Cool furniture, design objects and desiderata

[SkinnyGoomba]

Some good stuff in there and what appear to be a few really nice reprints of Sharaku prints.

 

[brokencycle]

It says 3 days until auction starts, but I can bid now? Is there a live, in-person auction? Or is it like eBay, and that's just the end date?

 

[double00]

with eBay the deal is you can simply place your high bid and as long as it is on top at the end of the auction you will win by whatever the minimum bid increment is over the second place finisher.

a couple of my local auctioneers are on live auctioneers, i've been in person and I've watched on my computer and they somehow juggle the two (item by item during a typical weekend 2-day live event), although i strongly suspect the live floor action gets priority if there is any latency. i also believe you can pre-bid online but i believe your pre-bid high would be visible to others, although that may differ by auction house. it's also been awhile since i've been so they may have changed things but i believe all bids are transparent which is a big difference from eBay.

also don't forget about the buyer's premium.

 

[brokencycle]

with eBay the deal is you can simply place your high bid and as long as it is on top at the end of the auction you will win by whatever the minimum bid increment is over the second place finisher.

a couple of my local auctioneers are on live auctioneers, i've been in person and I've watched on my computer and they somehow juggle the two (item by item during a typical weekend 2-day live event), although i strongly suspect the live floor action gets priority if there is any latency. i also believe you can pre-bid online but i believe your pre-bid high would be visible to others, although that may differ by auction house. it's also been awhile since i've been so they may have changed things but i believe all bids are transparent which is a big difference from eBay.

also don't forget about the buyer's premium.

Thanks, that's helpful. There are some cool prints, but I also started thumbing around, and there is some cool furniture too though often the buyer premium is insane.

If the in-person buyers can see the online bids, what's stopping them from just bidding up to your max bid, so you pay more than you otherwise might have?

 

[double00]

it's not a max bid, it's just a bid. that's the difference. on eBay your 'max bid' is invisible, in a live auction all bids are transparent and you don't place tone until you want to. in the actual non-ebay auctions that i've been to (again ymmv) both online and in person bidding is live.

in most live auctions there is no set 'ending time' to the auction (again, unlike eBay). action begins and bidders are really the only ones who know where their individual consumer surplus ends. the auction will continue as long as the bidding does. so the tactics change a little - let's say you really wanted a rug but you suspected it was only special to you, you could for instance flex and throw out a high bid to scare off other bidders but you'd be paying that at the end of the day (assuming the ploy worked).

its funny eBay is rampant with cheapskates so you could have dozens of bids but a low hammer. live you could have one bid and a high hammer. how you approach it will be up to you of course.

quick story: i once had a piece of sports memorabilia that i consigned with an auction house. i was watching my cash flow live and i was amazed to see that they had this rule where there was a closing time but if there were bids within a certain duration before that they would extend! it happened 2 or so times on my item lol.

 

[lefty]

The bidders in attendance do not see the online bids. There will be a bank of people on phones talking to bidders (usually how I bid) and people monitoring the online portion.

If you put in an absentee bid online the maximum amount you're willing to go is hidden and the site bids on your behalf in a set increment. I have won things that I forgot I bid on.

That said, no auction system is perfect so if I really wanted something I would either be there or have a trusted person on the phone. Auctions move quickly and you have to be prepared to jump.

P.S. I met the CEO of bidsquare last night which has a much cleaner UI than liveauctioneers. Fewer auction houses, but worth checking out.

lefty

 

[double00]

absentee bidding is different than live online bidding. the auctions that I've been to in-person def show the live online bids.

agree tho. if i wanted something best to be there in person, things move very fast.

 

[lefty]

You're right - I spoke too quickly. I've always ignored the live online portion as it really does seem like a dopey way to bid.

lefty

 

[Bounder]



The bidders in attendance do not see the online bids. There will be a bank of people on phones talking to bidders (usually how I bid) and people monitoring the online portion.

If you put in an absentee bid online the maximum amount you're willing to go is hidden and the site bids on your behalf in a set increment. I have won things that I forgot I bid on.

That said, no auction system is perfect so if I really wanted something I would either be there or have a trusted person on the phone. Auctions move quickly and you have to be prepared to jump.

It might differ by house, but at Christie's, for example, the auctioneer manages all four channels. People present at the auction don't see the on-line bids, but the auctioneer calls them out as appropriate. As far as I can tell, bids made in advance are treated as if they were a live on-line bidder while phone bids are treated as on-site bids. It can be a little confusing to tell where the bids are coming from in the heat of the auction so sometimes the auctioneer will indicate by saying something like, "With me, in London" or "It's with you, Miami."

Watching a good auctioneer work is kind of entertaining all by itself. On occasion, I've stayed on well after any lots I might be interested in just to watch a really gifted one work.

 

[lefty]

It may depend on the size of the house. The few times I watched online there often seemed to be a little lag. Those seconds of internet silence are pretty nervewracking. If I wanted something badly enough I'd feel a lot better having a person in the room with the auctioneer's attention. Sometimes I'll put in an early bullshit bid just to ensure the auctioneer is aware of my bidder.

I'll probably watch that Evans cabinet online.

lefty

 

[nmprisons]



You're right - I spoke too quickly. I've always ignored the live online portion as it really does seem like a dopey way to bid. 

lefty

Hey now, I bought a lovely James Ensor etching online live. Auction was in London, and didn't want to wake the wife by talking on the phone at 4am.

 

[lefty]

I went to a private showing of this and a few other things tonight.



Goddamn, this thing is beautiful. Not sure it's worth the 500K they're hoping for but could fetch 300K+ to the right person.

lefty

388,000 + fee. This was probably purchased for 3,000 in 77.

lefty

 

[Medwed]



I went to a private showing of this and a few other things tonight. Goddamn, this thing is beautiful. Not sure it's worth the 500K they're hoping for but could fetch 300K+ to the right person. lefty

Ferry Gustaff Glimt, I take two.

 

[Mujib]

Anyone have this Saarinen executive chair? Some lady was selling four of these in like new condition. Can I be sure they are authentic?

 

[Medwed]

Control Brand from GILT. I like.