I’m sorry – truly, truly sorry. It was due to old codgers like me that you had to sit through the countless TV ads for Medicare supplemental insurance for all these recent weeks. But it’s over now! (Insert Stones tune in your head). I don’t know which I found more annoying – Martha with the over-sized glasses or JJ Walker with the misleading “It’s FREE!” claim. Anyway, the deadline has passed, so those commercials are done. I ain’t taking blame for the earlier onslaught of political character assassinations, though!
Although my comic book inventory is basically gone, except for some personal collections, I still haunt the online auctions, looking for possible items to resell. Not having much success. Sales of comics are still bringing above “guide”.
There was a recent sale at an auction house in Allentown that assumed (expected?) its comic book offerings would bring well over guide and played it wrong! Like other auctioneers, they send certain issues to be graded prior to the sale. But why bother sending a minor semi-key worth maybe $20-30 in its present condition (5.0 – 6.5)? Did they really expect people to pay a big premium because it was slabbed? If it was a significant issue, I could see it, but not these. Evidently, they did, for their catalog would give their opinion of the price range it fell in and their required opening bid. Here’s the problem – their starting bids were 75-80% of their suggested values. Now, tack on the 24% (that’s not a typo!) Buyers’ Premium, plus 6% sales tax, and how enticing would a lot appear? I followed the auction and the final prices realized was posted. I only bothered to go through the first section to find that roughly half of them were reported as having been “passed”.
Years ago, these buyers’ premiums didn’t exist. A bidder didn’t have to do some math to figure our what they were really going to pay in the end. Then, the consignors would pay a commission of 20-25% of the knock-down price to the auction house. Usually, a graduated formula is used and the consignor pays a lower percentage for lots that meet certain higher levels. Let’s do a simple example with the assumption of a 25% BP. So, assume that as a bidder, I deem a lot to be worth $100. That’s my max. If I have to pay that BP, I stop at $80 (25% of $80 is $20, so I’m at my stopping point.) Under the old system (pre- BP), the consignor pays the house 25% of the $100 I would have bid and sees $75. The house made $25. Under what is now more of the norm, the consignor pays 25% of the “sold” price of $80, sees only $60, and the house gets that $20 plus 100% of the BP. Now the house made $40 on the same item!
Granted, a 25% BP is extreme, with 15% being common, but regardless, it all adds up to the house making more off the sale and the consignor realizing less.
eBay is attractive in that there is no BP added, encouraging potential bidders to go their max, and the seller only pays about 13-14% commission. However, the seller does have to go through the hassle of listing the item (pics and description) and package it for shipping. There are pros and cons.
Though retired, I’m on many auction house emails and have my “saved” sellers on eBay. That keeps me fairly well occupied, although as said before, I rarely win anything. That’s not to say there isn’t some great stuff out there.
Here’s hoping that you and your family have a safe and happy holiday season. Maybe you’ll find something from your collection wish list in a nice festive wrapping.
Paul