A few random thoughts .
I have always negotiated my AH seller's fee to between 0 - 5 % depending upon a per item total sale price or a total gross items total price sale. As a rule and as most of you know the better the item the lower your consignor's fee.
I have found R & R to be fairly expensive to consign to because of their cataloging / photography fees, as well as a reserve bid fee charge back fee also . You can still negotiate with them but it is a little difficult to get them to lower their fees much and read their consignors contract carefully and talk to Bob about the fees and he'll help some. R & R also has a 25 % buyers/winning bidder's fee and I fear that 25% will become the normal buyer's fee soon and from there how high can the Buyer's Fee go until it becomes prohibitive. The 3% discount helps a little but is really a drop in the bucket and just a promo to get people to bid .
I know printing the catalogs and setting up the website and photography for an auction is expensive but how about a staggered buyer's fee. The higher the item's selling price the lower the premium ...just a thought.
Should the LOA for an item or the grading be paid by for the seller or the AH ? If it doesn't sell then the seller should pay because the LOA / slabbed item is his .
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