Some Secrets for Auction Success

By Tom Becker | Wed, 29 Mar 2006

The auction house benefits when the prices realized are high. The surest way to attract future consignors is by holding successful auctions. Exciting auctions will bring in the buyers.

Few collectors seem to understand how anxious the auctioneer is to assist the buyers. Even fewer collectors take full advantage of the services the auction house can provide. Utilizing these services can often give you an advantage over the competition and make you a more efficient auction bidder. Here are some of the things you can do to increase your success.

When applicable, request a more detailed description of the item than what is provided in the catalog. This is especially useful if what you?re interested in didn?t warrant a photo. This same practice works well if you are bidding on groups of coins offered as a single lot. Obtaining an additional description is also valuable when trying to determine which one of several lots you should bid on. Any requests for this type of information should be planned in advance. My suggestion would be to email or fax your list of coins and then set up a time for you to call. I think it?s always preferable to speak with the numismatist or cataloguer rather than receive a written response. There is nothing wrong with asking the question, ?Which of the two do you like best??

Certainly it wouldn?t be unreasonable to request detailed descriptions of hundreds of lots. I would suggest limiting your request to no more than a dozen coins.

Many auction firms will help you further determine values even if estimates are offered in the catalog. When estimates aren?t provided using this service can be extremely important. The auction company employs experts that know the value of what they are selling. There is also the issue of credibility. You might seriously question my expertise if I suggested a coin should bring $1000 and it sells for only $350. You might have further doubts about me if all my estimates considerably exceeded the final results.

The auctioneer?s estimates will also help you confirm your previous research. Obtaining these estimates should help you to narrow down your choices so that available funds can be used where they will do the most good. If the auctioneer suggests a coin should bring about $1000 then why bother bidding if I?m only willing to pay $500?

When the request is reasonable, the auctioneer will often provide some indication of the mail and electronic bids that have been received prior to the actual auction. It is unreasonable to expect the auctioneer to divulge these bids. What is fair is for you to offer an indication of what you are willing to pay. The conversation might go something like this.

Bidder: I was thinking of bidding $500 for Lot 101.

Auctioneer: We already have a higher book bid or at this time that would be a winning bid if the auction were held this moment.

Based on this valuable information the bidder can then eliminate certain items and concentrate on others. This information may also suggest it is time to consider raising certain bids.

Others may disagree, but I think it is often a wise idea to submit bids prior to the auction even if you plan to attend the event. This can be very efficient when bidding on coins that have quite predictable values. For example, most reputable auction firms use the policy of opening any lot for floor bidding at a reasonable increment over the second highest book bid. You have offered a bid of $500. The second high bidder has offered $400. When the floor bidding begins the auctioneer might request a bid of $450. If no bid from the floor is offered you are awarded the coin for $50 less than you would have paid. Now let?s suppose the bidding exceeds your pre-sale bid of $500. You are then allowed to continue bidding from the floor. Submitting bids prior to the auction is also a good way to hide that you are participating in the auction.

I always suggest that any auction participant know exactly what they are willing to pay for a certain coin prior to the auction and stick with this bid. I must admit this doesn?t always happen. We all want to buy coins as cheaply as possible and so our pre-sale maximum bids may be naturally conservative. If I?m willing to pay $1000 for a coin and I see six hands go up in the room when the auctioneer asks for $1200 there is a strong incentive to join the battle, especially if the coin is one I would dearly love to own.

By using some or all of the procedures I?ve mentioned you should become a better informed and more successful bidder.