Auctions again

[Red Riley 2]

I don't know whether this is s stupid question but... Say I put in a postal bid on a lot for say, £50 and then attend the auction. The lot opens up with the auctioneer holding a bid of £50. I really want this piece and am prepared to pay more but I don't know whether the bid held by the auctioneer is mine or one for a similar amount received prior to mine. So to actually purchase the lot, I might potentially have to bid against myself. Have I misread the situation or is this a distinct shortcoming of the system?

I put the question to Warwick & Warwick who replied; 'You can place a bid on a lot via post or e-mail. However, if you turn up at the auction on the day, and you want to bid on this lot on the day instead, then you must inform a member of staff to cancel this previous e-mail bid.' which doesn't seem to answer the question. Does anybody know?

[TomGoodheart 403]

As far as I know yes, you could bid against yourself. The auction house don't know if someone who has put in a prior bid also attends on the day. In fact I imagine they would probably not expect this to happen. So the only way to ensure that you only bid once is to cancel your earlier bid.

What happens if you do win the coin and then find out that the 'second bidder' is yourself? I guess you could ask the auction house whether you can pay the lower bid. They might be sympathetic in the circumstances.

[azda 979]

I doubt it Tom, they get paid commission. I would do as you suggested though and cancel the bid if you are attending Red

[argentumandcoins 70]

Yes, you will definitely be potentially bidding against yourself.

There are circumstances however where the £50 bid will not be yours i.e.

1) another bidder placed £50 before you did and their bid will take precedence

2) the "other bidder" left more than £50 meaning the auctioneer would have to open at £50 on conflicting bids.

You will find it very rare that an auctioneer goes straight to the top bid on the book for small value lots however as they often expect the lot to sell in the room so they start low to create auction fever (it often works as well).

Under no circumstances would the auction house ever let you pay the lesser bid if you had "outbid yourself" Fishes poo holes and tightness spring to mind

[TomGoodheart 403]

Auction houses work bidding in increments. Normally below £100 bids go up in £5 jumps, then £10 and so on (though the auctioneer has some discretion I believe). Which means that if you were the top bidder and bid against yourself the most you're likely to end up paying is £55 (+ the 200000% buyer's commission or whatever the current rate is!)

Of course if there are no other bidders you might have got the coin for £35. If you are there in person I'd cancel the earlier bid to make sure.

[Red Riley 2]

Auction houses work bidding in increments. Normally below £100 bids go up in £5 jumps, then £10 and so on (though the auctioneer has some discretion I believe). Which means that if you were the top bidder and bid against yourself the most you're likely to end up paying is £55 (+ the 200000% buyer's commission or whatever the current rate is!)

Of course if there are no other bidders you might have got the coin for £35. If you are there in person I'd cancel the earlier bid to make sure.

Okay thanks for that. As I see it therefore, there are two best ways to approach an auction;

1) Get in a postal bid before anyone else i.e. as soon as the online catalogue is published;

2) Don't bother sending in a postal bid, just attend the auction!

[1949threepence 3,367]

I can see a situation in which you could potentially be bidding against yourself, unless you did as they advised, and cancelled your postal/e mail bid on the day if you were attending in person.