EH / Collector Connector sales

Discuss our on-site auctions and other slot machine auctions.
User avatar
clubconsoles
Posts: 363
Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2008 9:36 pm
Reaction score: 2
Location: Lowestoft, Suffolk

Re: Elephant House Auctions

Post by clubconsoles »

Many Thanks Pennymachines!
User avatar
treefrog
Posts: 4813
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 2:46 pm
Reaction score: 31
Location: Suffolk

Re: Elephant House Auctions

Post by treefrog »

It won’t be there long now, well done guys ;-)
slotsoffun
Posts: 200
Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2013 6:36 pm
Reaction score: 0

Re: Elephant House Auctions

Post by slotsoffun »

I take my hat off to Steve and Elephant House for trying re-establish the auction business albeit virtual, but nothing can replace the thrill of the day at an auction. I don't fully understand why he has built an elaborate website and "sealed" bids that has no benefit to buyer or seller than say Facebook Marketplace or Facebook groups (ok, apart from being anonymous!). Surely, it would be more successful if Steve just used the premises as a shop front, like Antique concession stores, whereby sellers drop machines off, a price tag is put on it. Punters come and buy when they like, Steve earns a sellers commission and everyone is happy!!!!
From what I can make out, people travel to EH, view the item, go home, place a sealed bid, only to not win! Surely if I have to travel to view the item, it makes sense that I see the price, pay Steve and carry the item out on the day! Simples!
User avatar
coppinpr
Posts: 5111
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2010 2:01 pm
Reaction score: 20
Location: Lewes, East Sussex
Contact:

Re: Elephant House Auctions

Post by coppinpr »

Surely, it would be more successful if Steve just used the premises as a shop front, like Antique concession stores, whereby sellers drop machines off, a price tag is put on it. Punters come and buy when they like, Steve earns a sellers commission and everyone is happy!!!!
I agree completely, this could easily be extended to allow people to buy online from photos and videos if it's not possible for them to visit EH (a lot less work than what Steve has set up right now). Keep it simple and it might just work, the current plan is far too cumbersome and beset with possible pitfalls for both EH and the buyer/seller. Sealed bids are always problematic, longwinded, and annoy more people than they please (they are also wide open to fraud and buyers know that). My guess is he's picked sealed bids because they potentially produce higher selling prices as bidders are scared of missing out and thus higher commission for steve.
aristomatic
Posts: 1123
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2009 8:13 pm
Reaction score: 4

Re: Elephant House Auctions

Post by aristomatic »

I haven't looked at the site in depth but I didn't think he's charging commissions, for buyer or seller? i.e., just a fixed monthly charge to enable you to either bid/sell, so he wouldn't gain higher commission value even if sealed bids were to produce higher selling prices?
User avatar
coppinpr
Posts: 5111
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2010 2:01 pm
Reaction score: 20
Location: Lewes, East Sussex
Contact:

Re: Elephant House Auctions

Post by coppinpr »

If that's true, and it may well be so, sealed bids make no sense at all :!?!:
cjfenney
Posts: 72
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2017 3:36 pm
Reaction score: 9

Re: Elephant House Auctions

Post by cjfenney »

coppinpr wrote: Thu Apr 22, 2021 8:18 am
Surely, it would be more successful if Steve just used the premises as a shop front, like Antique concession stores, whereby sellers drop machines off, a price tag is put on it. Punters come and buy when they like, Steve earns a sellers commission and everyone is happy!!!!
I agree completely, this could easily be extended to allow people to buy online from photos and videos if it's not possible for them to visit EH (a lot less work than what Steve has set up right now). Keep it simple and it might just work, the current plan is far too cumbersome and beset with possible pitfalls for both EH and the buyer/seller. Sealed bids are always problematic, longwinded, and annoy more people than they please (they are also wide open to fraud and buyers know that). My guess is he's picked sealed bids because they potentially produce higher selling prices as bidders are scared of missing out and thus higher commission for steve.
I agree with both these comments, Littleboys have the kind of set up mentioned above, whereby the seller takes their fairground attractions/slot machines to them, and LB's add their commission on and if any item sells it's win-win for both sides. Sealed bids always leaves a sour taste in my mouth, especially if people have some distance to travel to view properly, so it's unlikely I'll bother using the website if that's the system in place sadly. !!UHOH!!
User avatar
geordy55
Posts: 283
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 8:33 am
Reaction score: 0

Re: Elephant House Auctions

Post by geordy55 »

So is all this even more reason to have a Coventry auction, with less competition around ?
User avatar
arrgee
Posts: 1589
Joined: Thu Feb 08, 2007 11:56 am
Reaction score: 5
Location: North Wiltshire

Re: Elephant House Auctions

Post by arrgee »

geordy55 wrote:So is all this even more reason to have a Coventry auction, with less competition around
By the time it is 'safe' to hold a Coventry auction again, EH will probably be back to their normal auctions. :!?!:
User avatar
coppinpr
Posts: 5111
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2010 2:01 pm
Reaction score: 20
Location: Lewes, East Sussex
Contact:

Re: Elephant House Auctions

Post by coppinpr »

my gut feeling is he doesn't want to go back to standard auctions :!?!: A lot of things have changed for him since the last auction
User avatar
geordy55
Posts: 283
Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 8:33 am
Reaction score: 0

