Check this out. Buyer's premium: 18% applied to the winning bid Link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/COIN-1-1860...-BU-Lot-508-/201407888359?hash=item2ee4d87be7
No, this is a live auction... meaning another company is performing a live auction in house, and you can use ebay to bid if you sit there and wait for it live. I avoid these. I also do not understand why you cannot place your bid before hand, and they have the computer bid for you when the auction becomes live.
Simple, simple answer. DON'T BID. After the marketplace turns up their noses at about a dozen of these "auctions," they'll quit.
I doubt they quit doing them... it's not like it hurts the live auction or ebay any. If noone on ebay bids, no biggie, a local person wins. It is really win win for both ebay and the live auction company. They NEED to let ebay bidders put bids in early though. No way am I going to sit here for hours waiting for the item I want to come up for bid.
Oh, it's a WIN for eBay, no question; they don't have any skin in the game. The auction company probably negotiated greatly-reduced fees, and get a lot of publicity despite grossly unfavorable terms. Unfortunately, the benefits don't filter down to the faithful eBay clientele. They could run a thousand of these nutty auctions a week, and sellers' fees would never be cut by one thin dime, not even once.
Maybe someone can answer this for me. I've never participated in a live auction on eBay, so I'm wondering if it is possible to use a bidding service to place a snipe for you. That way, you wouldn't need to wait for the auction to begin. Has anyone ever tried this approach? Chris
I highly doubt it works, since it does not go off at a set time like normal auctions. Could be wrong though.
I've found in the past when Heritage does this that it is much simpler to just go to the auction company's site and place an absentee bid then let them bid for me up to my max. Thomaston Place Auction Galleries is the company running this one. Looks like a wide assortment of collector grade coins.
I've seen those live auctions, and think they are pointless. Most, if not all of those houses charge high fees, post mediocre photos, and offer no return privilege. I have no problem spending a lot on coins that look nice, and are returnable if not. As soon as I see a run of these listings however, I scroll past the whole lot.
