Thread: Why dey do dat?

So, I was at an auction, having received a heads up from an acquaintance who was local, and informed there were 4 trays of straights going up.

The online photos were crap, but it looked like there were some possible gems in the garbage.

So I dragged my sorry, sick, hacking wheezing self down to see for myself.,,

Most of the blades were well worn, and at least half of them were covered in devils spit. Each of the 4 trays had between 12-15 razors.

I gave each tray a dollar value, and was prepared to bid up to that number, using the determination of "If I go to sell this, can I get all my money back, plus the buyers premium, plus tax, plus the fees I would have to pay if I sold them online"

There was only ONE good blade in the first tray, I couldnt see ever bidding more than 80 bucks. 2 guys bidding against me, I quit at my max, and they drove it to 140
Same guy won each tray, and it was quite clear that he was determined to win them at almost any cost. I drove tray 3 up to 200 dollars, as it had a decent Puma Gold, and a nice W&B 7/8 and a clean no honewear sheffield I had never heard of (and no longer recall what it was)
The man had no hesitation to keep it going, and I have no doubt he would have continued on until I gave in.

After it was over, I asked him if he was a collector, or a dealer, and he replied, "No, I'm a buyer"

Can any of you, ANY of you, explain what this guy might have meant by that? What was this guy talking about? Why would a person who is not a collector pay prices so high that reselling could net you only 5 to 10% ?
Why dey DO dat?

Either he has money he does not know what to do with or he was paid to buy them for someone else. Makes no sense to me.

Sounds like he was a buyer for a third party with $$$.
That, or he thought he was being cute when he answered you.

Maybe one of those people who gets caught up in the excitement of the auction and just has to win the bid at any cost? I've seen a few of those. Seems like a weird mentality to me, but if that's how they get their kicks....

Could also be like bouschie said and he was buying for someone else without properly communicating with the 3rd party beforehand. Lots of relatives used to gift me razors that they'd won at auctions. It was sweet of them, but they never once came up with a razor I would have bought myself.

Can you give him my number, I have a few blades I wouldn’t mind getting rid of for ridiculous money.

Since he wouldn't tell you anything he probably either thinks he knows something you don't or he is an agent for someone else.

He was either buying for some one else, or a wiseass/liar.

I Just spotted some of them on the Bay, and they are being presented as more than they are.

"a 6/8 wide blade..." No, its a 5/8, your measuring from the very top of the spine to the edge, it even SAYS 5/8 on the tang, and your photos, while not actually photoshopped, are just at the correct angle/lighting to disguise the rust/flaws.
Part of me wants to point out all his auctions for you guys to avoid, but the realist in me knows that all too many will just bid anyway, and drive more attention to his sales.
I'm STILL going to bid on the few that I know are good, and hope his crap photos work against him.
I will LAUGH if he ends up selling them for less than he paid, and even more if I win a blade or 2 for less than I would have given him if he had just been less of a dick.

Most auction houses are patrolled by monied jerks who think they know what they are looking at and end up overbidding on stuff. I love auctions and know all of my local players and their specialties. I dont mine the specialists,but the jerks make me crazy.

My dad collects oil lamps and frequented auctions all the time. Lamps would be on a trailer and he would go buy not picking up any he could tell a lamp like some of you a razor. Lamp would come up for bid he would wait no one would bid and then he would low ball it. As soon as he bid some of the other regulars would get into a war and rin them sky high. Before he quit bidding on them around here he would bid on junk just to watch them take it. It was quiet comical.

Our local auction house has what they call a picker’s auction in the morning before the main regular auction. They fill collapsible tables with small stuff and you can pick what you want to bid on. The only condition is that when you pick stuff, the starting bid is $5 per piece. If no one picks stuff or the picked stuff is gone, the auctioneer starts the bidding on whatever is left on the table at 5$ for the lot. If that doesn’t go, the remainders go into a “pile” that folks can bid on as a lot at the end of the session. This attracts a lot of flea market dealers.

Anyway, I got my first 4 vintage straights at one of these. One was in good condition and the other 3 were a bit rusty or had scales that needed some love. One fellow wanted to bid on the good one starting at $5, but I lumped all 4 into a group for $20.

He was a dealer and stopped bidding when the bids reached $25 and I got the bunch. My experience at auctions is that dealers always consider their profit margin and give in when a non-dealer or collector starts to bid.

I’m still using all 4 as regular shavers. They aren’t collectible, but they are functional.