Went to an auction ...

Didn't we just have this thread?

Rush' point of entertainment is a good point. Some like to be entertained, and will pay $40 for a common silver dollar, or $25 for a colorize bicentennial quarter. Its their entertainment dollar. Not every sale on every item in this country only sells for "book". I bet you WAY overpay versus "book" for popcorn and soda at a movie theater, right?

Like I said before, I usually only go to these things if I wished to get something more high end. At the high end they at best usually hit book, and usually a discount. Not as many people willing to spend $1500 on entertainment as opposed to $40, even if the $1500 item lists for $3000. I also see a whole bunch of problem coins, and sometimes even fakes, and its usually not a coincidence that they are selling in such formats.

Chris

 

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This is the pimary reason that folks snipe on eBay as once you get more than two bidders involved, things can get really crazy for no reason at all other than simply "wanting" to beat the other guy.

 

If I had to guess why people overpay in auctions I would guess maybe they get caught up in the auction? Its just like ebay when people get into a bidding war, they get caught up in the action.

 

There's definitely an adrenaline rush when you go to an auction and start bidding especially if it's your first time. My auction lesson cost me $100. The first auction I ever attended, I wound up bidding for a wood carving of a boat. It looked great from where I was sitting. The bidding started, I stuck up my hand and eventually won what turned out to be a piece of garbage. The boat was made from Monkey pod wood and it was cracked and glued in a dozen places. I tossed it in the dumpster on the way out. The retail value of this thing was only about $12 in the stores. Since then, I only bid on items I examined closely.

 

At every live auction I've attended there has been a preview period of at least an hour prior to the start of the auction. If you call, most auction houses will let you in to view items several days before the auction, provided they have cataloged everything. The trick is to read the advertising and determine if there is anything you're interested in. Then get there early on auction day, stake out a good seat, and examine what you want. Then bid accordingly.

You can get good prices at an auction. If you go into an auction simply looking to stock up on junk silver at bargain prices with the idea of flipping it later, forget it. So is most of the remainder of the crowd. And some of them have deep pockets. But if you go in for specific coins, especially copper or small denomination silver coins (sold individually), you stand a better chance of winning at a good price.

 

A lot of valueable finds can be had by searching the box lots. Anything in a showcase will usually bring big dollars. And if you do find something nice in a box lot don't take it out of the box and put it on display for everyone else to see.
As well, don't expect something to be in the same box you found it in. I found a rare record in a box once only to find out another collector shuffled it into another box before it went up for auction. Even though I didn't get the record, I did manage to bid it up a few hundred dollars more than he expected to pay.

 

Fyi you can buy them all off Amazon instant video like a day after they air and stream them.