LCA auction

[mrbadexample]

Righto, I'm after a few pointers if possible please, as I'm new to this.

There is just one lot I would like to try and purchase. How do I go about it? It doesn't seem terribly clear from the site what I actually have to do to bid. Can someone give me a rough idea please? I promise the lot's not one any of you are interested in. Honest.

Cheers,

MBE

[RLC35]

2 hours ago, mrbadexample said:

Righto, I'm after a few pointers if possible please, as I'm new to this.

There is just one lot I would like to try and purchase. How do I go about it? It doesn't seem terribly clear from the site what I actually have to do to bid. Can someone give me a rough idea please? I promise the lot's not one any of you are interested in. Honest.

Cheers,

MBE

There is a blank order form on the website. Bring it up on your PC, fill in the blanks for the coins you want to bid on, and email the form to London (Cemra Cetin). She will send you an acknowledgement in a day or two. You can also print out the blank form, fill it in with a pen, and mail the form to them.

[Colin G.]

What Bob said 

[Nordle11]

Although you might have just missed the cut-off, as the auction is tomorrow and Sunday! It's not entirely clear up to when you can send in email bids but it's a close call.

[Chingford]

I had an email from Semra yesterday, details below

We would like to inform you that the next London Coins Auction is Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th March 2016.

Also just a reminder that if you intend to leave bids, don't forget to place your bids by 10am GMT on Saturday 5th March.

We can accept bids by e-mail : bids@londoncoins.co.uk, or snail mail to 4-6 Upper Street South, New Ash Green, Kent DA3 8JJ, phone 01474 871464 or fax 01474 872173.

Semra Cetin
London Coins Ltd

[mrbadexample]

Thank you all. The site doesn't exactly make it obvious, does it? Either that or I'm a bit thick. Which is possible.

In their Auction Buyer's Guide it says you can email bids to semra@londoncoins.co.uk but no mention of the form, so I just sent an email saying what I wanted. Oh well, I'll send it in again to the bids email with the form attached. I'll probably end up bidding against my duplicate self. 

So, what happens if two people email in with the same maximum bid? 

Is there any facility to watch the auction online?

It's a good job I only want one lot. 

 

[PWA 1967]

Forget the email Jon.

You have left it a bit late and as you have not bid before better to check.

I would phone as they might also ask for some card details if its an expensive coin should your bid be the highest.

If two people bid the same ,they sell to the person who bid first 

[mrbadexample]

Right, belt and braces, I've sent the form in to both addresses. Hopefully that'll work. Fingers crossed.

[Nordle11]

Yes I only email directly with the lot numbers and bids, that's good enough. If you've not registered before you'll need to add a delivery address too. 

I think in the event of the same bid, the earlier bidder will win the lot if that ends up being the highest, but don't hold me to that. 

Also you can't bid or listen in live, however there might be the possibility to watch the lots go on the saleroom but I'm not 100% sure if it works. 

[mrbadexample]

Cheers, think I've got it covered then. I see we get to pay 17% on top of the hammer price too.

[Mynki]

Just sent my email. I'm focussing a lot more on the upcoming DNW auction though.

You have to pay 17% on the hammer price and vat @ 20% on that 17%.

So a coin selling for £100 hammer price will actually cost you £120.40 + delivery.

This additional premium is sometimes referred too as 'juice'.

Hope that helps.

 

[mrbadexample]

55 minutes ago, PWA 1967 said:

Forget the email Jon.

You have left it a bit late and as you have not bid before better to check.

I would phone as they might also ask for some card details if its an expensive coin should your bid be the highest.

If two people bid the same ,they sell to the person who bid first 

Thanks Pete, sorry I missed your reply somehow. I'll give them a ring in the morning just to be on the safe side.

 

[PWA 1967]

Your bid can also relate to what the bidding starts at..

Ie. You bid £300.

They start with your bid but  at £280 .....someone in the room bids £300.

They would take the one in the room. 

[mrbadexample]

22 minutes ago, PWA 1967 said:

Your bid can also relate to what the bidding starts at..

Ie. You bid £300.

They start with your bid but  at £280 .....someone in the room bids £300.

They would take the one in the room. 

So what dictates the start price?

[Nordle11]

The auctioneer, but he will keep lowering the price until he receives the first bid to kick things off. 