Re: Elephant House Auctions

Post by geordy55 »

coppinpr wrote: Fri Apr 23, 2021 1:40 pm my gut feeling is he doesn't want to go back to standard auctions :!?!: A lot of things have changed for him since the last auction
That’s exactly what I was thinking.
slotsoffun
Posts: 200
Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2013 6:36 pm
Reaction score: 0

Re: Elephant House Auctions

Post by slotsoffun »

I'm sure you won't see EH doing the usual auctions again, why go to all this long term bother of a website and on line bid path, if he was going to continue with regular auctions? With no mention whatsoever from Steve regarding "getting back to normal auction days!" I doubt we'll see them again, I hope I'm wrong.
As for Coventry, I wish it could happen, but I agree with the organisers, in the current climate even I wouldn't risk the time and effort and money pushing an auction that may well never go ahead. If some of the people on these forums really want it, why not hire a hall, promote it, stack it with machines, get a little hammer and do the auction... I think some don't appreciate the amount of time and effort that goes in to doing auctions.
Bring back Exchange & Mart...LoL :lol:
User avatar
treefrog
Posts: 4813
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 2:46 pm
Reaction score: 31
Location: Suffolk

Re: Elephant House Auctions

Post by treefrog »

Problem is, one of the key things to run an auction, beyond hard work, is buyers and sellers, especially sellers, as been an issue for many years at the Coventry auction. So organisers are chasing regulars to submit lots and details etc. A key to success is a good contact list, which both Steve and Jerry has of regular contributors and buyers. Organising an auction without this would require pot luck on sharing on this forum and Facebook groups etc, which makes it even more likely to fail.

I don’t underestimate the effort involved and over the years when people moan about Steve and his auctions forget the effort needed, suspect his new scheme will reduce some of these problems.

Suspect we will all go into our holes and sell and buy privately, which is what I have mostly being doing for last 18 months. Also standard auction houses are now a serious option as most offer massive discounts on seller commission and some may now consider buyer reductions like the one in Dorset recently selling slot machines at 10%, almost down to the % Coventry and Elephant.......

A lot of what happens with the Elephant I suspect will be based on success of the current plans, so we will all see....anyway some interesting stuff is coming still standard auctions like today with the Gresham stuff and one particular machine listed today :shock: if you have very deep pockets ;-)
junior
Posts: 177
Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2014 7:33 pm
Reaction score: 0

Re: Elephant House Auctions

Post by junior »

I, like so many, miss the community aspect of going to auctions, as a place to meet up with mostly people with the same interest. It doesn’t seem very likely that it will ever return in the form that we once enjoyed and travelled for hours to get to. So for all of us our collecting world has and will get smaller. There’s only a couple of people who have our details as a whole group, names and contacts. I feel it’s about being at an event, auction and the impulse of buying a treasure or a dog. The anticipation about what you might come home with, yep, the buzz of it all.
User avatar
coppinpr
Posts: 5111
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2010 2:01 pm
Reaction score: 20
Location: Lewes, East Sussex
Contact:

Re: Elephant House Auctions

Post by coppinpr »

so it seems the first round of sales using the new style of selling at EH has finished. Details of all the prices paid are on show in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iClYGJAYq_Q

My view of the results was that, on the whole, prices were just on the low side of good, especially on bandits, of course, there were some very high prices and a few low ones all around but if I was selling the standard bandits id be a little disappointed with what I got from the sales.
It has to be said that the system has worked as far as we can tell, there seems to have been a lot of buyer interest and all the lots sold. You have to ask yourself if this was a standard auction would some of these bids have gone higher in face-to-face bidding. it seems to favor the buyer in my view.
Interesting to note that NONE of the lots were stored at the EH, could it be we will see the sale of that building if this new system works out? :!?!:
User avatar
treefrog
Posts: 4813
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 2:46 pm
Reaction score: 31
Location: Suffolk

Re: Elephant House Auctions

Post by treefrog »

Thought mostly made good money......a Nostalgic Allwin for £1200 :HaHa: someone has lost the plot........you could almost buy two new Retro Arcade Allwins made of oak for that.....bandits were all their money
User avatar
coppinpr
Posts: 5111
Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2010 2:01 pm
Reaction score: 20
Location: Lewes, East Sussex
Contact:

Re: Elephant House Auctions

Post by coppinpr »

bandits were all their money
I thought the aristos cheap at £300 and the Sega less than it would have reached on ebay, the totalisator was a rare bird though,id have liked that, Steve says the underbids were all close to the winning bid, I suspect not on the Nostalgic :!:
jimmycowman
Posts: 762
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2006 6:05 pm
Reaction score: 0
Location: staffordshire

Re: Elephant House Auctions

Post by jimmycowman »

You can't beat live face to face auctions end of story....... But I suppose this is better than nothing till confidence is back.
cait001
Posts: 348
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2018 1:33 am
Reaction score: 1
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: Elephant House Auctions

Post by cait001 »

I'm apprehensive to sign up since I'm mostly just hunting for a "Mini Cascade" coin pusher right now. so I'm wonder if I should really spend £120 for a year of posting a wanted ad, or if I should just keep advertising for it here?
Is the audience of their site much wider than here on pennymachines? My ad has been up here for 8 months with not even a nibble
User avatar
treefrog
Posts: 4813
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 2:46 pm
Reaction score: 31
Location: Suffolk

Re: Elephant House Auctions

Post by treefrog »

You don’t have to spend £120, you can subscribe for one month, the only problem is, if someone is interested to sell, they do not deal with you direct and submit for sale in the auction for all to blind bid against. Not a problem if you're bidding loads of course.
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 14 guests