Space News
space history and artifacts articles

Messages
space history discussion forums

Sightings
worldwide astronaut appearances

Resources
selected space history documents

  collectSPACE: Messages
  Opinions & Advice
  Opinions on consigning to auction houses

Post New Topic  Post A Reply
profile | register | preferences | faq | search

next newest topic | next oldest topic
Author Topic:   Opinions on consigning to auction houses
jonspace
Member

Posts: 169
From:
Registered: Jan 2014

posted 05-11-2016 08:19 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for jonspace   Click Here to Email jonspace     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
What are you opinions on consigning items to auction houses? What are the major differences (in your opinion) between HA, RR, Regency, etc.?

I'm looking to sell a few bigger ticket items and contemplating consignment versus eBay.

rgarner
Member

Posts: 1193
From: Shepperton, United Kingdom
Registered: Mar 2012

posted 05-11-2016 01:06 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for rgarner   Click Here to Email rgarner     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Just my two cents here.

I generally offer pieces here before consigning them to auction/eBay, but this requires a knowledge of the item(s) current market value which in itself can be difficult. But assuming you know the value, I feel it is a good way to start. There are no fees this way, and your pieces generally go to a good home.

If I fail to sell pieces on cS or to friends then, depending on the item(s) value I will either consign it to auction or eBay. Both of which charge fees. eBay is generally around the 10% mark and auctions closer to 20%.

eBay is a good place to go if the auction route puts you off, such as waiting x amount of weeks/months for the auction to begin, then on top of that the weeks/months it takes for your check to arrive in the mail. eBay is instantaneous and you may get somewhere close to your original asking price, but your market, in my opinion, is smaller than that of auction houses.

Despite the drawbacks of auctions, they can be a very good route if you're patient enough for it and don't need the money straight away. You will likely reach a much larger audience than either cS or eBay, and you may even sell the item(s) for a higher price than you wanted, but on the flip side of that coin your piece may not meet the reserve (should you choose to have one) or may not sell at all.

With that said, I feel that higher end items belong in auctions as they're more likely to be purchased for above what could be achieved elsewhere.

I hope this helps.

jonspace
Member

Posts: 169
From:
Registered: Jan 2014

posted 05-11-2016 02:24 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for jonspace   Click Here to Email jonspace     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yep! That's a huge help. I've been selling on eBay for a long time and (1) wanted to cut down on the amount of time spent (because of work and school) and (2) maximize earning potential on some very special pieces.

spaced out
Member

Posts: 3110
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 05-11-2016 05:07 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for spaced out   Click Here to Email spaced out     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If you're going to consign to a space auction then RR and Heritage are the main choices. I would consider Lunar Legacies for certain categories of items too (mainly documentation, patches and other items that need specialist buyers).

RR has monthly auctions which decreases the turn around time but it's not clear if they reach the same audience as their biannual space auctions.

In general people bidding at the space auctions are looking to acquire pieces for their collections and are thus willing to pay a high price for big ticket items whilst most bidders on eBay are looking for bargains, often to resell at the big auctions and are thus not always ready to bid high.

Bidders also tend to be more confident when bidding at space auctions as, rightly or wrongly, they assume that all items are guaranteed genuine.

Overall you need to weigh this likely higher price against the higher fees. I have seen big items do well on eBay but personally I would lean towards RR or Heritage.

fredtrav
Member

Posts: 1673
From: Birmingham AL
Registered: Aug 2010

posted 05-11-2016 06:17 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for fredtrav   Click Here to Email fredtrav     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Remember when looking at prices realized on the RR auction site, they include the 22.5% buyers fee. So you have to deduct that to get to the actual sale price, then deduct the seller fees about 20% plus a listing fee. So if an item is shown sold for $1000, you will end up around $575 or so. One other thing on some of the auction houses, they start with a low listing price to get people interested. But if only one person is serious, you might not get what you are looking for. here are reserves that can be set, but they discourage them. On Lunar Legacies you can set your own starting price so again you have to know what the least amount you would be willing to take for them and don't forget the 20% fee.

