobbies, home remodelling, boats, RV's all have had massive upticks in sales this past year. Even though the Reddit Silver attack really didn't pan out, it immediately added at least 20% to the prices that junk silver is going for in auctions. I'll check in at 6:30am and 10 oz silver bars are already over $300 (without the premium/tax/shipping) in a "daily" auction that ends at 9pm.

 

I have only bid on two items and won. COUNTLESS others came back with 5 over what my max was and I did not know it until to late.
PLEASE EXPLAIN snipe bid.
Phil

 

A snipe bid is a max bid placed in the last few seconds of the end of the auction like the last 3 to 5 seconds. It won't win out over a previously placed higher proxy bid, but it does prevent any other bidder who is just waiting to raise their bid if they get outbid from having the time to do so. It also prevents that situation mentioned earlier where a shill runs your bid up to your maximum and the retracts leaving your maximum bid exposed and in play. A snipe bid can be placed by you personally, or there are computerized services that will place the snipe bid for you. The advantage of the computer service is it can place bids in multiple auctions that are ending at the same or very close to the same time, or if the auction is ending at a time that is inconvenient for you to be sitting at the computer to do it yourself. It also lets you set your snipe bid and then not have to worry about remembering to be there for the end. It's a "set it and forget it" option.

I don't bid much anymore, but when I do I use a sniping program.