Local Auctions Don't Have to be Inconvenient

I've considered bidding on collectible auctions in the past, but I found it "infeasible" because I don't have the time to attend.  Boy, was I wrong!  You don't have to attend to win!

This weekend I went to a local auction site to look at currency.  They often hold back some for direct sales.  I learned that they were having an auction the next day, Sunday.  I lamented outloud that I couldn't go, and they told me that I could put in a proxy bid.  It was easy.  Fill out a form, mark down the lot you want to bid on, and then cross your fingers.  The nice thing about this method is that you can look at the item closely.  And in my case, I even used my smartphone to look up some of the items on ebay to find out what they were selling for.  I was convenient to have the time to do that.

So what happened?  I put in a $135 proxy bid on a CU64 Hawaii $1 note, certified by PMG with an "exceptional paper quality (EPQ)" designation.  I also put in a $110 bid on a 1917 $2 note in VF+ condition.  Conclusion?  I won them both.  My winning bids were $100 plus an $18 buyers fee on the Hawaiian note, and $90 plus a $17 buyers fee.  Total cost...about $225 combined.  Value of these notes on Ebay is about $180 for the Hawaii and $150 for the $2 note.  That's a gain of $105 on some nice notes.  I intend to keep them, so it boosts my progress in my on-going flipping contest.  After my comicbook sales last week, I was at $213.  So now I can add 1/3 of $105, or $35, so I'm now at $248.  (The reader may not be aware, but when I decide to keep an item, I can only declare 1/3 of the "profit" per the contest rules.  I might be selling some more comicbooks which I recently stole (ahem...I mean purchased) from a local dealer if I can find the time.

 The bottom line is this though....local auction proxy bids can be very good, and you can inspect the merchandise too.  Just remember that you need to factor in a buyer's premium...in my case, a hefty 18%

Collector Steve