Imperial Auction

henri · 22nd March 2011, 08:24 PM

Won the Lot 17 , sent an email for confirmation ... but still no reply yet !

Henri

Rick · 22nd March 2011, 09:59 PM

They probably have lots of confirmations to send; they are not ebay .

yuanzhumin · 23rd March 2011, 01:03 AM

8AM in Shanghai, a chilly but very sunny day is starting.

Just checked anxiously my email box. Still no official confirmation mail from Imperial Auctions, 4 days after the sale.

I will keep you informed when I have it (if I ever have one ?).
Nicolas

VANDOO · 23rd March 2011, 01:11 AM

I STAYED UNTIL AROUND 1:30 AND UNDERSTAND IT WENT ON UNTIL 3:00 OR SO. MY TASTE IN WEAPONS WAS TOO GOOD AND MY POCKETS TOO SHALLOW TO GET ANY OF THE ITEMS I WAS INTERESTED IN. BUT IT WAS A FUN AND INTERESTING WAY TO SPEND AN EVENING/MORNING EVEN IF I CAME UP EMPTY. AT LEAST I GOT TO FONDLE A LOT OF NEAT ITEMS

OLIVER AND WARD WERE RUNNING AROUND LIKE A COUPLE OF WILD MEN DURING THE AUCTION AND NO DOUBT UNTIL DAYBREAK AFTER THE AUCTION GETTING EVERYTHING SETTLED.
A REGULAR AUCTION IS VERY SIMPLE COMPARED TO THE ONLINE AND REGULAR TYPE. USUALLY YOU MAKE YOUR BID PAY FOR YOU ITEMS AND TAKE THEM AND GO HOME. I GUESS THOSE WHO WERE PRESENT STILL DID THAT BUT THOSE ON LINE WILL TAKE A BIT LONGER TO SORT OUT.
IT WAS A BIT OF A MADHOUSE AT TIMES BUT FUN FOR THOSE ATTENDING BUT PURE WORK FOR THOSE RUNNING THE THING MY HAT IS OFF TO THEM.

I RECON THEY WILL GET IT ALL SORTED OUT SOON. I DID SEE A FEW BIDS MISSED AS THE BID CAME IN LIKE A SNIPER BID AT THE LAST SECOND BUT WHEN THE AUCTIONEER SAYS SOLD ITS ALL OVER SO CUTTING IT TOO CLOSE IS RISKY AT SUCH AUCTIONS. I AM NOT TOO FOND OF INTERNET AUCTIONS AS THEY ARE MUCH MORE COMPLICATED THAN THOSE WHERE ALL BIDDERS ARE ON SITE.

Spunjer · 23rd March 2011, 01:18 AM

got my invoice, and according to AI, total charge were taken out of the credit card provided during registration...

Rick · 23rd March 2011, 01:54 AM

NT

kai · 23rd March 2011, 08:35 AM

Well, I know that auctions can be intense and that auctioneers sometimes do have to make decisions within seconds. Also telephone lines can break down or internet connections (or the local server) can get swamped, that's why I placed absentee bids well in advance of the auction and received (automatic) confirmations that they were placed in time.

Since Ron was notified on lot #4 and lot #67 went to a floor bidder, I have very little hope left for #47. My bids were considerably higher for all 3 items and, since they were placed well in advance, seem to have been intentionally ignored. Needless to say, I am not amused and I guess the consignors won't be either that the prices realized are definitely less than they should have...

I do hope that Nicolas, Dom, and Henri were more lucky with their bids than me and at least Ron got a bargain. Would be really a shame if this culturally significant Rukai sword went into a "black hole" collection or to any tribal art dealer...

Regards,
Kai

kai · 23rd March 2011, 08:51 AM

Quote:

I DID SEE A FEW BIDS MISSED AS THE BID CAME IN LIKE A SNIPER BID AT THE LAST SECOND BUT WHEN THE AUCTIONEER SAYS SOLD ITS ALL OVER SO CUTTING IT TOO CLOSE IS RISKY AT SUCH AUCTIONS.

Yeah, I'm not talking about some live online bids that came in a bit too late. But absentee bids (placed in advance!) have been around forever and any auctioneer should be able to handle them at least as reliably as floor bids - it's that easy.

Quote:

I AM NOT TOO FOND OF INTERNET AUCTIONS AS THEY ARE MUCH MORE COMPLICATED THAN THOSE WHERE ALL BIDDERS ARE ON SITE.

