consignment fees

[sealmark2]

Just wondering today - with all of the auction houses and many auctions daily requesting consignments what are the varying consignment fees for the sellers ? They seem to be all over the place from zero to 15% or more.

Thanks,

sealmark

[jcmtiger]

I think you have it right zero to 20 % you just have to negotiate. Depends on value of items you are consigning in my experience.

[BRoberts]

There will be a parade of people posting on this thread puffing their chests and saying how they will NEVER pay a consignment fee and neither should you. Depending on the auction house, maybe you shouldn't. Then again, maybe you should. Think of picking an auction house as deciding where to go out to eat for a steak.

You could go to Ponderosa or Golden Corral and get a "steak" for less than $10. Maybe you want a slightly better steak than that. Applebee's could service your needs for maybe $15-$20. Or maybe you step up a bit more and go to Outback, figuring you'll pay $25 to $30 for that steak. You can keep going up the ladder and paying more money for a better steak, ending up at a place where you'll be forking out $80 or more for a hunk of beef.

My point isn't that you always have to pay more to get more (though many times you do). It's that not all steaks are the same, and neither are all auction houses. The owners of smaller auction houses don't want to admit it, but they often offer no consignment fees because that's what they have to do in order to get consignments. It doesn't take a research genius to see which auction houses sell the most items for the most money. Most often it's not the boutique auction houses.

So rather than placing all of your focus on consignment fees, focus on the auction houses.

[Jewish-collector]

It has to do with how much time & effort that the auction house needs to do to get your stuff ready to sell (grading, describing, etc,...). If you have a substantial amount, do you want it in a separate physical catalog as something like "The sealmark collection" ?

Be aware that all auction houses will take all "auction worthy" stuff, but some auction houses seem to bring higher prices for certain material depending what it is (ie baseball, basketball, football, hockey, non-sports, uniforms, equipment, autographs, vintage, modern, cards, etc,... For example, a certain auction house might be better for a 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan PSA 10 than a Babe Ruth game used bat.

Best of luck !!!

[sealmark2]

Thanks guys (or gals as the case may be). I like the steak analogy but I just paid $75 for a steak and lobster dinner so I guess why am I asking about consignment fees ?

More responses to come I suspect.

Sealmark

[Bobsbats]

I've paid 20% on items i've consigned, I have also paid 0%. Some auction houses are being aggressive with obtaining consignments, so they lower the buyers fee. Good luck with your consignments