The Perils Of Ebay Bidding Behavior

As I've stated in other threads, I watch a lot of pipe auctions on ebay, many more than ever I bid on. Such tracking over thousands of auctions has given me some general guidelines on market prices and also a reasonably reliable perspective regarding some of the behavioral characteristics of bidders.
Every now and them there occurs a spectacular collision of behaviors which involve making stratospheric bids. Today I witnessed another of them over a 1911 cased Barling Bent with an amber stem. I own a straight billiard from 1912 that is a kissing cousin to the one that just sold on ebay. It's on the "Show Me...Barlings" thread for those who want to see it.

Based on the general market prices I've followed, today's pipe should have gone for about $400, more or less, and probably less for reasons of condition. It's going to need some careful restoration work. The pipe went for over $810. Why? Because one bidder put in a bid with a very high maximum limit just before the end, and a sniper collided with that bid in the stratosphere right at the end. The other possible contributing factor could be that the amounts were expressed in pounds and possibly the bidders thought they were bidding in dollars.

One rule that I have for bidding is that I never bid more than the high end of what I believe something to be worth based on research. And I always make sure that I know what currency I'm bidding and do the exchange calculation before making the bid.

I hope that the buyer is happy. The seller has got to be ecstatic!
As for the pipe? It's going to need some significant cleaning, possibly topping of the rim, and the tenon is stuck in the mortise. The glue that held the tenon screw has failed which allows the stem to unscrew. And then, as with anything bought off of ebay, who knows what else is lurking, beyond the airway probably filled with century old muck?
Flaky, this was a good time to call it a day.

Why? Because more than one other person disagrees with your assessment of market value strong enough to pay up for it.

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That may well be true, duckfat. I just follow ebay valuations over the years. And I also follow bidder behavior patterns because I find that equally interesting. Because the identities were withheld, I have no way of know if either of the bidders were tyros, or what their purchasing history was.

But setting really high maximum bids can cause some interesting results.

Auction prices have little to no bearing on true market value. Items sell from well value under to far over but the fact remains that when it comes to unique items, demand often exceeds supply.

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Also true. When someone really wants something and has the means to get it, considerations of value can go out the window. An item is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

I seriously doubt multiple bidders were confused by something as basic as exchange rates.

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It happens. I've had two second chance offers come to me because the winning bidder welched on the deal for that very reason.

The seller seemed to be a straight up person. When the listing first went up, I contacted the seller to ask for pictures of the rim and chamber. I don't bid on pipes without seeing that detail. The seller promptly added pictures of that detail.
The 1912 amber stemmed Barling that I have had a frozen tenon, which I freed. Where an amber stem is concerned, it's a much more delicate operation because the amber is much more brittle. So I wrote the seller again to inquire if the stem could be removed. The seller responded that the stem unscrewed and when reattached, lined up perfectly.
Well, by 1911, Barling wasn't using the old bone screw join between stem and shank. I knew something was wrong there. So I asked if the screw was attached to the stem or the shank. The seller responded and put up pictures. The seller never tried to hide anything and I don't think that the seller knew anything about pipes.
Of the various Barling pipes from that era that I own, all were purchased for less than half the amount of this sale. That's just a handful out of the hundreds that I've followed over the years. $800+ buys you a pre-war quaint in mint condition, or an elaborate sterling wind capped piece.
Because the identities were hidden, I couldn't see the number of wins, nor the buying pattern of the bidders. But in a number of other auctions where the price was an outlier, the winner wasn't a pipe collector, but a period collector. This pipe might just end up on a shelf next to a set of Coronation dishware featuring George V and Queen Alexandra. Pipe collectors tend to bid more closely to averages.
BTW, I don't think that there's a "problem" with the bidding. I think that there's something to be learned by it.

INT. Living room of the Hoomafanooma house - The scene opens with a man, wearing a tasseled smoking cap, sitting in an overstuffed chair, reading a book. He is surrounded by a mixture of late Victorian and early 20th century furniture. The tables are covered with brick-a-brack, Coronation porcelain, Jubilee commemoratives, stuff like that. British Arts and Crafts curio cabinets line the walls. An elephant's head, flanked by two Union Jacks, is mounted over the fireplace. Crossed sabers are mounted on the walls above the cabinets.
"There Will Always Be An England" plays on the Victrola
The doorbell rings.
The man sets down his book and rises out of the chair. He goes to the door and opens it. A mailman stands across the threshold.
"Package for Mr. Hoomafanooma, please sign here."
The man signs for the package and excitedly opens it. He pulls a small leather case from the package.
"Sweetieums!" calls the man, "Come see what just came in the mail!"
His wife enters, a small birdlike woman wearing a black leather dominatix outfit, complete with whip. She approaches the man.
He triumphantly holds up a small pipe with an amber stem for her to see.
Faster than lightning she swats the pipe out of his hands. As the pipe sails across the room and smashes into the wall, she screams at him, "Stop bringing other people's old shit into this house!!"
fade to black