Well, the main point of an auction is to realize the highest price possible and telephone bids have been established for decades. While I like to snap up a bargain as much as any other forum member here, I do strongly feel that, in the age of smartphones, international bids should be handled reliably by any auction team.

Regards,
Kai

Spunjer · 23rd March 2011, 02:13 PM

kai,

i didn't like the looks of this auction as well, so i went ahead and emailed liveauctioneers hoping i could get a non-partial response. like you, i did the absentee bid route too, but logged in anyways just to watch. looking back, i should have participated live, but in this one instance. the final amount of that one item was exactly the same as my max bid, so there was really no reason for me to bid any higher.
the following is the liveauctioneers staff response after i pointed out the descrepancies:

Quote:

Here is the transcript for the end of the lot:

2011-03-19 20:05:13:468 Clerk Accepted bid for 650.0 from bidder spiderguard77@yahoo.com bidding from Absentee on platform 1
2011-03-19 20:05:13:823 Clerk Accepted bid for 700.0 from bidder bidding from Floor on platform 1
2011-03-19 20:05:13:823 Absentee bid automatically placed for 750.0 on lot number 0303 from bidder spiderguard77@yahoo.com previous high bidder was Floor
2011-03-19 20:05:17:757 Clerk Accepted bid for 750.0 from bidder bidding from Floor on platform 1
2011-03-19 20:05:21:760 CSM: Message - Fair Warning... This lot is about to close.|yellow|rs
2011-03-19 20:05:24:733 Clerk pressed sold button

As you can see your bid was immediately sent. While a floor bid was taken 4 seconds later, this could indicate that both bids were submit at the same time and there was some confusion about which bid the auctioneer accepted, and the floor bid was only logged when that confusion was clear. In this case, though, you would need to ask the auction house directly if they can still sell the lot to you.

Regards,
LiveAuctioneers Staff

(Note:the dollar amount is fictitious and i changed the time since i'd rather keep that to myself on what i bid on)

granted, auctions this big can make little room for mistake, but it shouldn't be so blatant! it just turn people off from bidding online in the future. like you said though, there were some good deals on this auction, but still that don't make it right for the other people who felt they were slighted. i just hope this whole mess get straightened out...
i made out on the scabbards; i just hope the blades fit.

p.s.
you guys should know if you won the items or not. just log in on AI's website, then click on your name. look for items won, and it should tell you then if you won it or not.

ALEX · 23rd March 2011, 03:25 PM

I dealt with Auctions Imperial since they started, and always found them to be most professional and courteous. I bid live on-line, and there is alway risk of a program glitch, delay, unexpected timing surprise, with a subsequent result of not winning an item, and I am aware of these risks. I "lost" quite a few items because of these conditions, but it needs to be understood that this was/is neither AI fault nor their responsibility. This is a nature of live bidding on-line. AI are truly great people, and I respect and appreciate their efforts and assistance.

laEspadaAncha · 23rd March 2011, 06:04 PM

While a glitch in the matrix kept me from participating in the online bidding this year, I did so last year and had a rather unpleasant experience...

There was one lot I actually won, a Scottish dirk on which I was the high bidder when the hammer dropped, and I received an acknowledgement of such - I even have the screenshot showing I was the high and final bid.

And then, the next day, when I realized I hadn't yet been charged for the lot, I checked the hammer prices, only to find they showed the hammer price to be $25 below my bid to a floor bidder.

That pissed me off a little.

Now, I attend enough auctions in person (1-2 a month, every month) to know that the auction house wants to show a little love to the bidders who take the time and effort to attend in person. I've seen auctioneers drop the hammer a little early, or offer a very slight incremental increase to the floor. But this - a full day after the fact - was IMO unacceptable.

22nd March 2011, 08:24 PM	#1
henri Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Australia Posts: 81	Lot 17 Won the Lot 17 , sent an email for confirmation ... but still no reply yet ! Henri

23rd March 2011, 01:03 AM	#3
yuanzhumin Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Ex-Taipei, Taiwan, now in Shanghai, China Posts: 180	Lot 194 8AM in Shanghai, a chilly but very sunny day is starting. Just checked anxiously my email box. Still no official confirmation mail from Imperial Auctions, 4 days after the sale. I will keep you informed when I have it (if I ever have one ?). Nicolas

22nd March 2011, 09:59 PM	#2
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,339	They probably have lots of confirmations to send; they are not ebay .

