apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

whenever i lose out on something on ebay, i spend endless hours hunting down another similar item & landing it no matter what. that is pretty much the only thing that makes me feel better.

Hm...I can understand feeling miffed when someone sneaks in a last-minute winning bid on ebay, but in a live auction, the person who wins is the person willing to pay the most for an item. Monetarily, this guy apparently thought the thermometer was worth more than you did, even if his actions afterward seem to the contrary.

that is such a beautiful thermometer and such a sad story! I used to get outbid by dealers all this time when I lived in VA -- the most painful was a very small box lot of old and beautiful retro games cards. I soooo wanted them - to use! I thought in my head "not over $25" and got up to the low $50s and gave up. It is maddening, when you truly want/love the item, to see it go to someone who is only in it for the dough.

sad story indeed. why buy it if you deem it trash?

two years ago i lost out on a set of dining chairs on ebay, after i sulked for weeks......(haha im serious,i was heart broken) i have yet to find anything to replace where those chairs would have been placed...... :(

I don't have the stomach for antiques auctions. Mainly because I don't have the deep pockets to compete with the voracious dealers who are there to buy for their businesses. I don't hold it against 'em at all, but I prefer random, solitary shopping. And I have been lucky time and again at out-of-the-way yard sales and junk shops.

After my last unsuccessful auction purchase, I 'drug' myself to the wine merchants.

I used to be a collectibles dealer, and a lot of people's ideas about bidding against them are just plain wrong. A casual buyer almost always has the advantage because they don't have to make a profit on it. A dealer can rarely afford to pay more than 50% of its retail value. If you are getting outbid by dealers on a regular basis, it means you're not willing to pay even a fraction of its retail value. Which is kind of like going into DWR and throwing a temper tantrum because the Eames Lounge chair isn't $700. (Okay, maybe we've all done that at one time or another. But still.)

I will say though, that the guy who won your thermometer is an idiot, and probably looses money if he treats his items like that.

I look on it all as part of the hunt - there are always other things out there that will suit the need.

I did a post on my blog a few months ago about how it makes me insane when auctioneers break up sets that have been together 4Ever. At a recent auction I saw a dining room set from the early 1800's seperated - 2 chairs to one person, 2 more chairs another person and the table to a 3rd person. I cried for this set...

I seem to get outbid by dealers on ebay quite a bit. Luckily I don't get too upset, because eventually I will get the item I want, and usually at a cheaper price, I just have to be patient and vigilant.

http://www.modprop.com/props/results.asp?type_id=1007&category_id=10055&subcategory_id=10056

scroll down. Maybe you can buy it from them.

It's only money. If you really, really, want it then you just keep bidding till it stops. How much you paid is immaterial if it makes your heart sing. I agree that it's easy to outbid the professional buyers. I always bid to the point that I won't give a hoot if someone else walks away with it. Everyone has their "stupid to pay that much limit". If it goes over that, I wish the buyer all the luck in the world.

Thanks for your comment, Superbeetle.

I am one of those dreadful dealers. Of course, I have to take REALLY good care of the items I purchase because they have to be resold in my store for a small (sometimes non-existent) profit to help support myself and my two kids.

By the time I pay my overhead (lights, water, lease, etc.) and buy items for resale, I am almost always close to being in the hole every month. But, I am in the business because I love it and I love saving things so that someone who does really love them can end up with them in their home. Believe it or not, I DO care about almost every individual item (as do most of the dealers I know).

As has been mentioned multiple times, dealers will NOT bid too much on an item. They have to be able to make a profit. So, if you're losing out to dealers, you obviously need to rethink your buying strategies or maybe find a different think to collect that is more in your price range.

I'm pretty sure you just want to say dragged and not drug.

LBhirise has it right. At auction, you don't control whether you get something for a crazy bargain, only that you don't overpay. My rule is to assess the most I will pay for an item (and not feel stupid) and bid at most 10 percent above that. If I still lose, then I know I haven't overpaid and I haven't barely lost the item.

But I don't start bidding without an absolute hard stop figure in mind.

At the auction I frequent I know who the dealers are, at first it was irritating to get outbid by them, but now it is great because I can use them to judge whether or not I am overpaying. Once I outbid them I know I am basically paying wholesale price for a piece.

I tell my customers this when they go to estate sales and auctions...

Buy what you love. Pay what it's worth to YOU. Don't worry if you're getting a great deal or not. Resale value doesn't mean anything when you're furnishing your home with things you love. Don't worry that an items not perfect if you love it. It's all about what you love.

Maybe you should sort of look at this as poetic justice. Here this idjit outbids you and then by his own stupidity breaks the item he's supposed to profit on. Ha! Ok, it's still sad for you, and for the thermometer. But we can all hope his carelessness puts him out of business.

I'll be open about hating all manner of middlemen, who in my mind add so little to the world. The whole concept of retail 'value' is stupid anyway. What it means is they can find some other shmuck who will pay more for it. How can I be opposed to that. It's a living. Oooh well. So let them find that other shmuck. Ok, now i sound mean. I'm really not. It's just how I deal with losses like that.

intimidation shouldn't work in an auction format. they are, by design and definition, about trying to get the "real price". that said, there are certainly market inefficiencies.

the keys to finding a great buy at auction are simple:
1. having the cash you need (if it's a tight month don't blame your competitors)
2. superior knowledge (really knowing what a object is worth)
3. timing (having an object you want offered very early or late in the auction when others haven't arrived or have left)
4. location (even in the age of liveauctioneer, i find buying east coast objects on the west coast and vice versa best)luck (i.e. not having anyone else there that day who does)

As I was scrolling down today's page and the photo of the thermometer was gradually revealed to me, I thought "Wow, that is so cool. I bet this is a Sararae post."

Ding ding ding!

She's fabulous ladies and gentlemen. If it's gorgeous - Sararae found it and wrote about it beautifully!