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How many of your vintage perfumes were secured after fierce bidding wars?Or on the quiet?

post #1 of 15
10/13/10 at 6:21pm
Thread Starter 
After collecting for only 3 months, I would put the ratio of purchases after bidding wars to purchases on the quiet at 3:1

The former consoles you that there are others who want the same item just as badly(although shill bidding could destroy that)

The latter may make some look around and think 'Why does no one else want this?', but I've gotten some surprisingly good deals via this method!
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post #2 of 15
10/14/10 at 12:08am
Lately almost all my purchases. Since I have too many fragrances, I fight only for vintage ones, mostly Guerlains, Carons, Patous, Lanvins, Chanels, etc. Some of them were real bargains - vintage Parure, Chamade, Shalimar, Mitsouko, Capucci - all below 20 USD incl. S/H (regular size full 30 - 50 ml). Sometimes no battle at all - simple luck. However, it requires much time spent on auction sites ;-)
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post #3 of 15
10/14/10 at 12:23am
No matter how wonderful a vintage, I refuse to get into a bidding war. I know what I am willing to pay and that is it. Most of mine have been quietly spotting it and watching and waiting. As Alicka61 says it all about luck.

But don't forget you never know if its someone else on Basenotes you are bidding against.
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post #4 of 15
10/14/10 at 12:40am
I usually define a maximum I am willing to pay. I once secured an item in a kind of bidding war in the last seconds... and, boy, it was worth it
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post #5 of 15
10/14/10 at 1:24am
Thread Starter 
I once lost a bidding war for an item, only to be given the opportunity to grab a more vintage(& equally usable) version of the same item one month later at a 38% discount(with box)!

Similarly, a 2.5 oz almost-full bottle of Shalimar extrait(without box)went under the hammer for $355(!) a fortnight ago,long after I fell out of the bidding, but yesterday I spotted another similar bottle(with box) and offered the equivalent of $106,which was 10% less than the BIN price, and the seller accepted. Luck played a big part because I just casually searched for the item after work, without really planning to, and that item was just listed.

I guess discipline & patience & luck are the names of the game...
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post #6 of 15
10/14/10 at 2:01am
I have bought most of my vintage fragrances in antique shops, thrift shops and fleamarkets. No bidding wars for the ones I got off auction sites, I must have been lucky. I think I would have to feel very, very rich or want something very, very badly to enter into the kind of bidding wars I've seen on some highly desirable vintage fragrances online.
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post #7 of 15
10/14/10 at 2:53am
Thread Starter 
Too bad I don't have that option .

Such vintage perfume items are practically non-existent in my country(but are very common in European countries & in the US). If they exist, probably only in private collections like mine,which aren't for sale anytime soon!

Anyway, if I really wanted to sell them, 70% of my items can be sold immediately for a premium. Mainly because of ultra-low offers to sellers who don't specialise in perfume and do not know their full value
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post #8 of 15
10/14/10 at 4:50am
Most of my vintages are from estate sales, garage sales and thrift stores. I do have a few that I "won" on ebay, but I've had so many disappointments on there that I'm willing to wait for a good "Buy It Now" option instead.
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post #9 of 15
10/14/10 at 5:21am
When I shop on ebay, it's often "buy it now". When I do bid on stuff, I usually back off if the bidding starts climbing high and try my luck at the next opportunity. If it's a rarer fragrance, which is not likely to appear again for a while or at a lower price, I keep bidding...
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post #10 of 15
10/14/10 at 5:39am
I tend to back off, too. I once won something in a bidding war. The price did not get too high, but still about $20.00 more than I'd wanted. I am happy to have the bottle (vintage Chamade), but I did not get the little thrill I get out of finding a vintage frag at a consignment shop for a great price, or receiving a batch from friends or relatives who are are not perfumistas, and who unload their old bottle on me. That's the best find of all!

As a result, I back off very, very early in the bidding. Now and again I'm surprised with a nice win. I won a bunch of (6 , I think) of vintage minis a while ago ago for under $10.00.
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post #11 of 15
10/14/10 at 6:52am
I don't like getting into even slight bidding skirmishes because I can't stand the greedy panic I feel when I suddenly covet something more because someone else wants it too. So if I notice something I'd like to bid on, I'll either place a bid and forget about it, or watch it until the auction's almost over and grab it if the price is still reasonable. I'll use BIN occasionally, too.

Having said that, I've gotten a few vintage bottles from eBay, back-ups mostly, but the majority of my collection comes from collecting for 30+ years, inheriting a bunch from two perfume-loving grandmothers, and finding new old-stock in antique stores and old pharmacies..."new old-stock" is like music to my ears!
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post #12 of 15
10/14/10 at 2:00pm
I usually define a maximum, too, plus I'm one of those evil people who, out of nowhere, bid about 30 seconds before the end of the auction (why send prices skyrocketing early on?). This way I've got no chance of getting into a bidding war. That said, if I want something badly, it shows in my maximum bid.
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post #13 of 15
10/16/10 at 6:19pm
I'm not that competitive, so I don't get much thrill from "winning" an auction. Most of my purchases on eBay have been BIN items. I guess I just prefer going to thrift stores and antique stores. That way, I have a complete shopping experience, and can look for other things along the way... and I'm always looking for a lot of different things.

Although I will admit it's fun to get things in the mail, shopping online just doesn't 'do it' for me. For online thrills, I go to the Basenotes forum
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post #14 of 15
10/16/10 at 11:10pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Augusta View Post

I usually define a maximum, too, plus I'm one of those evil people who, out of nowhere, bid about 30 seconds before the end of the auction (why send prices skyrocketing early on?).

Augusta, I admit doing that many times too Plus, if the price is way too low in my estimate& I suspect the winning bidder has a much higher ceiling, I raise it by bidding higher in steps so that it doesn't sell for too cheap, even though I don't want that item.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Late-Hit View Post

I'm not that competitive, so I don't get much thrill from "winning" an auction. Most of my purchases on eBay have been BIN items. I guess I just prefer going to thrift stores and antique stores. That way, I have a complete shopping experience, and can look for other things along the way... and I'm always looking for a lot of different things.

Although I will admit it's fun to get things in the mail, shopping online just doesn't 'do it' for me.

Getting things in the mail is one of the best perks of online shopping for me!This is contributed by being in a culture that hardly practices gift-giving as much as people do in the West. And by being in a family where gifts are practically extinct.

Once in a blue moon, they come, but are usually cheapies that you won't really pay attention to anyway!

So instead, I 'gift' myself something special when I feel I have worked hard and saved enough, and what could be more special to someone with a hyperactive nose than a nearly full bottle of vintage juice?
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post #15 of 15
10/17/10 at 9:49am
I've never been involved in a bidding war over a fragrance. It's just not for me.
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