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Author
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Topic: A proliferation of "Private Auctions"
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gliderpilotuk
Member Posts: 3398
From: London, UK
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 02-15-2004 09:04 AM
   
Anything to read into the two John Young private auctions on Astro-auction?
I know the two sellers are highly reputable sellers, but I've not seen private auction used much on Astro-auction before. I wondered what the logic was. Maybe the sellers can comment?
Here are the items - both nice looking:
http://www.astro-auction.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.pl?category=collectibles1&item=1076873593
http://www.astro-auction.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.pl?category=collectibles1&item=1076953262 Paul Bramley
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Dan Lorraine
Member Posts: 373
From: Cranston, R.I.
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 02-15-2004 09:23 AM
Wow ... I have the same photo of Young on the moon next to the US flag and I received that from him only three or four years ago ... free for the asking! I don't remember if it's inscribed though ... I'll have to look. Never thought a signed photo of Young on the moon was worth that much.
I have a signed/inscribed Armstrong on the moon (it's a NASA press release image from the 16 mm movie camera looking out the LM window of Armstrong and Aldrin setting up the flag) ... any idea what something like that would be worth?Dan [This message has been edited by Dan Lorraine (edited February 15, 2004).] |
PRubin
Member Posts: 48
From: Great Neck, NY
Registered: Dec 2001
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posted 02-15-2004 11:57 AM
Dan It is not the same photo and it is not inscribed but take a look at this item:
http://www.astro-auction.com/cgi-bin/auction/php/auction.php?category=closed&item=collectibles11076638307 Would it be possible for you to post a scan of your photo. Any signed photo of Armstrong on the Moon would be of great interest to review Phil |
Dan Lorraine
Member Posts: 373
From: Cranston, R.I.
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 02-15-2004 12:38 PM
Phil,
I tried to post digital images of both the Armstrong and the Young but was not able to do so successfully. I did send them to Robert though to see if he could insert them for me. The signed Armstrong is the only astronaut autograph that I have ever paid for that I can remember (other than signed prints). I was fortunate enough to be writting to them in the late 60's and had great results back then. I bought this Armstrong about 15 years ago from a local dealer for around $100 which was the going rate at the time. I liked it because I had never seen a signed Armstrong of him on he moon.
The John Young is inscribed and when I looked at it I remembered the whole story. When I wrote to Mr. Young I asked for two -- one for me and one for my secretary's son who was starting to become very interested in the space program. When we got them, the last names were mixed up in the inscriptions! Oh well, we were just happy to get them both!!
When I was a kid you could have great results writting to the astronauts and NASA. I wrote extensively to them from probably '68 through '75 and still have alot of the stuff (gave alot of it away over the years ... including autographed photos). In fact I must have 3 or 4 large boxes of material from Nasa received during that time frame and I know I have alot of duplicates. One of these days I'll have to sort through that stuff to see what I have!!Thanks,
Dan |
Kim
New Member Posts:
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posted 02-15-2004 03:06 PM
We introduced private auctions on Astro-Auction because we have a limited clientele, and didn't want to revelation of usernames (which a lot of bidders now know the actual people behind) to color the bidding process. Especially in high-dollar items, you might know where a certain bidder's threshold is, or he might be a friend, etc. On eBay, of course, it is often the shelter for scoundrels. We don't have such problems. Kim Poor |
azdweller2000
New Member Posts:
From:
Registered:
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posted 02-15-2004 03:45 PM
Short answer to your question - nothing improper or otherwise to read into my use of Private auction for the Young I'm selling. I was simply trying to protect the buyer's privacy by using what I thought was a means to protect the ultimate winner's identity so they would not be subject to the type of posts that always seem (for some reason) to follow an auction when someone feels that someone has spend too much money for something. Unfortunately, I see after I apparently spent too much money on the jump litho from Mint that it doesn't work this way.
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collectSPACE Admin
Administrator Posts: 627
From: Houston, TX, USA
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 02-15-2004 06:57 PM
Posted on Dan Lorraine's request:  |
Richard
New Member Posts: 5
From: Morrisonville, New York USA
Registered: Apr 2009
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posted 02-15-2004 07:25 PM
I think that private auctions have really gotten a bad name. I believe that Kim is right in that forgers are really not a problem on astro-auction. However, on ebay, people seem to equate a private auction with a forgery. I really don't think this is the case.The use of a private auction can be looked at in 2 ways. First, it can be looked upon as a way for forgers to insulate themselves. However, there is another aspect. At one point, I got rid of a bunch of Carter and Bush signed books that I had collecting dust. I found that there were a lot of forgers looking at the bidders on my auctions. They would contact them by email and try and sell them forgeries at (of course) a lower price. At that time, I believe that other sellers were having the same trouble and I noticed that a lot of people were switching to private auctions to protect themselves from these people. I decided instead that all of this wasn't worth my time and effort and I've really just quit selling anything. However, I am contemplating selling a few items again to clear out some room for new things. This leads me into a problem - do I use private auction to stop some of the headaches with ebay, do I try to sell on astro-auction which doesn't have much exposure, or do I just state a price here at cS where I might not get the full value of the item because of my ignorance of its true worth? [This message has been edited by Richard (edited February 15, 2004).] |
farthestreaches
Member Posts: 1074
From: Redondo Beach, Ca
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 02-15-2004 07:33 PM
Hi Richard,I handle privately owened items for consignment sale on my site, which might be another viable alternative. Let me know if interested. ------------------
Steve Hankow
http://www.farthestreaches.com |
Scott
Member Posts: 3307
From: Houston, TX
Registered: May 2001
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posted 02-15-2004 08:31 PM
I agree with Richard that private auctions to some extent get a bad rap. I personally do not take into account whether an auction is private or not when I decide whether to bid or how much to bid. A seller's feedback is much more important to me. |
chet
Member Posts: 1506
From: Beverly Hills, Calif.
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 02-15-2004 10:31 PM
I care less about an auction utilizing private bidding than I do about using good judgement (hopefully) to determine if the item is worth bidding on.
Many forgers use private bidding, of course, but so do sellers offering obviously legit items. I don't think the use (or not) of private bidding is as good a barometer of authenticity as it may once have been.-chet |
gliderpilotuk
Member Posts: 3398
From: London, UK
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 02-16-2004 07:54 AM
quote:
Originally posted by azdweller2000:
I was simply trying to protect the buyer's privacy by using what I thought was a means to protect the ultimate winner's identity so they would not be subject to the type of posts that always seem (for some reason) to follow an auction when someone feels that someone has spend too much money for something.
That's good enough for me. Thanks (and to Kim) for the explanation. I appreciate the huge difference between use of Private auctions on Astro-auction (with its superior quality control standards) and ebay. Paul Bramley |
Dan Lorraine
Member Posts: 373
From: Cranston, R.I.
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 02-18-2004 04:23 PM
I have been contacted by several folks inquiring if I am interested in selling either the Armstrong signed lunar photo or the Young signed lunar photo pictured above ... I wasn't planning on it but I may be, so if you're interested contact me at DWLorraine@aol.comThanks, Dan |
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