Auction Primer

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 1:03 pm

I've read hear of folks making the auction circuit and acquiring some nice Ports along the way.

In the interest of education for us all, does anyone have any useful basic info for those of us who have never purchased from or even bid at auction, but might be interested in dipping our toes in the water?

Stewart

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 2:22 pm

I agree, I think Christies does auctions here in Los Angeles, but I have no idea how they work, etc. any info is appreciated.

Eric Ifune · Post by **Eric Ifune** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 9:52 am

I've bid at Butterfields, now Bonhams, in person, Christies with absentee bidding, and on line at Hart Davis Hart. There are pros and cons to being there in person vs not. In either case, you have to look closely at the catalog beforehand. Decide what interests you and the price you want to pay.
The advantage of absentee or on line bidding is you then make your bid and wait. Keep your fingers crossed. If successful, you will not have to have payed more than anticipated. If your bid was way higher than the second highest bid, you will be charged one bidding increment above the second highest, thus you may even pay less than you anticipated. The problem is that if someone bids more, you will not know it and you will lose.
In person is always more exciting, even though you have to wait until your lot comes up. The disadvantage is that if caught up in the bidding, it is very easy to pay more than you anticipated. You have to be very disciplined. This has happened to me on more than one occasion. The advantages are that you can watch the bidding patterns and adjust your stategy accordingly. One additional advantage is that while waiting for your lots to come up, other interesting lots may come up which caught your eye, but not enough to absentee bid on them. They may be available for cheap. I've bought Ridge Montebello 1991 for $100/bottle and Pierre Bise Coteaux du Layon for $12/bottle for example. It's also fun. I can't emphasis the need to be disciplined however. Remember, it is the auction house's job to maximise the bids.
Good luck if you jump in!

Post by **Andy Velebil** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 8:33 pm

Eric,
Thanks for the good advice. I can see how one would easly overbid during the excitement of a live auction.