Auction Prices and I can't believe them.

I briefly looked in on it and was also amazed at how much the lots were selling for.  Totally out of line compared with what you would expect to pay at a train show, or even on eBay.  I think people sometimes get caught up in the adrenaline rush of a live auction and get a bit carried away.

Hi Tommy. I've watched this happen month in and month out for almost eight years. As the COO of the company you are speaking of, I thought it would be worth a moment to explain some of the factors that played into some of the prices you have witnessed this weekend. 

1. It's January. Historically our strongest prices of the year are found in January, February and March. 

2. We not only have our in house bidders, but we have absentee bidders, plus all the bidders that Ebay / Ebay Live brings to the table. That's why you see the sudden jump in prices, it's our software pulling in the bids that have been left on Ebay and through our website. We are by volume the largest toy train auction house in the US, and realistically we get more eyeballs on our listings than most other venues. 

3. The fact that it is an auction plays into it. The reality is we have some buyers with pretty deep pockets, and sometimes folks do get caught up in the bidding. I've walked away from a few sales shaking my head myself at some of the prices paid. There are folks in this hobby with way more money than the average buyer has and when they flex their money muscle, they usually win.

4. Rolling stock prices have been very strong the past year. It's a mix between resellers and individual collectors driving the market. It seems that people are really looking for rolling stock at the moment. 

My point to all this is, we appreciate you looking and I encourage you not to get frustrated. Our job is obviously to make as much money as we can for our consignors, but we want the average collector to have opportunities as well. We didn't become America's largest toy train auction company only serving the high end collectors. We need the general hobbyist as well.

Trust me, there are deals to be had! Keep an eye out, especially after the weather warms up a bit and I think you'll be surprised with the opportunities you have. 

I can echo those sentiments, albeit to a much smaller degree. I sold off all, well most, of my 3-rail engines, rolling stock, track, command systems, track, etc. on eBay and a little bit here but mostly eBay last Summer/Fall. I was amazed how much some of this stuff sold for, about 80% it was Atlas. Pines trailers over $80 and 89' flat cars over $200 to name a few. I had a lot of repeat buyers and I suspect that some of them are well off financially.

A great bunch of people only about 20 min. from my home went to several auctions and got some of my favorite engines, cars, etc. Also meet several local people I didn't know were into trains. Just dropped off several engines etc. for a friend who died for them to sell knowing they will get a fair price for the family. & Derek isn't a bad guy either LOL!

Al

I always have to chuckle when I read a lost of posts nailing the coffin closed on pre-war and post-war collecting and constantly reiterating that prices on these items are near rock bottom.  I have posted several times that if that was the case why are some of the live/internet auctions commanding such high prices and sometimes on goods that are no better than C-6 OR C-7.  Like many others I watched and participated in both of these auctions and came away empty handed but I don't feel the least bit frustrated.  Actually, I feel kind of vindicated.  I'm looking forward to the next one.

Hello Notch 6

I want to thank you for your timely and honest response to my post. I agree with you 100%. I applaud you and your efforts to enhance the profitability of your consignors. That is the American way of free enterprise. Your sellers make a profit, and a dollar filters down to you.  I am at ease with your site and will continue to visit. My best regards

Tommy

Auction to watch is next week. Everything is like new, new never run, or still in a sealed box.   Said to be one of the great post war collections. 

Derek, thanks for taking the time to compose a thoughtful and thorough reply.  We need to recruit more young guys like you into the hobby.

Hey now....

I won two lots on Friday, both brand new engines, MTH PS3.0, with all factors in place -- buyers premium, credit card fee, shipping, my out the door price is 54% of MSRP.

Now I have bought more than a few trains over the years, many from hobby shops often during a time when they're having an extra 10% or 15% off sale, but never have I been able to buy brand new C9 engines at 46% off! 

The acution house in question is by far the best in my view, I have bought thousands of dollar in trains from them over the past three years, even driven the four hours over a few times to pick up a car load of trains. They are great people who run a quality business, and if you watch the auctions, set a limit including all the associated fees there are often great deals to be had, they also often have those items no one else (including train shows and eBay) don't...those are not often a bargain, but at least one can buy them if their wallet will allow.

All I can say, is thanks to them and I am looking forward to new engines pulling great rolling stock I've bought from them in the past, rolling around the layout in a few weeks. 

