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 Replies: 6 / Views: 1,477 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2797 Posts |
I'm a bit sick this morning after missing out on this one last night on ebay. I was the first underbidder and will always wonder how high the winner was willing to go. Apparently there were only two of us who knew precisely what this coin was. The VAM 142A is a rare variation of the much more common 142. It features a prominent die crack with die chips on the reverse. The die probably didn't last very long with that fissure. There have been two recorded sales of this coin: An ICG XF45 for $750 and a PCGS 63 OGH for $2250. The coin on the Bay could have gone 63!  Please don't ask what I bid, I'm ashamed to admit it. |
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Valued Member
United States
224 Posts |
SeatedNut, I am sorry that you lost out on getting the coin! I have been there more times than I could count. You watch and watch the auction to see how the bidding is going and think that no one else sees what you see but that is usually not the case. Thinking this way, you put in a bid that you feel will secure the coin as your's only to find out that you were outbid by only $1.00 at the last possible second of the auction. For this very reason, I try to babysit the auctions for coins that I know are worth much more and put in a very high bid in the last 20 seconds or less of the auction. The chances are that I will be the winning bidder with a bid that is much, much lower than what I actually bid on the coin. However, if I did not win the coin, then the person that outbid me has to pay dearly for the coin. With ebay war, it is normally the winner that takes the spoils. However, if I know the other person bidding on the coin, then I will let them know that I am also interested in the coin and negotiate which one of us, is possibly going to get it (i.e. who is putting in the very high bid). Good luck next time! Frank |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2797 Posts |
Frank,
Thanks for the sympathies. I have a major question though ... how do you know the other person bidding on a particular coin? ID's have been masked for quite some time now.
On that particular coin, I put in a nominal bid early to make sure the seller knew there was interest and would be less likely to sell to someone who emailed with a question. I've had that happen before. Then, I was there at the end and saw four other bidders placing bids for a BU 78 coin, nothing more. I set my bid and launched with 3 seconds left ... somewhere out there in this vast world was one other bidder who had more available resources than I did at the time ... who also launched with 3 seconds remaining.
Like you said ... win some ... lose some.
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Valued Member
United States
224 Posts |
SeatedNut, Sometimes I don't know but other times through some of the forums and chats, I see that someone I know has interest in the same coin or coins! Most often you do not know but sometimes find out later when you post your' prize in a forum and one of your buds gives you grief for beating them out. What seems to work for me at times, is to not bid based on how the bidding is going on the coin. Yes, it can be relavent at times and at other times it is not. So, I usually babysit the auction, then put in a bid that I think will win and which I can live with. It's not fail proof but it works a big majority of the time! My technique has also been a problem a few times. I once bid on what I believe was a completely new DDO Variety for the 1955-P Lincoln Cent. Even though I won and paid for the coin, the Seller knew that something was up due to the high price it brought, so he altered another 1955-P Lincoln Cent to appear somewhat simlar and shipped me that altered coin. Well, I had to go through the whole route of filing with ebay and PayPal and even threatening turning the case over to the Post Master General and Law Enforcement to either get the coin that I purchased or a full refund. PayPal even requested that if the Seller refused, that I send them the altered coin and pictures of the coin that I won, so they could launch a full investigation and proceed with litigation. (Because of past problems, I sometimes keep detailed information on the items that I win...including the pictures from the auction and in case like this, they come in handy.) Well, the Seller finally opted to give me my refund and keep the coin. However, I put the word out to the Variety/Error Coin Community and as far as I know, he has never been able to get the coin recorded as a new Variety, have it certifed and graded or even been able to sell it! Frank |
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Valued Member
United States
80 Posts |
When wondering about the final price on e-bay, I will place
the item in my watch list. That way when it sell's you know
the final price of the sale. As for your bidding, what
ever you could of afforded is and was willing to pay.
Had you purchased that coin, it would of been a great buy
under 500
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Valued Member
Canada
464 Posts |
If you perform an ebay search with the Item id, it will show the item even after the auction ends, but for a limited time. I can't say for sure how long listings are available, I usually do it within a few days of the auction ending. Edited by gawd0wns
08/02/2009 2:16 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2797 Posts |
Actually those auctions are viewable for up to 30 days. Photos sometimes disappear if the seller uses Photobucket and changes the link/removes the picture. If I see something of interest during my nightly scans, I put it on my watch list. Before shutting down for the night, I review the watch list and look closer at the photos and attempt to attribute Morgan/Peace VAMs and make a note on the auction. I only place an up-front bid if there are no bids on the item and it's a "Must Have!" I missed an opportunity on an 1878 8TF VAM 14.8 in BU by not doing this. The seller was contacted through ebay email and asked if they would take $75 for the coin ... a fair price for an 8TF Morgan in BU, but not for this rare VAM (Value over $2000). They accepted the offer and inserted a $75 Buy-It-Now, which the buyer was waiting for and he pounced. With four days remaining on the auction I saw it had ended and I saw the inserted BIN. I emailed the seller and asked what happened. He related the story above and in a snotty tone said if I wanted it I should have bid. I wasn't going to ruin his day, but after that response to an up-front question, after five days (ample time for him to mail the item out) I sent him the link to the 14.8 VAMWorld page and a current price guide. He never wrote back. That is the only time I enter a bid before the final moments. As a buyer of unattributed VAMs (cherry-picker) I prefer not to bring attention to a listed item. Discussing these with online groups would have the same effect. I like you folks a lot, but discussing this type of auction while it is still active seems counter-productive.  |
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Replies: 6 / Views: 1,477 |
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Posted 07/29/2009 11:38 am
