Minty #58

I hope this went to someone on B&B. What a bidding war!
Minty #58 set

Mods,
Please feel free to delete this thread in favor of this early thread on the same subject.
Thanks!

As I stated in my post I was willing to go to £100 but boy was I outbid. It was probably greed on my part at I have a #58 already - without box, case and instructions though, so this one would have been a great one for my British Gillette collection, but wasn't to be...

I was willing to go to about the same level as you. Crazy.
Anyone here win it? Anyone here the second-place bidder?

I've seen the initials of the winner on many sniped auctions on eBay, actually.. I believe this individual snipes an item at an exorbitantly high max price, such as $500 or something to ensure he or she wins the item.

The only failure in this model is if another bidder does something similar and places a bid just slightly below the max bid, or if someone who doesn't know the fair price overbids. On occasion this bidder's feedback goes private and I suspect it is when a situation like this occurs and they refuse to pay.

I could be totally wrong, but this is the only explanation for someone paying close to $400 for a cased #58 that I can imagine.. Anyone else have an explanation, or better yet.. as Hypo asked, anyone here make the winning or runner-up bid?
-\Visdom

It definitely wasn't me and I wasn't even bidding. Just out of curiosity, is the price really that high for this razor? The case is pristine. It seems that these sets normally have the infamous brown markings on both the outside of the top portion and the inside lining. I don't detect either on this case. Plus, it comes with the shipper and some packaging inserts. I haven't really followed the going rates for a 58, but given the condition of the set, is it still pretty high?

some were being sold/passed on really cheap this year on BST - maybe members passing on lucky finds at cost.

I can't speak to whether the final price was appropriate. After all, I've never seen one that comes with instructions and a shipper. It does seem high to me, but more than anything, I think it's crazy how the two bidders drove the price up in an unnecessary frenzy. The final price probably would have ended up much lower if they had simply both held their fire until less than a minute was left, then simply bid what they felt comfortably willing to pay. Some call this "sniping," but I think it's the only sane way to bid on the bay.

I've noticed the runner-up do this on other auctions as well. He/she seems to bid early and high, which gives others plenty of time to guess the max bid and attempt to surmount it.

Bill,
Was that you?
If so, I don't feel so bad...

hypo_style said:

Bill,
Was that you?
If so, I don't feel so bad...

Click to expand...

No way, my friend. No way. That's Double Ring territory!

Definitely not me. I'd hate to think what that would convert to in Australian dollars.

I love the razor, but way too rich for me!

My snipe was set at 80 GBP, and I thought THAT was too much!

BrianDiPalma said:

I haven't really followed the going rates for a 58, but given the condition of the set, is it still pretty high?

Click to expand...

in the last few months 58s have sold for from $50- $156 almost all with cases. the $50 was sold on b/s/t but had brassing and no case. with cases in good condition generally $100-$156, until now. none were as pristine as this one, though.

Seems awfully high but others have recently gone for more than 1/2 that and case in pretty poor condition. NO it wasn't me but IF I had the money I'd pay that probably, just to get the shipping case and know that nobody had ever used it...yet.

I have 2 cases that don't have the staining but the Gillette lettering is worn and inside a bit dirty, but nowhere near as nice as that one. I'm curious why has there been a frenzy for these recently too, one buyer bought 5 that I know of and out bid me on 3 of those. Just those few in the past weeks has effectively driven up the price I think, the RED shiny case is just so damn nice..I want more...

All it takes, really, for something like this to happen is two people who really want the item.. The people buying are probably collectors or resellers who don't intend to use the razors.. of course, user and collector/reseller aren't mutually exclusive, but if these were being bought to use, in my opinion there are cheaper, better alternatives out there.

The bottom line is.. they paid market value as it takes a buyer and seller to make a market. Apparently at least two people believed the razor was worth what was paid..
-\Visdom

Lovely looking razor, I have bid on a few #58's and lost but I have never seen one in such good condition come up before. Looking at the auction bid history the guy who opened the bid on May 18th was the one who won it on May 25th, he must have had a "I will have this" attitude about this razor, if I was the second guy I would have stopped when it became clear the first guy was that determined to have it.

I had a snipe set at £110 and I thought that was over the top but justified it on the condition I am sure they believe it is worthwhile but I can imagine the sellers face watching that one end they would have been

Wow...stunner! The case is what really caught my eye...no spots!

Amazing price on a very nice but hardly rare razor. Was the seller someone from among our ranks? If so, congratulations!

This price does set a new baseline for the #58. So what does that do to the #15? Well one of those sold recently for >$300 also.