  I appreciate the candid observations. I've always found some humor in watching these showdowns between seniors hopped up on synthetic testosterone.  No brains, but a ton of money. They push prices beyond sanity. Good to reap it in the short term for your business. But...observing this stuff has made me sit out most of your auctions recently because of my perception everything is beyond reach, so why bother. Keep in mind that prices are always set by a small minority of very deep pocketed bidders, whose bidding behavior may actually be deterring other bidders. In a few years, these old guys with all their cash will be gone, and you'll be selling their stuff again, to guys like me in my early forties. In the mean time, I'll just sit back at watch the spectacle. And BTW, I love your book on Madison!

Nothing like a little sour grapes

I Have hit the button a few items, on the place in either state , we all know.  But you have to watch, and see if its live auctioneer bid, competitive bid,

or floor, big difference in your totals   There are times you say, OK,  do I really want.  I viewed the bay hoppers at the end,  and I guess the 190, realized, was Ok, but 2 bay and not 4 bay.   The Canadian Maple leaf set, I purchased, about 10 months, ago, and $20 more, but mine was completely sealed in the shipping carton un opened, so I guess the realized price is Ok.  Think also,  there would be the large following from the other or past auction over in CT, that is no longer in existence, so you picked up another crowd.  That obviously are not going to take chances on York, (hahha).   I would say that the gas and Motel, far exceeds the cost in shipping.

The thing I like about auctions is that the buyers set the price an item sells for.

The only thing that needs to be fair is everyone who wants to bid has the opportunity to.

Other than that, if I am bidding against someone for an item that I really want, and I am willing to  or can spend  more money than they want to or can, I win.

Likewise, if that person has more money to spend than I want to or can spend on an item, they win it.

People who spend more money on an item than others think it's worth are not stupid, etc..   They just want an item, and can afford it.

I have bypassed many auction items as they are out of my comfort zone.  Oh well.  I live to see another day.  After all these are hobby items, not life essential items (food, water, etc.)

An interesting thing I have found when I sell things at auction, whether trains or music gear; the items I start well below the going price, sell for the most money.  The so called bidding excitement starts as the bids ramp up.If someone wants the item, they bid accordingly, and win it.  They're happy, and I'm happy.

Side note: sometimes reading OGR, you'd think that everyone in the train hobby is destitute. 

Seriously though, I begrudge no one who has the ability to do what they want in any part of life, including hobbies.  Further, I don't belittle those who can't.

We hobbyists come from all over the spectrum, and there's stuff for all of us.

That's okay.

I often attend a train auction in East Earl PA. I usually go prepared to pay X amount of dollars, and if the price exceeds my limit, there will be another auction in two or three weeks, with many of the same  items, so there are rarely scarce items at the sales. I have enough locos, diesel, electric and steam, but I have a list of things I would like, but am not going to go hog wild to acquire them. I have been trying to buy 6464 cars (no boxes needed) and I would really like a 3435 aquarium car, any version, but I enjoy going to the auctions and watching the "fur" fly. 

Gregr posted "...Keep in mind that prices are always set by a small minority of very deep pocketed bidders, whose bidding behavior may actually be deterring other bidders. In a few years, these old guys with all their cash will be gone, and you'll be selling their stuff again, to guys like me in my early forties."

Your exactly right. Just be patient.

Gregr posted "...Keep in mind that prices are always set by a small minority of very deep pocketed bidders, whose bidding behavior may actually be deterring other bidders. In a few years, these old guys with all their cash will be gone, and you'll be selling their stuff again, to guys like me in my early forties."

Nah, I am leaving instructions to take anything my family doesn't want, and feed it into a recycling shredder.

C W Burfle posted:

Gregr posted "...Keep in mind that prices are always set by a small minority of very deep pocketed bidders, whose bidding behavior may actually be deterring other bidders. In a few years, these old guys with all their cash will be gone, and you'll be selling their stuff again, to guys like me in my early forties."

Nah, I am leaving instructions to take anything my family doesn't want, and feed it into a recycling shredder.

I'm guessing a lot of the auction stuff is sold by heirs of older guys who passed away and thought the same but their family is willing to sell anyways for the cash.   Your treasure becomes someone else's who cherishes it like you.  isn't that better?  speaking of sour grapes!

I'm guessing a lot of the auction stuff is sold by heirs of older guys who passed away and thought the same but their family is willing to sell anyways for the cash.   Your treasure becomes someone else's who cherishes it like you.  isn't that better?  speaking of sour grapes!

I guess its hard to recognize sarcasm sometimes. (Perhaps I'm not very good at it)

I'm not really concerned about how my stuff is liquidated when I am gone. My wife and kids all know more about Lionel trains than most train people. They will get rid of the stuff they don't want in an appropriate way.

