Hi Ken
To me your questions are up side down. If you turn them around and instead
start from your choice for a stampcollection and the holes you need to fill
you might find some relevant answers. Of course you can let yourself become
inspired from an auctioncatalogue or by zapping through Ebay. Favorate
auctionshouses? If you look for Danish stamps you might try a Danish
auctionhouse, and so on. I prefer auction houses that I can trust and who
accepts items being returned if they do not fit description. I have been
tricked a few times. In such cases I do not hesitate telling first the
auctionshouse and next my fellow collectors about my experience. I even once
wrote an article about forgeries about to be sold at an auction. An honest
auctionhouse will thank you for this. In the long run cheating does not pay.
What do you collect Ken?
regards
Svend



"Ken Knecht" wrote in message
...
How do you decide what to bid at a mail auction (not eBay)? Especially if
you bid on groups of atamps - album pages from various countries for
example - rather than specific items or sets. What about a mish-mash of
stuff in cartons?

Let's say the lot has an estimated value of $100 - 125. What would you
bid?
Why? Does the contents have an effect? Let's say US vs. Europe. Or maybe
better yet US vs. South America. Covers? SSs? What about catalogs and
literature?

Have you ever had a bid accepted for less than you bid? Most auction
catalogs say one raise over the next highest bid but I always end up
paying
what I bid.

Thanks for your input. I think all mail bidders might profit from a good
discussion here.

Favorite auction houses?

Any web sites devoted to this subject?

TIA


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