Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Proxi Bid Problems?

Does anyone else have problems with Proxibid internet auction bidding service? I have tried it three times now and each has been a frustrating experience. I have won a few things but lost more because of what I see as glitches or lack of refinement in their software. I have talked to an auctioneer who has also stated his dissappointment in this "service". I will NEVER trust them for an important bid. I have dial up connection but so does there connection on many auctions. Are they pushing their limits of acceptible service?

I've also noticed problems with Proxibid in a couple of auctions. One problem was that the live auctioneer did not recognize existing pre-bids. The bids were plainly there to view on the internet with a user ID but apparently the auctioneer didn't know they existed. Another problem is that at times the internet increment price is not consistent with the live auction. In one sign auction, the auctioneer continually dropped the next incremental bid to try to find more bidding action. However, the internet bid increment stayed high. Had I bid on my PC, I would have paid $200 more than the item sold for.

That's my experience. Other than these issues, I've had success bidding with Proxibid.

Paul

I have never used it. I quit just trying to register doing it. It is a royal pain in the but.

I found an item listed on EBay that was going to be auctioned off. I can not remember if it was with Proxibid or another company. I watched the auction on the net and bid on the item I wanted. When the bidding was over for my item, it looked like I won it. I checked it on EBay and it also said I had the high bid. I then called about picking up the item and was told some one else got it.
Not the way to do buisness.

I forgot to mention that I have DSL, so my bids have never hung up. Those with dial-up service may have big problems with getting bids in before the auction ends. Actually, that's the main reason I went to DSL. I was missing too many eBay auctions when my bid would go on the clock for a relatively long time. High speed DSL solved that problem.

Paul

The same thing that happened to Wes happened to me. My computer said I was the high bodder and the bidding was over, but the auctioneer gave the item to someone in the crowd.
A little disappointed, auction company didn't even apologize.
Jack Sim

You guys are bring kind by saying 'Proxibid is a pain in the butt'. It is actually a giant pain in the a**. I tried for over an hour and a half on three different computers , one dial up and two DSL, at my house and two neighbors Friday for the Peotone sale by Aumann's. I never could get thru. And wait until you call Proxibid for help. I must have had Abbu from Calcutta, and he was NO help at all. I finally gave up in disgust and went out and raked leaves.

I never had a problem with Bidspotter's .com. NEVER. But I sure don't trust Proxibid. From now on, if I can't physically be at the sale I won't even bother. The air in my computer room is still blue from all the foul language from Friday. And two of the items I wanted to bid on went for a LOT less than what I was willing to go. No, Proxi ain't got no Moxie in my book...they suck royally....

I've never used Proxy Bid or Bid Spotter but I've heard several complaints about both. Aumann's will take absentee and phone bids. I know that some people must not have been having any trouble with Proxy Bid because a lot of stuff went to internet bidders Friday.

There's another thread going now about the Aumann auction results (under Peotone photos). I printed and reviewed the auction results. As mentioned, some high end globes and signs went very high. But a lot of the other signs and thermometers went for super LOW prices. Some didn't even have bid amounts (that could have been a technical problem). Normally, the onsite crowd should keep prices up even with internet bidding problems. A lot of times the internet bidders get the less desirable items because they don't know the true condition from the photos.

Any comments on the prices??

Paul

I agree this had to be the worst proxibid auction that I have ever witnessed! Audio was out for most of the auction. When It was on it wasn't good. Sometimes it was way behind the actual auction. It locked up several times. If you wanted to bid forget it. I tried to bid once and all that was shown was 0. And this was just the tip of the iceberg. What a mess!!! No wonder there were bargains. Most of the time the internet couldn't bid!!
I did a bidspotter auction recently and what a pleasure it was to see something done right!

I was at the auction. It was like any auction in that some items went below market value and others went very high. For the most part it seemed like most items sold for what you'd expect. Like most Aumann auctions I've been to, about 20% of the items went to internet bidders so the problems must not have been widespread.
I disagree that internet bidders get the less desireable items. If anything, the opposite is true.

Using Proxibid is the same thing as being in a bad dream. You are sitting in the front row at a sale, and an item you want real badly is bidding CHEAP but there is a 16 ton weight on your arm and there is no way you can raise your hand for a bid. Then you sit helplessly and watch your item go to someone else for a fraction of what you would have bought it for.

THAT is what the frustration would be like for you guys that are actually there. I don't know what was going on Friday at the Peotone sale with Proxibid but I am in total agreement---there were gremlins in the system I'm telling you.......

No doubt there were problems, but I don't think they were widespread. I haven't seen a live online bidding system thats flawless. I suggest contacting the auction company and proxy bid and let them know the problems you encountered. They can't fix them if they don't know about them.
Another alternative is to leave an absentee bid with the auction company. Or better yet do like I did and take the day off work and attend the auction in person. It's a LOT more fun than working!

[This message has been edited by Lastgas15 (edited 10-30-2005).]

Right on Lastgas---I already contacted Aumann's last Friday afternoon (via e-mail) and told Kristy about the problems I had. She got back immediately with a 'thanks for letting us know' and we'll see if there is anything we can do on this end!! Good communications!! Like I said, nothing against Aumann's, they have always been first class folks. And maybe next time Proxibid will work for me. I did buy thru them last spring at the Kansas City sale no problems??!! I guess if I have to kick somebody, let's blame Osama and say HE caused all of this........

The auction manager told me today the online bidding problems at Peotone were caused by having to use a dial-up internet connection AT THE AUCTION SITE. Whenever possible they use a DSL or other high-speed connection, but in this case that wasn't an option. Apparently the dial-up connection was lost several time during the auction, something that usually doesn't happen with DSL. That would explain why Proxibid has generally worked well on other events but not so well on this one.

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Richard Weir
"Pegasus"
Hillsboro, Ohio