If they are lucky, the guys griping about old train collectors paying too much will be old and still buying trains someday too.

And if the trains have no resale value, how many people will be willing and able to pay the prices they do for toy trains? I doubt many non-train people find any of the prices reasonable.

CincinnatiWestern posted:

I won two lots on Friday, both brand new engines, MTH PS3.0, with all factors in place -- buyers premium, credit card fee, shipping, my out the door price is 54% of MSRP.

 

I think that's what we're all looking for in the "used" arena.  50% of MSRP.  I'm not talking "collectible" stuff.  I, too was somewhat surprised.  Not including shipping, there were 2 items I was looking at and was outbid significantly:

MTH Non-powered 8 year old diesel - 132% MSRP

MTH PS3 6 year old diesel - 84% MSRP

C W Burfle posted:

I'm guessing a lot of the auction stuff is sold by heirs of older guys who passed away and thought the same but their family is willing to sell anyways for the cash.   Your treasure becomes someone else's who cherishes it like you.  isn't that better?  speaking of sour grapes!

I guess its hard to recognize sarcasm sometimes. (Perhaps I'm not very good at it)

I'm not really concerned about how my stuff is liquidated when I am gone. My wife and kids all know more about Lionel trains than most train people. They will get rid of the stuff they don't want in an appropriate way.

If they are lucky, the guys griping about old train collectors paying too much will be old and still buying trains someday too.

And if the trains have no resale value, how many people will be willing and able to pay the prices they do for toy trains? I doubt many non-train people find any of the prices reasonable.

You didn't use the sarcasm font available in the tools menu ��

Sorry, but geez, any item is worth what you wish to pay for it. No one holds a gun to your head to buy anything regardless of whether it's a Train show, eBay, online auction, Local Hobby Shop, private sale, or whatever. If the price is out of your price range, then you walk away.

Plain and simple supply and demand. Patience in this sort of activity is it's own reward. I have bought items that regardless of venue, is within my price range. If it's too high in price, I walk, wait, and eventually it pops up somewhere.

Bottomline, if you were a seller, you would want to get he most you could for any given item. It's all part of the "game."

What amuses me is when a car which went for big bucks on eBay or Trainz auctions sells for 1/10 the price at our monthly club meeting auction.

As a general statement and not necessarily anything to do with the auction of which you speak, auctions are a notoriously dirty business and few houses take the precautions to ensure everything is truly as above-board as possible.  In this case, I'd be curious to know if the auction house has a house account and can bid in its own auctions - it's legal in several states and the reason one giant auction house moved to Texas.  Of course, that dynamic has a way of pushing prices are market perception up, up and away. Also curious to know if sellers are permitted to bid on their own items?  Also curious to know if the auction house ensures none of its employees have access or visibility to max bids - and if so, what software is used to actually ensure this fidelity. It beats a simple promise.  

PJB, everything you stated falls into the ever-important buyer-beware category.  For this reason, I avoid this whole scene.  Occasionally, I'll grab an item off eBay if I know the seller.  Otherwise, you can't beat this forum for great buy/sell transactions.  

David

It is not uncommon on live auctions to have the auctioneer bid up the price.  Or have a stand in.  (I am talking non trains here)  Not to say that the big train auctions do that but sometimes I wonder.

Given the glut of toy trains on the market today... Unless something is extremely desirable -- like a BNSF die-cast ES44 #6436, for example -- i'd be highly suspicious of an auction house, if run-of-the-mill items are fetching unusually high prices regardless of what time of year it's sold.   Seasoned buyers know the market value of these things.

David

PJB posted:

As a general statement and not necessarily anything to do with the auction of which you speak, auctions are a notoriously dirty business and few houses take the precautions to ensure everything is truly as above-board as possible.  In this case, I'd be curious to know if the auction house has a house account and can bid in its own auctions - it's legal in several states and the reason one giant auction house moved to Texas.  Of course, that dynamic has a way of pushing prices are market perception up, up and away. Also curious to know if sellers are permitted to bid on their own items?  Also curious to know if the auction house ensures none of its employees have access or visibility to max bids - and if so, what software is used to actually ensure this fidelity. It beats a simple promise.  

I can only speak to our company in regards to some of these questions. 

