Imperial Auction
 

wow! pretty intense last night. some of the items went pretty high, but overall it looks as if the prices of our toys are up in general. i have to say winning my first live auction item from that auction is a rush. i have to say that beating the big boys in a prime auction is one heck of a rush. it made my day. congrats to the rest of the winners (sorry, maurice. i wasn't gonna bid like i told you, but i got caught up :D :D :D )

I'd love to see what the pieces sold for; especially that mis-identified Rukai sword .

I think the bidding for that opened at $2,850.00 .

Here you go:

Link

Fess up homie, enquiring minds wants to know.
What did you bring home last night, the kris with the diminutive kakatua, the kris with the horse hoof pommel or the Barung with the inlaid blade.

I attended the auction via the web with the intention of winning one item. In the end, all I could afford was the viewing fee :(

Any forumites that wants to share their winnings, feel free to post.

migo, i won this:

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/8673503

i think i got everyone off guard. either that, or they they logged in too late. didn't go to baltimore as well; did the online bidding. even blind squirrels get lucky every now and then...

Congrats Bro.
I missed that one. I was doing my weekend chores around the bahay kubo and logged on late.

Thanks, but I'm not a member and they want a log in before revealing prices . :(

Yep... That was one I had planned to bid on, as I have two nekked krises and a nekked barong that are cold and in need of shelter... Little did I know that while I had a log-in ID and PW on file with AI, I had to re-register with LiveAuctioneers in time for Cole & Co.'s approval... :(

Congrats on the win - and at a reasonable price at that. :) If you ever decide to part with one of those, let me know?

If you know the lot #s I can post the hammer prices for you (that goes for anyone).

Also I would like to hear about the Show & Seminar! I"m sure updates will be post soon as folks get back home :) Eagerly awaiting :D

L.E.A., if anything, it'd be the wrangka... got plenty nekkid barungs and krises in my closet, lol.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...r/P3204894.jpg

with the doors closed, you just never know what they do in there... :D :D :D

Great Ron!

I'm glad you nailed all those big boys to the ground by outbidding them! :D
Have you seen the moro armour? It went pretty cheap I think!!!???

Thank you course eight !
That would be lot 194 .
Could you PM the answer please ? :)
Thanks

Rick

yep, armor went relatively cheap. caught me off guard, that one...

Inch'Allah I'll get a consolation prize, a Bukhara dagger :D
I think so ?? not sure, because it's first time, not too much familiar with that system of auction in two times
but, I have that notice
A RARE BUKHARA PITCHAU DAGGER
-closed- Absentee
You will be notified if you were the successful bidder for this lot
and my maximum bid offer didn't be covered ... so :shrug:

but, from far, too difficult to made such investment
without having prior a view at the item specially the "lot 127" (Pala)
my offer maximum reached 10% too short :o ... hard luck

next time ... :p

à +

Dom

Inch'Allah إن شاء الله

The lot 194, a mislabeled Rukai sword from Taiwan
 

Hello Rick and all,

Yes, I'm also very curious (should I say "anxious" :-) ?) to know about the lot 194 that was mislabeled and for which I bidded online nearly 4 weeks ago.

I didn't receive yet any confirmation mail from Imperial Auctions.

Best

Nicolas :confused:
PS Rick, I PMed you

194 went for 3600...

Good Day Gentlemen

someone here, has back experience to tell us how long to wait for a confirmation mail from Imperial Auctions ??

thank you per anticipation for your kind advices

à +

Dom

Yep!

I got your message Nicolas . :)

The member to ask would be Ward, I guess .

Perhaps he can enlighten the confused .

Hello Dom,

I'm as impatient as you are to know about this confirmation mail. :)
Bien le bonjour a Paris.

Hello Rick,

I just PMed Ward.
Thanks for your suggestion.
I will keep you updated.
Take care

Nicolas

Hi Nicolas
I sent them an email, and now waiting for ...

Paris is greeting you warmly :D

à +

Dom

Seems like quite a few bids were left out: I got confirmation emails for absentee bids I placed and should have won 3 lots (including Ron's); I also applied for life bidding via LA but wasn't able to bid on pieces were my bids weren't high enough. Still waiting on a reaction from AI. Sounds that I wasn't alone though. :( :mad:

Thus, I believe that quite a few lots sold for less than they could have fetched. If I were one of the owners submitting their pieces to the auction, I'd seriously question AI on their "suboptimal" auction system... :eek:

Long story short: If you were lucky to win lots #11, #42, #47, 67, #68, and #110 - please let me know whenever you decide to part with them! :rolleyes: (And, yes, #69 is really sweet, too ;) )

Regards,
Kai

hah! you too, eh, kai? i thought i was the only one that had the problem. so yeah, emails have been sent as well....

A shame . :(
I hope you guys can get this straightened out w/AI .

Lot 17
 

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

Henri

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

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

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 :D
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.

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

NT :cool:

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

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.


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

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:






(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.

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.

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. :mad:

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.

I'm really laughing (yellow) :(
my idea was;
if there is a country with technological system,
should be States of America, and us, in regard, no more than TCN ... :rolleyes: I'll have to change my mind ...

no news from "Auctions Imperial" after that email sent on March 21st, 2011

I might just said that I feel me deceived
nevertheless, I noticed Alex comment's, mentioning the "professional and courteous" of that Co.
due to my personal feeling towards Alex, I'm ready to trust on him about those appreciations,
but I should like to understand at least where is the "gap" :confused:

à +

Dom

ps/ my second bid was
lot 127 AN OTTOMAN KILIC SABER my last offer was U$ 6,200.00 and it reached U$ 7,400 ... no discussion :p

Hello all,

I finally received a mail confirmation from Oliver Pinchot saying that I was the winner of the lot 194 (nearly one week after the end of the sale) and that an invoice would be sent to me shortly. So it seems after all that my bid was well taken in account, but the after sale communication was far from being the best/fastest.

Anyway, Kai, I do agree with you that as far as Internet bidding is authorized, the auction sale should go all the way without any trouble. If the Internet absentee bid system is not working perfectly during the sale, then it shouldn't have been initiated, and the sale should remain limited to live bidding. It's better like this than the frustration of having thought to win the lot when you are not.

Dom, I do understand your frustration. I hope that your bid will prevail in the end and you'll finally be recognized as the legitimate winner.

Take care

Nicolas

I am so happy for you Nicolas; congratulations; I feel almost as I had won it . ;)
Very glad this amazing and rare sword didn't fall into a 'black hole' .

Please share many great pictures of this sword when you receive it .

Yes, Congratulations Nicolas! Beautiful piece!