One advantage to offering a piece here is no fees. But you might not get what you would if two people at auction want the item. Same for eBay. Their fees are lower roughly 14-15% after adding the Paypal fee. But you really need to know what you want to sell it for, either here or on eBay.

mjanovec
Member

Posts: 3811
From: Midwest, USA
Registered: Jul 2005

posted 05-11-2016 10:00 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mjanovec   Click Here to Email mjanovec     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
One thing not mentioned is that some auction houses have a minimum bid. For example, all of the lots at RR have a starting bid no less than $200. Add in buyer's premium and that starting bid is really $245. So if the majority of your items are each worth less than $245, you likely won't have much luck with their auctions. Or you'll have to accept that your items will be grouped together to form lots that are worth more than the accepted minimum bid.

The downfall grouping items together to form a single lot is that the selling price for the whole is often less than the sum of the individual pieces. If you have five autographed photos in a lot, there may be bidders who want two or three of the photos, but very few who will need all five of the photos. The bidding may reflect that.

(Note: One nice thing that Heritage is doing with their recent auction is introducing some more affordable lots in the back of their auction catalog, with starting bids often at $1. That way even some non-premium items can be bought and sold without a high minimum bid fee.)

Perhaps the best thing to do is to observe the auctions at RR and Heritage (and others) to see how much items that are similar to yours are selling for. That way you get a good feel for what you can expect for your items. Of course, not every auction follows a predictable pattern. Some items will far exceed expectations and some items will completely tank. It's just the nature of the game.

mikeh
Member

Posts: 147
From:
Registered: Feb 2008

posted 05-12-2016 10:05 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mikeh   Click Here to Email mikeh     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I've had good success buying and selling on eBay, because you have flexibility on pricing and direct communication to make the deal with prospective buyers. However, I will focus on Heritage, RR, and Regency.

I've both sold and won very happily on Heritage. Heritage seems to attract A LOT of quality buyers. They also don't have hidden reserves so buyers know that the high bid wins. They do a good job on authentication. Selling prices seem to be higher on average compared to other sites. Their fees are also high. Good place for sellers, buyers often need deep pockets for the good stuff.

I've both sold and won on RR but am not as happy with their reserve policies so rarely use them anymore. What I do love about RR is that you have top authenticators like Steve to assure the items are genuine. That is a GREAT asset for buyers. However, RR has hidden reserves so winners don't know for sure if they won until sometime later. This makes it impossible to bid on multiple items if you have a budget. As a buyer if I knew the reserve hadn't been reached but was close I might gladly bid higher to reach it. As a seller, some of the bids on my items were close but not reached. I had no ability to offer it to the high bidder at their price or even to relist the items. If an item doesn't sell there is still a minimum listing fee that you lose.

Also with RR there are the monthly vs. specialized Space auctions. As a seller you want to make sure to get into a dedicated Space auction as the prices are typically higher. As a buyer, the monthly auctions seem to result in slightly lower prices - at least for the standard items.

Regency I've purchased from in the past. However, I am very leery about their lack of quality authentication, so no longer bid there very much. I would need to be dead sure based on a high res inspection and would want to see some validation from this forum. To me this is their biggest problem. Without expert eyes on these high risk items it is no better than buying on eBay with the bonus of paying a buyers fee.

Swann is another good one but I haven't done anything with them in a long time so am not up on their pros/cons. I don't think they do dedicated/specialized Space auctions much anymore.

gliderpilotuk
Member

Posts: 3398
From: London, UK
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 05-13-2016 04:38 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for gliderpilotuk   Click Here to Email gliderpilotuk     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Don't forget to add Bonhams to the list. They tend to be pretty selective about what they will take (fewer items, but more "unique") but I have had good service and great results with them when I have consigned. That's not to say that RR, Regency or Heritage aren't also good places to consign, as others have explained.

All times are CT (US)

next newest topic | next oldest topic

Administrative Options: Close Topic | Archive/Move | Delete Topic
Post New Topic  Post A Reply
Hop to:

Contact Us | The Source for Space History & Artifacts

Copyright 2020 collectSPACE.com All rights reserved.


Ultimate Bulletin Board 5.47a





advertisement