1. No house account. We are a no reserve auction house and once the hammer drops an item is sold to the highest bidder. 

2. We do not allow our sellers to bid on their own items. We've had a few try in the past and have quickly put a stop to it. Anyone that allows that to happen is asking for trouble and it is one of the quickest ways to discourage bidding from other parties. 

3. The software we use in house is one of the larger systems on the market and it does not allow us to see the high bids from absentee, Ebay, etc. There are three of us in Indiana that have full access to that system and even if we wanted to we could not see that information. 

I understand people's need to be skeptical, and the reality is some folks are cut out to be our customers and others are not. We are entering our 25th year in business and we have brought some of the best collections in the United States to market. Some of those included Richard Kughn (Part one of Madison Hardware), Jim Sattler, Frank Pettruzo, and many others. To the modern guys those names won't mean much, but if you're serious about prewar and postwar those are some heavy hitters. This year alone we are bringing the Bob Ford collection, George Klett collection, and Jim Seacrest collection across our blocks in just the first third of the year. Anyway, the point is we didn't end up here by accident. I understand that some of these questions are general questions, but I'm not a fan of even having dishonest practices implied in the same general thread about our company, especially if you've never worked with us before. 

I know people are entitled to an opinion but --- good for you Derek, well said

I have won/purchased from Stout in the past and have never had a negative experience 

First class all the way 

I'm not quite sure what the problem is ??? --- enter the amount you want to pay for an item, if you win great, if not oh well

Looking forward to this weekends auction --- really nice stuff

Just not that much like new to mint pre-war/postwar showing up at York anymore

Thx

Joe

PS --- Hope the little guy's keeping you busy 

My previous post regarding "deep pocketed" collectors deserves clarification. Although sarcastic, it was not intended as an indictment of those with wealth, or the means to achieve their dreams. I'm also not saying anything negative about the business practices of auction houses. Many operate with the utmost integrity, including the one discussed on this thread. It is a top shelf business. My post was intended to convey my frustration with the bifurcation of the train collecting market over the past couple of decades, and the unpredictable impact on pricing that this split has created, particularly with auction houses.

The first group consists of those who have collected for many years. They will remember a more level playing field: a world where the completeness and quality of one's collection was determined solely by the years of personal effort expended in scrounging through garage sales, basements, attics, and train meets. These folks collected cherished items one-by-one. They read books, studied production history, examined each piece carefully, and took the time to clean and oil, or perhaps restore each piece with tender loving care. Sometimes they would even buy like new, or even mint condition trains without spending $5,000. They didn't have to deal with the Internet. Ordinary men of ordinary means could purchase trains at reasonable prices without having to deal with  snippy "google search" owners who think every scout loco is a thousand bucks.

The second group, which has evolved more recently may be best described as the johnny come lately "insta-collectors". By saying this, I do not mean to disparage new collectors. Everyone started somewhere, myself included. These are the guys who find themselves at the age of 65 or 70, retired with a pile of cash and bountiful time. Maybe a friend turned them onto trains, maybe something else. But here they are.  They don't have the time to learn about the trains or their history, to buy and savor them one at a time, or learn to repair them for that matter. They are far behind and need to catch up. That is where the auction houses have a role. The modern Internet auction house is realistically the sole venue serving the "insta-collector". Where else can one back up a truck, walk in with one-hundred thousand dollars, and walk out a few hours later with a nearly complete post-war collection in like new condition? If you are a bidder of modest means, stay away. Don't get caught between a couple of these fellows as they will "highball" through the day's bidding at any expense. Remember, they haven't read Greenberg's, don't know the prices, and frankly don't care. They probably don't even know what they are bidding on. They just want a complete collection right NOW.  Therefore, with a day's hard work raising their bidding finger, the "insta-collector" accumulates what took others decades. They truck it all home. Some leave it in boxes, while a few put the trains on shelves, and proudly boast their achievement. Sometimes we honor these achievements: just look at the guy whose collection of clear shell F3's was honored in a 2013 CTT issue. Was he to be honored because of  thousands of hours of sweat and blood working on a layout, or was he merely celebrated because he spent more cash than everyone else to horde every clear shell F3 in existence?

The prevalence of these "insta-collectors" drives stratospheric auction house prices.  These online train auctions have become similar to high-browed Sotheby's fine art auctions. We all know it's the CEO's and princes that walk away with fine art without even appreciating their purchases. It's never the art-history professor on a 50k salary who can afford that which he has long cherished.

So, stick with train meets, hobby shops, or anything else, if you're a 99 percenter like me.

I bid often (win much less often) with Stout.. yes I said the name oooga, booga, booga, booga.

