A serious question about bidding etiquette.........

[Red Hook]

I'd just like to take a casual survey of opinions regarding this question.....

 

Do you have any special approach to bidding on an Ebay item when you notice that another cgc board member is bidding for the same item?

 

I know my instinct is to hold back, and wait to see if the boardee is bidding seriously IMO.

 

Or is it "All's fair in comic acquisition and war?" - it's not a thought at all for you?

 

Obviously, if it's a close friend that's another matter (then you go for blood! )

 

But if it's another board member, I feel some obligation about not jacking the price up by incurring a bidding war. I guess I also would not think about bidding unless it was an item I was

serious about. ie - no frivilous bidding.

 

What's your take?

[RTBrandy]

I won't bid on it if I found the auction through a link here and the guy is bidding on the item.

 

 

[Rocketeer]

I'll PM him and be honest with him so we don't end up screwing each other....I usually do with the same with heritage if I have the feeling someone else is interested in an item....

[Rickdogg]

If it is an item that falls into a category that is collected by someone on a regular basis I would PM them and ask them what their intentions were on that particular item. For instance, Bruce always lays off on MTU's I want since he knows that is my bread and butter

[kryptonitecomics]

I don't know that it even enters my mind when I am bidding. I can tell you that I don't think I would intentionally bid against a board member if I did recognize a name as the high bidder. I usually don't look at the high bidder though I just figure out if I want it and what I am willing to bid and then I go for it.

 

I wouldn't have a probablem with a board member bidding against me as there are a lot of us and certainly we are going to run into the same wants from time to time. As long as someone truly wants the book then I'd say it's ok!!

 

 

You could always PM the board member and discuss it, but I don't think it should be a requirement.

[chrisco37]

There are certain books that I will go after, no matter who is bidding. But, I will not intentionally "punish" forum members (you know this Redhook. Remember our exchange after I bid the Avengers #25 way up).

 

Others, if I recognize the ID, I will PM them and ask if they are serious about the book (I've done this with Bonds recently).

 

 

 

[Lantern]

Others, if I recognize the ID, I will PM them and ask if they are serious about the book (I've done this with Bonds recently).

 

If I PM'ed Bonds about every auction I was interested in that he was already bidding on I would overload the server with PM's.

 

[OldGuy]

Communication, communication, communication. Send them an e-mail or PM and talk about it.

[Red Hook]

That's right! It had slipped my mind. As it turned out the bidding got too high for both of us. But I wasn't the guy you were really going up against.

 

Chris and I ended up PMing each other. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

 

I once was bidding on an item and then realized Osborne was in on it too, and as I recall I dropped out once I realized he was in there and it wasn't an item I had to have. If it was something I was seriously considering, I guess I would have PM'd him. I didn't want to end up jacking the price up on him.

 

When it comes to auctions, there aren't too many things I feel I HAVE to have at any particular time. Green Rivers are kind of a side specialty with me, so that's the only thing I might go in and rumble a little for.

 

But as the Ancient One used to say to Doc Strange,

 

"If you sit by the side of the river long enough, you will see the book you want come floating by...hopefully in an airtight water-proof container, and graded."

[chrisco37]

....yeah, I thought about that as I was typing it.

[comicwiz]

I'm glad you brought this subject up redhook; I've often wondered at the inflated prices Underground Comics yield on Heritage compared to eBay, whether there are any other collectors of Underground Comics on these boards. If there are, they've been pretty quiet about it.

 

At the same time, I think it would be a courtesy for board members to contact each other if they think someone else collects a certain type of genre -- especially if its unique enough. Its ridiculous to get caught in a bidding war with someone, especially on a Heritage auction, because the hammer prices are so damned punishing. I just can't see there being that many serious UG collectors committed to paying "collector" prices (not to be confused with what a dealer is willing to pay) on Heritage, over, and over, and over again, unless Heritage itself has a hand in inflating those prices themselves.

[Red Hook]

Well, as you know, we all have that spot in our user profiles where we can list our collecting specialty and most desired item. It would be kind of nice to be able to print a master list of our screen names with that item right next to it.