[PWA 1967]

2 minutes ago, Nordle11 said:

The auctioneer, but he will keep lowering the price until he receives the first bid to kick things off. 

Does that happen at LCA Matt 

[1949threepence]

2 hours ago, mrbadexample said:

Thank you all. The site doesn't exactly make it obvious, does it? Either that or I'm a bit thick. Which is possible.

In their Auction Buyer's Guide it says you can email bids to semra@londoncoins.co.uk but no mention of the form, so I just sent an email saying what I wanted. Oh well, I'll send it in again to the bids email with the form attached. I'll probably end up bidding against my duplicate self. 

So, what happens if two people email in with the same maximum bid? 

Is there any facility to watch the auction online?

It's a good job I only want one lot. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Nordle11 said:

Yes I only email directly with the lot numbers and bids, that's good enough. If you've not registered before you'll need to add a delivery address too. 

I think in the event of the same bid, the earlier bidder will win the lot if that ends up being the highest, but don't hold me to that. 

Also you can't bid or listen in live, however there might be the possibility to watch the lots go on the saleroom but I'm not 100% sure if it works. 

I have never used the official form when making bids on LCA. It's never mattered, and I've secured a number of nice coins in this way. 

In fact I haven't even been able to find it, let alone use it.  

[mrbadexample]

20 minutes ago, Nordle11 said:

The auctioneer, but he will keep lowering the price until he receives the first bid to kick things off. 

I'm struggling to get my head round this. Surely the bidding should start at one increment above the second highest bid?

[Nordle11]

If there are bids on the book then it'll start at the highest book bid. If there aren't then the auctioneer will probably start somewhere near the low estimate and if there aren't any takers he might drop the price a bit to start the bidding. If the lot has a reserve then it won't sell if the highest bid is lower than that. 

This is just auction 101 surely?

[mrbadexample]

4 minutes ago, Nordle11 said:

If there are bids on the book then it'll start at the highest book bid. If there aren't then the auctioneer will probably start somewhere near the low estimate and if there aren't any takers he might drop the price a bit to start the bidding. If the lot has a reserve then it won't sell if the highest bid is lower than that. 

This is just auction 101 surely?

Whilst I understand the concept when the bidders are in the room, I don't see how this works for email & postal bids as the auctioneer knows these beforehand. If he starts at the highest of these bids, it means that I cannot win the auction for less than my maximum bid?

[mrbadexample]

Oh, hang on, this is from their site:

"All bids must include the lot number and the maximum in pounds sterling that you wish to bid. This does not mean that you will pay the maximum, you will pay the next bidding step up from the under bidder."

That makes sense now.

[Paulus]

1 minute ago, mrbadexample said:

Oh, hang on, this is from their site:

"All bids must include the lot number and the maximum in pounds sterling that you wish to bid. This does not mean that you will pay the maximum, you will pay the next bidding step up from the under bidder."

That makes sense now.

Yes, I have won a few at less than my max email bid. But I have always been left feeling that I'd be better off (as would the seller and LCA (i.e everyone)) if they had live on-line bidding though (like all the other big boys)

[mrbadexample]

Just now, Paulus said:

Yes, I have won a few at less than my max email bid. But I have always been left feeling that I'd be better off (as would the seller and LCA (i.e everyone)) if they had live on-line bidding though (like all the other big boys)

Yes, I'd like to be able to see it take place. If I win at my maximum bid I will forever be deeply suspicious.

[secret santa]

Just to correct a statement above - there's no VAT on the buyer's premium - 17% is the uplift, pure & simple. I too have won lots below my maximum bid so I think they're pretty fair.

 

[Paulus]

17% all in is a very competitive uplift on the hammer, many are 20% + VAT so 24% (add a quarter for ease)

However the need to either attend or submit max bids by email, phone or snail mail prior to the auction severely hinders your chances of getting a'bargain' (unless you attend) imo.

One of the auctioneers at DNW will leave the item unsold if there are no bids for less than 20% under minimum estimate (it seems) - and I guess the estimates come from them.

And if you place a max bid surely that will influence how low the auctioneer will start the bidding (let's say yours is the only bid at this stage)

There is a chance that the auction will start at the maximum pre-auction bid, in which case you will win if yours is highest and there are no in-room bids - leading to suspicion that yours was the only bid - seen this happen many times.

Don't submit a pre-auction bid you won't be entirely happy with if you win it, is the best advice I can give!