First, they are a great auction house, when I do win everything goes smoothly and I have to date been extremely happy.

Now on to the prices, as was indicated by Notch 6 in the first quarter of the year prices are generally higher. I used to track prices from several auction houses and EBay. These are the winter months and for those not into winter sports have time to play with their trains.

Realized prices for this auction did seem a bit higher even taking into account the 1 qtr phenomenon.
I was on the phone with a another friend in TCA reading off the live bidding we were both amazed.

It could be that now that the election and inauguration are over there was some emotional relief and folks want to spend some hard earned cash..

Maybe the bidders wives were off marching.. because I would never take advantage of my wife not being around to buy trains, no never.. really

Seriously, I think another contributor is the MSRP of new items and that paying 50% - 75% of MSRP for items at auction with the premium and shipping is still cheaper than buying at a LHS.

There are several factors. After spending two years liquidating a large pre war, post war, and modern collection including standard, O, and S, I have observed the following. Most buyers do not want to pay what it takes to get an item. They want it for next to nothing. Occasionally you will come across a true collector who is willing to pay what it takes to get the item they need. But most of those seasoned collectors already have most of what they need already in their collection, and new blood is not entering the ranks and collecting those areas. Pre-War and Post War trains are falling like rocks. The people who enjoyed them when they were kids, already came back and collected them, and are now also trying to liquidate so the market is flooded with product. New product is also flooding the market. Most buyers today want the new stuff with all of the features, and the like. Many of these items were or are made in somewhat limited numbers so there are always buyers looking for something they missed. My best and quickest sellers were newer MTH and Lionel equipment. Venue. Train shows typically were few and far between, and rarely drew the crowds like they used to in the hey day. Many times its the same buyers, with the same sellers with the same stuff. E-Bay is better as you can reach more buyers, but I found that a majority of buyers wanted everything for pennies on the dollar. Large auction houses have the most exposure and draw buyers interested in buying trains. Its a one time opportunity unlike E-Bay where they can sit on it for a week and take the chance that it will be relisted at a lower price.

Tin

LionelTin replied..."After spending two years liquidating a large pre war, post war, and modern collection including standard, O, and S, I have observed the following. Most buyers do not want to pay what it takes to get an item."

What does that mean?  What exactly does it take, to get an item? What's the big deal? Of course I want to pay as little as possible for something, who wouldn't? That sort goes without saying, doesn't it? 

xferyard posted:

......First, they are a great auction house, when I do win everything goes smoothly and I have to date been extremely happy.....

 

 

Yes, a top notch business.  Items are always as described.

They've provided the outlet for me to obtain very rare or hard to find pieces.  I couldn't be happier with them.

if you don't like the price, don't bid and/or buy. I have run into similar situations and wanted an item, but was outta my range. I simply waited and eventually it showed up later at a price I could handle.

Notch6, are you the auction house that has everything at $10.00 on ebay and the auctions are on Fridays?

I have been interested, but hesitant as I am not sure who this is and how well they back up what is sold.

Notch 6 posted:

PJB posted:

As a general statement and not necessarily anything to do with the auction of which you speak, auctions are a notoriously dirty business and few houses take the precautions to ensure everything is truly as above-board as possible.  In this case, I'd be curious to know if the auction house has a house account and can bid in its own auctions - it's legal in several states and the reason one giant auction house moved to Texas.  Of course, that dynamic has a way of pushing prices are market perception up, up and away. Also curious to know if sellers are permitted to bid on their own items?  Also curious to know if the auction house ensures none of its employees have access or visibility to max bids - and if so, what software is used to actually ensure this fidelity. It beats a simple promise.  

I can only speak to our company in regards to some of these questions. 

1. No house account. We are a no reserve auction house and once the hammer drops an item is sold to the highest bidder. 

2. We do not allow our sellers to bid on their own items. We've had a few try in the past and have quickly put a stop to it. Anyone that allows that to happen is asking for trouble and it is one of the quickest ways to discourage bidding from other parties. 

3. The software we use in house is one of the larger systems on the market and it does not allow us to see the high bids from absentee, Ebay, etc. There are three of us in Indiana that have full access to that system and even if we wanted to we could not see that information. 