 

That would serve a couple of purposes....one it would allow me to alert someone if I ran across their item, (I do a lot of surfing on eBay, as I am sure alot of us do), and also to maybe avoid knocking into each other on Heritage auctions. That may be easier said than done. But it might be worth thinking about.

 

Of course you can always cobble your own list together by going through the profiles, but that sounds a little work intensive.

 

Hey, maybe a topic list like......

 

"Please stay the hell out of my way, when I am bidding on (fill in the blank!)"

[Ze-man]

That's right! It had slipped my mind. As it turned out the bidding got too high for both of us. But I wasn't the guy you were really going up against.

 

 

It want wallstreetrebel was it Redhook?

 

You mean Wallstreetrebel might overbid on something ? naw not Wallstreetrebel

 

 

, I run away when I see hes bidding on an auction, I run hide under my bed and turn off the computer.

He has crazy money...

Are you on the board wallstreet?.. come out come out...

[tilleycs]

When I bid on an auction, I bid the maximum amount that I'm interested in paying. If someone else is willing to go above that, they are more than welcome to that issue/set, because that is the most I'm willing to pay. I don't try to "outdo" people or drive bids up - because if I win, I have to pay it! I just bid whatever I feel comfortable bidding. I don't worry about who else is bidding, I concentrate on what I'm willing to pay for it. I lose MANY more auctions than I win, but that's fine with me.

[chrisco37]

That's right! It had slipped my mind. As it turned out the bidding got too high for both of us. But I wasn't the guy you were really going up against.

 

 

It want wallstreetrebel was it Redhook?

 

You mean Wallstreetrebel might overbid on something ? naw not Wallstreetrebel

 

 

, I run away when I see hes bidding on an auction, I run hide under my bed and turn off the computer.

He has crazy money...

Are you on the board wallstreet?.. come out come out...

 

Nope. It wasn't him.

[cd4ever]

Yeah, maybe I'm an but I rarely give it a second thought if I'm bidding against a forum member. I've lost to others here many times and sometimes I win a few.

 

Now if someone from here were to let me know that they really wanted this particular item (for non-flipping reasons), then I'd gladly back off. But other than that, all's fair I guess.

 

[shadroch]

When I bid on an auction, I bid the maximum amount that I'm interested in paying. If someone else is willing to go above that, they are more than welcome to that issue/set, because that is the most I'm willing to pay. I don't try to "outdo" people or drive bids up - because if I win, I have to pay it! I just bid whatever I feel comfortable bidding. I don't worry about who else is bidding, I concentrate on what I'm willing to pay for it. I lose MANY more auctions than I win, but that's fine with me.

 

Thats pretty much my philosophy as well,though I did abstain from bidding on a book last week when I saw another forum member bidding on it,and pm'd another that I was dropping out of a different auction when it appeared we both wanted a book rather badly.I was able to obtain a different copy in the same CGC grade for$30 less in a different auction,only to see an ad in CBG for same book at $60.

I rarely make multiple bids on any auction. I set a bid,and forget about it until I get a winning bidder notice. Almost never even read the you've been outbid notices I recieve. The books I collect are just too common to get in bidding wars over.

[Bonds25]

I'll usually just bid what I'm willing to pay, unless I know another board member really wants it, and then I'll refrain from bidding. However, if another board member outbids me, it's cool.

[Bonds25]

Others, if I recognize the ID, I will PM them and ask if they are serious about the book (I've done this with Bonds recently).

 

If I PM'ed Bonds about every auction I was interested in that he was already bidding on I would overload the server with PM's.

 

 

[JohnBull]

OK, Devil's Advocate here.

 

Most board members can get pretty uptight when defending what they see as their rights as bidders/buyers. Overpaying on shipping by a dollar or two is seen as a serious offence and woe betide anyone trying to charge an extra couple of percent to cover Paypal fees. But, you all seem happy to condone a cartel when it comes to bidding against each other, which must surely be against e-bay rules, if not illegal.

 

Does this seem a little two-faced to you ? And a question for the sellers out there - how would you feel if board members divided your auctions up behind the scenes and stopped you getting fair market value for your books ?