REA catalog and consignment question

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Posted By: jackgoodman

I just received my REA catalog (Thanks for sending) and can't believe the size of it - thought it was my new phone book.

My question to those of you who regularly consign items to auction houses is this: Do you feel you get adequate exposure for your items (assuming it is only a handful of them) in a catalog as big as REA's? Or do they tend to get lost? And on the other side, does a catalog as big as REA's get you better exposure and thus a higher price for your items because bidders really do look thru each and every item?

Would appreciate opinions from those that "have been there, done that."

Thanks.

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Posted By: davidcycleback

I get catalogs from various big auction houses, including REA, and look through them all with decent thoroughness. At the least, they are better entertainment than most magazines I get.

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Posted By: jackgoodman

but I spent almost an hour looking for the @#%*! centerfold...........

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Posted By: JimB

The results from the big auction houses seem to show that things do not get lost in the shuffle. In REA or Mastronet, all the items probably get 75% or 80% of full retail at a minimum because dealers bid that high on most items. Most go over what people would think would be full retail. And my hunch is that most people look through those catalogues pretty thoroughly when they arrive. I often go back through old catalogue and I have never accidentally missed anything. I have regretted not bidding on things, but not because I was not aware they were being offered.
JimB

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Posted By: Hal Lewis

I agree with Mr. B.

I read through those things with a fine-toothed comb and SEARCH for hidden gems.

I think most people do.

Heck, I read through the old ones about once a year just like Jim does.

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Posted By: Dave H

How do I get one of these REA catalogs. I am a newer collector in this era and am just learning about these things.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

There are definitely deals to be had though. I think just not really in baseball. A local fellow here consigned his Husker football collection this last year to Mastro and he was particularily unhappy with the way they listed his items. They put all of the programs into one lot when many of the programs were worth over a thousand dollars each. They put all of Bob Devaney's memorabilia into one lot, et cetera. I heard tell that he tried to get them to pull some of the items, but they wouldn't let him. (I'm hearing this secondhand so I don't know if it's entirely true). Had I known about the items in the auction I would have tried to win some of them because most of this stuff hit ebay shortly afterwards and went for triple what Mastro got out of it. I noticed in the last two Mastro auctions there were more Husker items. Leftover stuff found in the corner? Having been in their offices I could see how something could get lost. I couldn't imagine anyone consigning more Husker items after the disappointing showing they had in the previous auction.

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Posted By: Max Weder

David

Go to the website to request a catalogue

http://www.robertedwardauctions.com/rea_freecatalog.html

Hope this helps

Max

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Posted By: Dave H

Max, thank you, I was unfamiliar with REA and the rest of them, for that matter.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Dan makes an excellent point. Large auction houses are great if you have high profile and valuable items, and nobody catalogs them better than REA. His auction is the best for important historical items; I was there viewing lots yesterday and the breadth of the material is awesome. But if you have a smaller collection, your material is likely to be lotted together and that may not be for everyone. A smaller auction could do it more justice.

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Posted By: warshawlaw

It has actual information instead of hype and is very much appreciated. One little comment, if the powers that be at REA are reading: paragraph breaks. It is really hard to follow some of the longer descriptions that run for a page without any breaks.

I don't know which way to go w/r/t big versus small houses. I've consigned to some smaller auctions and have been satisfied but not thrilled with the results as compared to ebay when the 20%-30% total hit and the delay in payment are taken into account. As a buyer I've picked up a number of really good deals from smaller houses, so I am guessing that as a seller I'd not have been too thrilled with them. I'm not that concerned that good items will be buried by big auctions simply because we ALL scour every auction for what we collect, especially with search engines in many of them.

Finally, I have a serious question that may sound frovolous or smartalecky but is not: I noticed a lot of descriptions stating that the item was previously sold in _________ famous auction for $___________ yet these items are reserved at 50% of the prior price. Why is that? Are these people really so desperate or stupid that they are willing to take 50% hits on their items? How is this decision made? As a potential consignor I find the scenario to be off-putting.

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Posted By: leon

I think the answer is the auction houses want "action" on the cards. If they set a 10k card minimum at 9k there might not be too many bids....no different than high starting prices on ebay vs. a $1 starting price. Which do you find more interesting? regards