Very interesting point. I know I stopped bidding on ebay after 18X face because I kept getting outbid by newbies who were taking bids way past what I was willing to pay. Seemed to be a correlation between the higher the bid, the lower the feedback rating. That could be bad news in that maybe it indicates that the buying strength is coming from those late to the party, or it could be a self-fulfilling prophecy that silver will move higher, given a boost by these same bidders. One thing about new bidders is they don't have the mental block that older silver accumulaters do. To them 20x or 21x is just the going rate, and they know if they want some silver too, then that's what they'll need to pay. And then you'll probably have among them one or two who bid on larger lots who think "I'm not gonna dick around with these damned paltry bid increases... here's what I'm willing to pay and that should dang sure be enough to win." Then they post a bid 30 or 40 percent above what the item should sell for. When two or three of these bidders wind up on the same listing it can sure bring a smile to the seller's face. I've noticed occasional bids that sold for 150% of melt, and I didn't see any numismatics in the lot. You probably aren't going to find too many bargains there anymore. One thing that I started doing for awhile for fun, since I wasn't winning any bids anymore... was to track what various bidders were willing to pay, and then when you see several of them early in a bid on a similar auction later you can make a little wager with yourself which one will win.
Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2010 1:14 pm