I understand people's need to be skeptical, and the reality is some folks are cut out to be our customers and others are not. We are entering our 25th year in business and we have brought some of the best collections in the United States to market. Some of those included Richard Kughn (Part one of Madison Hardware), Jim Sattler, Frank Pettruzo, and many others. To the modern guys those names won't mean much, but if you're serious about prewar and postwar those are some heavy hitters. This year alone we are bringing the Bob Ford collection, George Klett collection, and Jim Seacrest collection across our blocks in just the first third of the year. Anyway, the point is we didn't end up here by accident. I understand that some of these questions are general questions, but I'm not a fan of even having dishonest practices implied in the same general thread about our company, especially if you've never worked with us before. 

This is all good information and I appreciate it as it provides some confidence in your auction service.  

To be clear, however, and as I stated, the concerns expressed are not coming from a "need to be skeptical," nor were they directed at your auction service in particular.  Virtually every major auction house - I mean the big ones that are household names and that deal in multimillion dollar items that span genres (fine art, relics, etc.) such as Sotheby's, Christie's and Mastro to name a few - has violated corruption laws.  Meaning, even the well-known auction houses that constantly have the "watchdog" spotlight on them, mess up.  On that basis, I think anyone who would argue that the auction model (or any particular auction house) can be deemed above-board - without some articulation of its policies and practices - is a fool or ignorant to the world around them. And I think anyone who runs an auction house that doesn't welcome my kind of questions, and the opportunity to provide the details  to help allay concerns, needs to put on his big boy pants if he plans to grow his business to include more of those coming into the market. 

In short, you've decided to go into a business known for having the potential for unscrupulous behavior.  You want people to spend their money to support your business.  And you take offense to a potential new customer asking a few basic questions to help with the comfort level in giving you my money.  Interesting.....

If it is the "S" auction company (not sure if saying the full name is verboten ), I had a few good experiences with them early last year (via the live eBay interface) when I was looking for some add-on items to complete my PWC Canadian Pacific set.

The one thing I should have paid more attention to was that there are multiple venues (my fault, not theirs - location was clearly stated in the auction).

My first win was from their location outside of my home state, the second was within my home state, so I didn't properly account for the sales tax when thinking up my max bid.  I was still happy, and it was my fault for not noticing that detail.

As to the items themselves, the 1st I got for what was probably a little better or in-line with other eBay auctions for the item.  The second lot was an interesting situation that paired 2 items together.  The one item I had, but the last piece I needed is not offered for sale regularly at what I consider my acceptable price range.  I was fine with risking selling the item I would now have a duplicate for.  The pair went for probably less than the one piece would have on a stand alone auction!  So I got my missing item, and someone else at April York (fellow table holder in Red hall) got a decent deal on the one I considered my spare for the item I now had 2 of.

-Dave

And what with the TRAINZ auctions?  Every time I get one of their flyers and click on one of them, the auction is already closed.  Every time.  Why send out the flyers???  Even when I check immediately after it hits my inbox. Auction closed.

Makes no sense to me.

Mark Diff posted:

LionelTin replied..."After spending two years liquidating a large pre war, post war, and modern collection including standard, O, and S, I have observed the following. Most buyers do not want to pay what it takes to get an item."

What does that mean?  What exactly does it take, to get an item? What's the big deal? Of course I want to pay as little as possible for something, who wouldn't? That sort goes without saying, doesn't it? 

Mark, it means that if an item is worth $500 fair value, only certain persons will pay that if that is what it takes to get the item for their collection or layout. When I collected I had a list of needed items, when I saw them I would most times pay what it took to get the item for the collection within reason. By that I mean I would not over pay for the sake of getting the item. For example a $500 item marked at $850 would sit, but a prime example at $600 might sell. I didn't wimper around wanting the item for $200 and losing out. That is what it takes, or what it took. Sort of like, don't bring a knife to a gunfight.....

Tin

TexasSP posted:

Notch6, are you the auction house that has everything at $10.00 on ebay and the auctions are on Fridays?

I have been interested, but hesitant as I am not sure who this is and how well they back up what is sold.

That's us. The $10.00 is somewhat misleading as Ebay does not adjust the current bid while it is on their site. It's only once the auction is live that Ebay talks to our software and calculates where the bid is actually at. You can see current bids in the days leading up to the auction on our website. 

As to backing up what we sell, we absolutely will stand behind our grade on an item, but rule #1 in our terms and conditions is that we sell based on visual appearance only, we do not test functionality of any item. Some people see this as a major issue for them, but you will find many others that can live with the risk and appreciate the money they save in return. Many of the collections we sell are high end, one owner collections and I would say we get calls about non functioning items maybe every other auction at most. Just wanted to make sure that was clear up front.