Harlan Berk Buy/Bid Sale

[robinjojo]

I recently submitted a bid for an item in the last buy/bid sale.  When the sale closed I noticed that the lot sold for my bid price, but was awarded to another buyer.  Has anyone had similar experiences with this buy/bid sale? 

This doesn't seem cricket to me.

[robinjojo]

I just got off the phone with HJB.  It seems that the lot sold for more than my bid, which was the reserve.  What confused me is that the lot appeared in the after sale at my bid, the reserve price, but apparently someone bid more in the after sale, which raises the question, why even bother to bid the minimum (reserve) during the buy/bid phase?  I was under the impression that the winning bids at the close were the ones securing the lots.  Very confusing.

[Kaleun96]

2 hours ago, robinjojo said:

I just got off the phone with HJB.  It seems that the lot sold for more than my bid, which was the reserve.  What confused me is that the lot appeared in the after sale at my bid, the reserve price, but apparently someone bid more in the after sale, which raises the question, why even bother to bid the minimum (reserve) during the buy/bid phase?  I was under the impression that the winning bids at the close were the ones securing the lots.  Very confusing.

Hmm something sounds wrong, the after sale should just be a "buy now" price essentially - you can't bid as far as I know. The price would be set at the reserve if the lot went unsold in the auction phase. So I don't see how someone could have bid more than you at this point. Maybe the person on the phone got it wrong?

Here's a quote from HJB's after sale email:

Quote

Please also find below links of lots in the 223rd Buy or Bid after sale listed with the reserve price that we are willing to accept.

Is it possible someone placed the same bid as you but before you did? Or does the HJB platform register the bid immediately and tell you if someone has already placed a bid for that amount? If they had placed the bid first, and that was their maximum, technically they would win the item for the same amount that you bid. I have never bid through it so am not sure myself how it works on HJB's platform.

Edited June 23, 2023 by Kaleun96

[robinjojo]

It seems that there were some last minute bids.  I was somewhat confused by the lot showing up on the remainder sale with the reserve, my bid showing, along with "sold".  My bid, the reserve, was $500 and that is what I saw.  However, after talking to a representative at HJB, the actual winning bid was $700.  That's all fine with me, but I was confused.  Of course I was born in that state of mind so this is nothing new.

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

The Constantine IX Histamenon nomisma was a good deal, but it was long-gone by the time I received a catalog.

Or was it?  Am I under the same confusion?  I thought it was $550 to buy it, or is that just the reserve?  It's been since about 1997 since I've bought something from the bid or buy.

[robinjojo]

18 hours ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

The Constantine IX Histamenon nomisma was a good deal, but it was long-gone by the time I received a catalog.

Or was it?  Am I under the same confusion?  I thought it was $550 to buy it, or is that just the reserve?  It's been since about 1997 since I've bought something from the bid or buy.

You might give them a call on Monday, 312-609-0018 or email them requesting the winning bid for your lot.  They don't publish a prices realized list, nor do lots show the final price, just "sold" for the ones bought or won through bidding.

[DonnaML]

18 hours ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

The Constantine IX Histamenon nomisma was a good deal, but it was long-gone by the time I received a catalog.

Or was it?  Am I under the same confusion?  I thought it was $550 to buy it, or is that just the reserve?  It's been since about 1997 since I've bought something from the bid or buy.

The price listed is definitely the "buy" price. I didn't get the catalog in the mail until at least a month after the sale began online. Most of the more desirable lots get sold within the first couple of days after the sale begins online.

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

Perhaps the Constantine IX was some sort of loss leader, an enticer to bid.  I.e. something they had bought a long time ago, during cheaper gold prices and were able to sell without a huge actual loss?

Although that was a great deal, it did save me $550.

The ma-shops Constantine IV large follis, which I missed out on (they couldn't find it) was also a good deal.

[robinjojo]

Generally speaking Byzantine gold coins have played second fiddle to their Roman cousins.  Comparatively speaking they were good values, and quite numerous in availability.  Now they are higher but still good values for ancient gold coins.