[Exhibitman]

Most AH's will negotiate a 0% commission to the seller, especially for slabbed cards. The BP is where they make their money. eBay's rake when paypal is factored in is about 13% for the casual seller, and that includes a final value fee and paypal fee on shipping costs. So, if I have a $100 slabbed card to sell I can either pay $13 to eBay and co., with the 'pleasure' of dealing with the general public and fulfilling the sale myself, or I can consign it to an AH and take a 15% to 20% hit but have no further dealings with the item after I send it in. To me, the extra few bucks aren't worth the headaches of DIY selling, not to mention that a single bad eBayer under their seller-killing rules can more than make up for any savings.

As for 20% or more BP, for that level of BP the seller should be doing an actual catalog. There are a number of sub-20% BP AH's that are internet only.

What really chaps my hide is what I saw on MEARS:

"There is a 22.5% Buyer's Premium for payment with credit card and PayPal. If you pay by cashiers check, money order, wire transfer or check within 10 days of receipt of invoice a 2.5% discount can be applied to net a buyers premium of 20%. Payments AFTER 10 days by these methods cannot apply the 2.5% discount."

They call it a discount because the credit card processing contracts I've reviewed all forbid vendors from charging a premium for use of the card [it discourages card use], but really it is a penalty to discourage electronic payments via those methods. I don't have any other trade relationships where a net 10 payment discount depends on the payment method; the merchants want their payments quickly and will offer net 10 terms regardless of payment methods to try and get it.