The ONE that got AWAY

[Artemaria]

Hi gang -

 

What do you do when there's a piece you really like, but you lose out in an auction (eBay, HA, doesn't matter). I'm talking about an affordable piece that you could have bid more for, but didn't.

 

 

 

What do you do?

 

A. Cry in your milk.

 

B. Hunt down the new owner and start making crazy offers than are higher than what you originally intended to pay for the piece?

 

C. Spread malicious untrue rumors about the buyer to the seller in an attempt to derail the sale?

 

D. Move on and take it like a man (with my apologies to the ladies on this thread).

 

 

 

After trying A for awhile, I ultimately graduated to B -- with absolutely no positive results.

 

Next, up is the potential for trying C. Has anyone tried this? Does it work?

 

Most mature people would opt for D. But it is so unsatisfying . . . . .

 

Are there other better options out there?

 

Your thoughts or additional suggestions would be greatly apprecited.

 

Best regards.

 

- A

 

 

 

[djpinkpanther67]

Hi gang -

 

What do you do when there's a piece you really like, but you lose out in an auction (eBay, HA, doesn't matter). I'm talking about an affordable piece that you could have bid more for, but didn't.

 

What do you do?

[invisibleghosts]

I lost an auction years ago for a page I considered (and still do) my grail page and have kept in contact with the winning bidder since then.

Every once and a while I send an email just to let him know I'm still interested in the page. It never hurts to let them know your interest. (thumbs u

[Mister Trent]

Sounds like a cautionary tale for cheap bast*rds!

 

In an auction situation, for something you really want, give it your best shot . . .

 

If you lose out, you tried your best - so that'll help ease the pain . . .

 

 

[delekkerste]

First try A and then graduate to D. In the grand scheme of things, unless it's a top 5 grail piece (and maybe not even then), there's nothing out there worth getting and staying so bent out of shape about. Chillax, man!

 

By the way, no apologies needed, there aren't any women in this particular Forum.

[Ares]

E==All of the above

[Pirate]

D: I don't sweat it. I got the great Empire cover by just contacting someone through caf. I'm currently working on getting another great empire cover that should close today by just contacting the guy out of the blue on CAF. I very seldom see stuff I want on the auction sites since my scope is very limited.

[Erato]

What do you do?

 

A. Cry in your milk.A little.

 

B. Hunt down the new owner and start making crazy offers than are higher than what you originally intended to pay for the piece? I will make my interest known, in case the new owner decides to sell. Sometimes, for whatever reason, I can't afford to place a bid for the full amount of what I was willing to spend.

 

C. Spread malicious untrue rumors about the buyer to the seller in an attempt to derail the sale?Never even crossed my mind.

 

D. Move on and take it like a man (with my apologies to the ladies on this thread). Ultimately, yes.

 

 

I have had good luck on auctions with contacting a seller afterwards on Items with a BIN that I didn't have funds for at the time. Often getting it at a cheaper price than I would have if I had hit the BIN. (but how often does something slip through?)

 

Brian

[Artemaria]

By the way, no apologies needed, there aren't any women in this particular Forum.

 

 

Thanks guys.

 

I've made contact with the seller and the buyer, expressing my interest in the event the deal does not materialize for them. It is a little early to tell what will transpire, but my optimism is not expansive.

 

This is not a grail-level piece. It's only a nice page that I liked and that I remembered fondly from my youth (how many times have we heard this story). But, I really, really liked it.

 

Unfortunately, I underestimated the value of that page to someone else.

And as a result, it likely will belong to that someone else.

 

The feeling, however, is not alot of fun.

 

Your support and funny comments are very much appreciated.

 

Best regards.

 

- A

[westform]

I'm going to have to go with Terry on this one. At auction give it your best shot! But, having said that I just missed out on an inexpensive piece on ebay myself. I did actually bid more than I thought the piece was worth but one other devil thought it was worth more and outbid me at the last second. If it were a piece I really had second thoughts about I would try and contact the buyer, but more than likely I would just find something else to buy.... which you can do by checking out my CAF for sale gallery and my auctions under westform on ebay...

[Artemaria]

. . . but more than likely I would just find something else to buy.... which you can do by checking out my CAF for sale gallery and my auctions under westform on ebay...

 

:acclaim:Now there's a salesman! Go Dan! :

 

More seriously, one of the other things Dan said is so right on the money. I bid more than the page was worth. I mean, there were only three bidders on this thing, so it is not as if there were mobs of people lining up for this page. It just had alot of personal appeal to me. More than the vast majority of the rest of the population (as there were hundreds of views).

 

But no one thought it was worth the final hammer except this other guy and myself. For some reason, I find it so fascinating that these runaway bids (far from the case with this page) only occur when there are two people who value the page highly. A phenomenon I've witnessed so many times, but it somehow feels different when you experience it.

 

So, the end of the story is, I followed the excellent advice I received on these boards, but after e-mailing the buyer and the seller, and trying to work out a last minute buyout, the page is gone.

 

Alas, we gave it the old college try.

 

Thanks so much for everyone's support.

 

- A

 

[NelsonAI]

When I was younger, it would have bothered me for a day or so.

 

With more art being available online, I move along. There is always something else that will come up that you like equally as much if not more.

 

Cheers!

N

 

P.S. If cash doesn't entice the new owner to flip the art to you, offer something in trade.

 

[Claudio]

I was pretty upset that one got away from me a couple of days ago but I am starting to realize that if the economy goes in the tank, there should be lots more stuff for us to enjoy. I am already seeing some really good pieces getting let go. . .

[mrpunch0]

B. Hunt down the new owner and start making crazy offers than are higher than what you originally intended to pay for the piece?

 

Best possible scenario out of this happened to me.

 

I was the underbidder on a great splash page - I contacted the winner and gave him the "If you ever decide to part with this ... " speech.

 

He told me he didn't think he would part with this splash any time soon - but he had a similar one that he was willing to let go.

 

The second splash turned out to be one of my favorite pages. Ever.

 

[Erato]

Congrats!! Great when things all fall into place!

 

Brian

[wktam]

I tend to go with "A" then "D". The beauty of this hobby is that there is always another cool piece on the horizon.

[Artemaria]

You guys are right, there is always something else out there. Even if it is not in the immediate future. There will be something else that comes up eventually. I'm confident of it.

 

As for a trade, I offered the guy a piece that had a similar value in trade, but he was not interested. Instead, he wanted a one for one trade for a piece of mine that had cost me (and has a legitimate value of) approximately five times what the final hammer was on the recently lost auction.

 

I politely declined.

 

So, there was no real trade avenue. And the buyer was not interested in cash.

 

Therefore, option D, here I come. (For the record, I never tried or even intended to try option C, but after that trade demand, hmmm . . . . . ).

 

Thanks again guys. Misery does love its company!

 

Best regards.

 

- A

[batman_fan]

For me, I missed a grail page. When I found out a fellow board member had won it I PM'd him and told him I loved the page but was late getting home from work and missed bidding. He said if he every decided to sell, he would let me know. A few months later, It was mine!