23rd March 2011, 01:11 AM	#4
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	I STAYED UNTIL AROUND 1:30 AND UNDERSTAND IT WENT ON UNTIL 3:00 OR SO. MY TASTE IN WEAPONS WAS TOO GOOD AND MY POCKETS TOO SHALLOW TO GET ANY OF THE ITEMS I WAS INTERESTED IN. BUT IT WAS A FUN AND INTERESTING WAY TO SPEND AN EVENING/MORNING EVEN IF I CAME UP EMPTY. AT LEAST I GOT TO FONDLE A LOT OF NEAT ITEMS OLIVER AND WARD WERE RUNNING AROUND LIKE A COUPLE OF WILD MEN DURING THE AUCTION AND NO DOUBT UNTIL DAYBREAK AFTER THE AUCTION GETTING EVERYTHING SETTLED. A REGULAR AUCTION IS VERY SIMPLE COMPARED TO THE ONLINE AND REGULAR TYPE. USUALLY YOU MAKE YOUR BID PAY FOR YOU ITEMS AND TAKE THEM AND GO HOME. I GUESS THOSE WHO WERE PRESENT STILL DID THAT BUT THOSE ON LINE WILL TAKE A BIT LONGER TO SORT OUT. IT WAS A BIT OF A MADHOUSE AT TIMES BUT FUN FOR THOSE ATTENDING BUT PURE WORK FOR THOSE RUNNING THE THING MY HAT IS OFF TO THEM. I RECON THEY WILL GET IT ALL SORTED OUT SOON. I DID SEE A FEW BIDS MISSED AS THE BID CAME IN LIKE A SNIPER BID AT THE LAST SECOND BUT WHEN THE AUCTIONEER SAYS SOLD ITS ALL OVER SO CUTTING IT TOO CLOSE IS RISKY AT SUCH AUCTIONS. I AM NOT TOO FOND OF INTERNET AUCTIONS AS THEY ARE MUCH MORE COMPLICATED THAN THOSE WHERE ALL BIDDERS ARE ON SITE.

23rd March 2011, 01:18 AM	#5
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	got my invoice, and according to AI, total charge were taken out of the credit card provided during registration...

23rd March 2011, 01:54 AM	#6
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,339	NT

23rd March 2011, 08:35 AM	#7
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,255	Well, I know that auctions can be intense and that auctioneers sometimes do have to make decisions within seconds. Also telephone lines can break down or internet connections (or the local server) can get swamped, that's why I placed absentee bids well in advance of the auction and received (automatic) confirmations that they were placed in time. Since Ron was notified on lot #4 and lot #67 went to a floor bidder, I have very little hope left for #47. My bids were considerably higher for all 3 items and, since they were placed well in advance, seem to have been intentionally ignored. Needless to say, I am not amused and I guess the consignors won't be either that the prices realized are definitely less than they should have... I do hope that Nicolas, Dom, and Henri were more lucky with their bids than me and at least Ron got a bargain. Would be really a shame if this culturally significant Rukai sword went into a "black hole" collection or to any tribal art dealer... Regards, Kai

23rd March 2011, 03:25 PM	#10
ALEX Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 936	I dealt with Auctions Imperial since they started, and always found them to be most professional and courteous. I bid live on-line, and there is alway risk of a program glitch, delay, unexpected timing surprise, with a subsequent result of not winning an item, and I am aware of these risks. I "lost" quite a few items because of these conditions, but it needs to be understood that this was/is neither AI fault nor their responsibility. This is a nature of live bidding on-line. AI are truly great people, and I respect and appreciate their efforts and assistance.

23rd March 2011, 06:04 PM	#11
laEspadaAncha Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 608	While a glitch in the matrix kept me from participating in the online bidding this year, I did so last year and had a rather unpleasant experience... There was one lot I actually won, a Scottish dirk on which I was the high bidder when the hammer dropped, and I received an acknowledgement of such - I even have the screenshot showing I was the high and final bid. And then, the next day, when I realized I hadn't yet been charged for the lot, I checked the hammer prices, only to find they showed the hammer price to be $25 below my bid to a floor bidder. That pissed me off a little. Now, I attend enough auctions in person (1-2 a month, every month) to know that the auction house wants to show a little love to the bidders who take the time and effort to attend in person. I've seen auctioneers drop the hammer a little early, or offer a very slight incremental increase to the floor. But this - a full day after the fact - was IMO unacceptable.