[Archive]

Posted By: leon

Jc- our auction is public record and will be kept on line so everyone can see. I think our total was about 125k and we hope to grow it over time. Thanks for your participation in it too. We really appreciate it.


Jim C- Thanks for the well wishes. Yes, the first auction was a learning experience for us and showed us that sometimes a little lower starting price might be better. However, think about the consignors. If they want something we generally will give it to them. If they want to start a $200 card at $300 then that is their call. I had quite a few items in the auction and every one sold and all at prices that were pretty close to where I feel the market is. One item sat on my for sale site for close to 2 yrs and didn't sell at $250. It brought close to $500 in our auction. Double my estimate..go figure.
As far as auctions with, or without, a catalog just which ones are you participating in that don't have catalogs?
We think our response was extremely good....consignors and bidders seem to be quite happy. The cost for a small catalog, similar to Barry's, is about $7500.... and the cost for a big one, I can't imagine it. Since we offer some of the lowest BP in the hobby, and our auction is still growing, it's not economically feasible to have one at this point. If we grow to where we think we can then one might be more fiscally smart. Maybe if you participate next time you will know how it goes? You have to register first though. You can register right now if you want to and then you will get periodic emails and will KNOW when the next auction is. Some bidders told me they put in ceiling bids (we can't see them)and never have before, because they had that much trust in us and our process. That made us feel we are doing something right!!
One other thing too. Some of our lots were sold, after the auction, to folks that bid but the lot didn't meet reserve. We worked with our consignors and bidders, when asked, to sell unsold lots, which made our customers even more happy. It's a normal auction process that any good auction will do....So we protected our consignors where need be (with reserves) and made our bidders as happy as possible.....We think that is a recipe for success, don't you?
take care,
leon