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Posted By: Done4 Morphy's auction - little rant. - Tue Apr 09 2019 07:05 PM
I don't usually participate in their auctions but there was a couple of pieces that I was interested in. I passed on a couple of them but won one, so I thought. I checked my account and it was green saying I was the wining bidder. So the next morning I called to confirm and was told I didn't get it. I asked why? She said they would check into it and get back to me. The return call was 3 days later after I called, I guess I should be happy they called back. Apparently after the bidding was closed someone from the floor offered to pay what I had bid and they gave it to them. It wasn't big money but come on. Has this happened to anyone else? Some how this just doesn't sit right with me.
Posted By: hawkike Re: Morphy's auction - little rant. - Tue Apr 09 2019 08:07 PM
Never experienced that but--says a lot about the character of the auction house.

"Ability may take you to the top but you need character to stay there"

Learned that many years ago!
Posted By: Jhaas63 Re: Morphy's auction - little rant. - Tue Apr 09 2019 08:21 PM
I’m actually surprised the auction house was honest with you about it. Don’t get me wrong, this sucks and they should not have done business that way. I’m just surprised they straight up told you what happened.

I think most places wouldn’t have ever called you back or lied about what happened (problem with the website, glitch, we don’t know, etc.).
Posted By: Loyd Pierce Re: Morphy's auction - little rant. - Tue Apr 09 2019 09:47 PM
Well that stinks, floor bids have override but after the hammer dropped doesn't sound right.

I bid on a globe by phone call placing max bid and it sold for my max bid I wasn't the winner. Thought what was the odds of that.
Last off site auction bid I placed. I watch some but if I can't be there or someone bidding for me I'm just that a Watcher !!
Posted By: bustermonty Re: Morphy's auction - little rant. - Tue Apr 09 2019 10:07 PM
It happened to me with Proxibid with a different high end auction house. Proxibid showed I won but an identical bid on the floor got the item. It's the chance you take on a bidding platform. I phone bid on items I really want if I can't be there.
Posted By: Gasman84470 Re: Morphy's auction - little rant. - Wed Apr 10 2019 12:10 AM
I had a high bid matched by the floor and lost even though the website said I won. I was told the floor wins on a matched bid. My bid was put in 4 days prior to the auction, so I wasn't sure how a matching bid was even accepted.
It was with the same auction house.
Posted By: Done4 Re: Morphy's auction - little rant. - Wed Apr 10 2019 12:36 AM
Thanks guys for chiming in. I am aware of the floor matching and winning during the bidding but this is new to me that they can do this after the auction is closed. Live and learn. Not a big deal but just didn’t seem right to me. Oh well.
Posted By: Jack Sim Re: Morphy's auction - little rant. - Wed Apr 10 2019 05:10 AM
Auctions houses are governed by the state they are in. At least here in the State of Missouri the auctioneers must have a state issued license. If you have a problem with a auction house, find the address of the State licensing for auctioneers and send them a complaint. Just bouncing it back and fourth here doesn't do much so again let the state know what these auction houses are doing. Let's face it, they charge a selling fee, then they charge an ungodly buyers fee, they should be ethical in how they do there their business.

Jack Sim
Posted By: KZ1000 Re: Morphy's auction - little rant. - Thu Apr 11 2019 01:36 AM
It used to happen everytime with the old Collectors Auction Services, after the auction ended. Someone was allowed to bid the next bid on any item they wanted.
Posted By: Jhaas63 Re: Morphy's auction - little rant. - Thu Apr 11 2019 02:49 AM
I’m assuming this is probably in their users agreement in the small print somewhere.
Posted By: Paul Bell Re: Morphy's auction - little rant. - Thu Apr 11 2019 07:04 PM
Doesnt Barrett-Jackson say "...and the bid goes on", I guess these auctions houses are really doing that post auction. Why people sell at these auctions kind of baffles me? We sold a bunch of gas pumps at Russo & Steele once, never again.
Posted By: Dr Dave Re: Morphy's auction - little rant. - Thu Apr 11 2019 07:29 PM
Happened to me on Proxibid too. A floor bid the same as mine was called the winner. I called and they fessed up on the why. Heck, if the winning bid was just one dollar above mine I would not complain. But.......the same amount? Insulting!!!!
Posted By: oiljobber Re: Morphy's auction - little rant. - Fri Apr 12 2019 04:53 AM
I haven't had an experience like that...however i usually try to bid in person at most auctions. What I hate is leaving absentee bids and at some auction houses they always somehow bring the very max bid.

Also...."And the bid goes on" I believe that's Mecum not BJ.
Posted By: BryceG Re: Morphy's auction - little rant. - Mon Apr 22 2019 06:32 PM
i think this specific situation is probably due to the speed at which the auction has to run in order to sell the amount of lots they do in one day. ive been to morphy auctions, they cruise quickly... and they admit that in the event of a tie bid, the floor gets the bid (understandably so)... in this case, it appears it both the floor and online thought they had the bid and after the lot was done they had to choose one without the option of going back.

not defending morphy's, but at the speed they run and the many different platforms they list on... I would imagine this happens a couple times every auction
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