FORUM

come on everybody, pitch in , this is clearly a "test the water" thread by BP to see if it "might" be worth putting an event together. you won't get the face to face auction you all say you want if 6 people say they have a machine to sell and 12 people say they might buy it

I would sell 2 machines. And be a buyer if the right machine was there.

Only as a buyer,

I would probably have 2 decent Allwins to sell and be aiming to bid on a couple of items, either Allwin or Bandit.

My problem though when the Coventry auctions were held was that for family reasons I would never have been able to get the machines to the site early enough on the day of the auction. With EH, Steve was always happy to pick them up in advance which suited me well.

But that's just me - I still much prefer the buzz of live auctions and will not be using the Collector Connector in its present format as my lack of experience on how much to bid leaves me relying on bidding against others in the knowledge that if I won and had to later resell there should be others wanting the machine for similar prices, if that makes sense!

My problem with selling machines at auction is that they're always on a Sunday, which means I've always either been at work the night before, or in the pub. Neither activity makes it easy to get to the venue in time to enter my machines.

I've collected other sellers' machines and dropped them off at the same time to the EH to share costs etc. There may be someone/member local who may be able to offer help. There may be a trust issue, but it may resolve the issue in some circumstances. I've collected machines at Derby spares sales from others who have collected machines I've bought from the EH auction prior to Derby.

Definitely a buyer, never sold a machine at auction but may put a couple in (or an old cash register!)

The supply of sellers machines 20 and the sellers and buyers amount to 21!
I would guess that 3 times this quantity would be required to run a viable auction.
I would have thought the appetite to run an auction would have been higher.
Steve at the Elephant house seems to be be going down the “tech” route using you tube , Instagram,etc.
So could we be seeing the end of our old style auctions.

scorpa163 wrote: ↑Mon Jun 07, 2021 3:59 pm The supply of sellers machines 20 and the sellers and buyers amount to 21!
I would guess that 3 times this quantity would be required to run a viable auction.
I would have thought the appetite to run an auction would have been higher.
Steve at the Elephant house seems to be be going down the “tech” route using you tube , Instagram,etc.
So could we be seeing the end of our old style auctions.

Your enthusiasm is what we need, however your figures are well adrift.
This website has only ever produced a % of the lots and buyers that attend Coventry. I am also petitioning other lists/sources from our records and adding their reactions to the whole.

Putting it simply ........ "I would guess that 3 times this quantity would be required to run a viable auction." Well as you said, it is a guess.
Allowing for promises falling well short, no shows on the day, vendors setting unrealistic reserves, lots being offered nobody wants and not all lots being machines. I'd be looking for a commitment into 3 figures. The last auctions we ran were in excess to 200 lots with machines taking up half to two thirds.
And buyers well exceeding vendors.
Your 3 times "this quantity" would certainly go a way to paying the fixed overheads, but probably not my petrol.

Every year has been different in this game, and I certainly never expected anything different following Covid. We've seen auctions where 60 Allwins have been up against half a dozen bandits and the next year the figures reversed. Then we've had a dozen floor mounted arcade games one year and not seen one again for 5 years.
The last 18 months have convinced me the market at the moment is buying and not selling. Without a good balance it won't work. The buying side has always been heavier and often we have depended upon somebody selling up. That's not happening this year.
I'll give it another week or so then draw a line under it, for now if necessary.
I've been involved in organising these kind of events as well as open sales days since the 1990s. Once the market mix is right and the venue is a good one, situated in the right place etc. the coming together of slotties and the opportunity to play in advance of bidding will always be favourite over screwing up your eyes at a photo/driving miles just to look/trying to renegotiate when you realise weaselly pictures hide things.

My current concern is another shut down, the new cases are exceeding this time last year. a fortnight ago the daily figures Leicester/Bradford and Southall were increasing exponentially. Now we've got our Portuguese holiday makers being forced home. Have we really got the hang of this yet?

BP

BP . I was trying to get more interest in future auctions. But this topic has dried up, people must be happy with eBay and Steve’s new ideas.

I think it's a case of wait and see at the moment. EBay is pants and Steve's idea is OK for the time being. But to me it's not the future. I don't want to seal bid 700 for a machine when the under seal bidder bids 600. You would never know.....

I’ve only got into the ‘sport’ in the past year or so so never had the opportunity to attend a live auction for these. I’d be delighted to attend as a buyer.

Nil desperandum old fruit!
There are many in this hobby who .....
....... are of an age not sympathetic to a drop of Covid, don't forget vaccination doesn't guarantee against contracting the virus. Many are still unnerved.
....... have SWMBO who humour us in the hobby, but have the last word on what we do, go, breath etc.
....... having had so much time on their hands over the last 18 months and no auctions/sales to help fill the time, they want to BUY, not sell.

Look at Steve's site, he has 14 machines for sale. That's half as many our poll indicates. He'd never attempt to run a live auction with 14 machines any more than I would. Nor would I blindly bid on a machine I've never seen let alone touched, played or looked inside.
It'll return as it was, when the organisers have confidence that weeks of work organising an event won't suddenly be terminated by a close down and a loss of monies paid up front. And when collectors want to sell as well as buy.

That's all it will take.

BP

I've received many emails over the last few months asking "When's the next auction.....Are you running an auction this year......You should do this......You should do that..." and frankly, it's getting a bit tedious! At least four of the emails received (including the one today) have come from people I know use this site. So just to reiterate - I have no plans to run an auction this year.
But there's nothing stopping someone else doing it. In fact, I quite relish the opportunity to go to an auction that I haven't had to organise. Do it, and I'll support it, but please stop asking me "when's the next auction!"

Jerry

So is the November auction on???
Lol

jimmycowman wrote: ↑Wed Aug 25, 2021 9:59 pm So is the November auction on???
Lol

Is it November the 5th

Can someone remind me what an auction is?

Something that happened in the old days.. You could actually go on the day View the machine bid.. pay and take away knowing you got the machine at the market price. The modern way is much better you pledge 5k and you know you have brought the machine winner

Can someone remind me what an auction is?

it was a way of separating a fool and his money in the "olden times"

Is it November the 5th

its been put back till April 1st