The Auction

My lots should be up within an hour. Wonder how late it’ll go? There’s a bit of internet bidding going on, but the vast majority of sales are “to the room” meaning to someone sitting there. It’s after 9.30PM now on site. I wonder what the etiquette is for these things re: letting people go home. They are cranking through the lots though! So maybe it won’t be an issue. I mean, if I’m dropping a few hundred large who’s to say what my bed time is?

Haven’t heard any “to the mail” bids. Wonder if my emailed bids will be “room” or “internet?” Or if indeed there is another, unheard by me so far, type that’ll be called out. “To the order.” What does it mean? Is it what he calls when the minimum bid is the only bid? Of is it the mail in bids?

Many things are not selling, but it’s impossible for me to get a feel for “how it’s going.” Too fast, not experienced enough. There are some items that appear to get into bidding wars – something Imperial that started at a thousand ended up selling for $15,000. The stats after will tell, though you can see the hammer price instantly on the interface here. Cool beans.

Lot 2257 is the first of the Soviet orders. It’s lot 2128 right now at 6:57 PM. Let’s see how fast they really are; I’ll post the time that lot 2257 goes up.

111604: an internet ID number overheard. Since I’m number 111755 I’d say there are at least 151 people logged on.

Lot 2257 kicked off at 7:30 PM.

My two lots are 2311 and 2317, bidding $160 and $110 respectively.

Who is number 209? That number bought every single Lenin that sold. And a good number of the Red Banners. And the $62,500 group. And the $130,000 Kutuzov. And the $80,000 whatever it is… And the Nahkimov. And the group for $8.000 And the Cavalier group for $50k. And on and on… interesting that a single bidder buys so much stuff no matter the price. I’ve quit tracking what he’s bought, but he pretty much monopolized the Soviet stuff, including the prizes towards the end.

Most of the Soviet stuff is selling. I think more so than the Imperial.

The group didn’t sell at $1,600.00.

2311: $160.00 to the room! #1
2317: $200.00 to the room! #1

So I didn’t get either item, losing one to someone there and just being outbid on the other. Oh well. It’s not like similar items won’t be sold, oh… next year.