AH Marketing efforts

[Snapolit1]

Was just wondering. . . . how much do you think AH marketing efforts really affect the final hammer price of a high end card at the end of the day? Let's say a $75,000 Mantle card. Does it really matter much what the AH says about it . . . where in the catalog it's listed. . . . how many times it's pimped in a mass mailing or e-mail . . . . does any of that really matter?

One one hand I think it must, but on the other hand if someone is going to pay $75,000 for a particular card, likely they are looking in all the same places we are looking and know what they want. Is a card really going to slip through he cracks because it's listed as item 200 in a catalog and not in the first few pages? Is one more email really going to push someone to bid? This is not like marketing paper towels or dish soap, where promotional activity serves the purpose of brand recognition, top of mind awareness, etc.

I get ticked when I consign a nice item and it gets "buried" in a catalog, but does it really matter where people pour over catalogs and websites for weeks?

Obviously there is a benefit to presenting an item for sale in a nice way. Can't deny that.

Curious on what others think.

[jethrod3]

My initial response would be yes, but it's a qualified yes. If the item is a well-known and in-demand $75K card, it probably doesn't matter how and where it's listed, as long as the pertinent info is listed and it's not buried in a section of the catalog that has material that is obviously of much lower worth or interest.

Now, what your post really got me thinking about though (and it's not my intention to hijack this thread), is whether it is justified to charge a fixed consignment percentage, when it's not always guaranteed how much your piece will be promoted, or in some cases, even how accurate your piece may be advertised.

I get ticked when I know I would be paying the same (or too close to the same) consignment percentage for a $5,000 item as i would for a $1500 or even a $500 item, when the same amount of work would be expended and the same amount of promotion done by the AH. That amounts to $750 for the $5000 item vs $75 for the $500 for the same amount of effort. I know that AH's will often work with consigners and depending on the piece or volume of pieces consigned, fees may be lower than for someone submitting one moderately-priced item, but if there were more of a fixed price or tiered system for consignment fees, I would definitely sell more items at AH's.

[parkplace33]

Great question. In this day and age, I think it matters very little. Front page, back page, good pictures, bad pictures. If it is a great card in an auction, collectors will find it from searching, emails, friends, Net54, whatever. Great cards don't hide.

[raulus]

I agree that good cards aren't going to hide, at least most of the time. I have found that sometimes a card won't surface in search results. Once or twice in major auctions, I've been randomly trolling through when I accidentally happened upon a card that I have been questing for. When I used a keyword search based on the player name, it didn't show up.

In one case it was because the card was buried in a larger lot, and they didn't call it out in the title. In another case, there was just some glitch. The player's name was right there in the title, but for some reason the search results weren't picking it up. In both cases, I feel like I got a pretty solid deal, likely because potential bidders weren't finding it.

In other news, I do think that with some good marketing, nice pictures, and maybe even some wildly over the top prose, a bidder might be enticed to throw caution to the wind and blow everything on some can't-miss cardboard. I suspect that for the right buyer with more money than sense, maybe who is more of a casual johnny come lately looking to make a splash, the effect here might be even stronger. No one around here would be enticed by such prosaic methods, but those other guys, all day long.

And a pic of one of the cards that I picked up cheaper than expected because it wasn't showing up in search results.

[rjackson44]

Just look at robert edwards first 30 lot😳😳

[hcv123]

In a market that is currently in sensory overload - I think it matters more than ever. There are so many auctions, I sometimes don't even look at some of them (missing lots that are $100-$1M+) - If I saw a marketing piece with something of interest to me - it draws me to the auction.

[Jewish-collector]

I don't think the auction catalog means much nowadays. It used to be a big deal as the AH used to hand out catalogs at not only at the National, but at all shows, even the small, local shows. Some AHs have stopped producing the catalog altogether, while some have cut them back a lot. Everything is online so it's no longer a big deal. And, the images can be enlarged. The catalogs are still produced because the consigners want them, not the bidders.

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by Jewish-collector

I don't think the auction catalog means much nowadays. It used to be a big deal as the AH used to hand out catalogs at not only at the National, but at all shows, even the small, local shows. Some AHs have stopped producing the catalog altogether, while some have cut them back a lot. Everything is online so it's no longer a big deal. And, the images can be enlarged. The catalogs are still produced because the consigners want them, not the bidders.

I think they were referring more to email blasts, media appearances, online marketing and ads.

That said, I think this type of exposure does more to benefit memorabilia than cards. Seems like the number on the slab is all that really matters these days.

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by perezfan

I think they were referring more to email blasts, media appearances, online marketing and ads.

That said, I think this type of exposure does more to benefit memorabilia than cards. Seems like the number on the slab is all that really matters these days.

+1 Agree and it also helps draw people to look at the auction that helps drive the other cards that are not the Mantle Cards or high end cards.

On the Other hand the top cards/high $ dollar cards always get attention and will always be found by bidders. Especially there are only so many auctions that get those Ultra Elite Cards

[Leon]

I think the more advertising the better. (says the guy who sells advertising)
.

[skelly423]

I think the initial advertising draws eyes to the auction (and other cards within that auction), but I don’t think it affects the final hammer price. I watched Ken Goldin shamelessly hawk a triple logo man Lebron James card for weeks, and it still sold for well under the price he was throwing around at the time.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by skelly423

I watched Ken Goldin shamelessly hawk a triple logo man Lebron James card for weeks, and it still sold for well under the price he was throwing around at the time.

Interesting example. I guess the amateur economist in me always wonders how it would have done without that level of flogging. Would it have sold for even less?!

[Keith H. Thompson]

but the psychology of AHs putting listings up on full page, enhanced color, half a page of who might have been in the stands that day, wow this card was once owned by Mother Teressa ... is undeniably helpful in extracting the highest bid possible. or not, depending upon the astute buyer.

the following is not a good analogy but somewhat relevant to the OPs question:

Man walks in to an antique shop and sees an un tagged desk he thinks should sell for about 100 dollars. "how much you want for the desk?" "1000 dollars." "that is too much, will you take 200 dollars?" "Yes and glad to do so"

Man says "then why did you ask me 1000 dollars?" "because you look like type of guy who likes to go around bragging he just bought a 1000 dollar desk."

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by hcv123

In a market that is currently in sensory overload - I think it matters more than ever. There are so many auctions, I sometimes don't even look at some of them (missing lots that are $100-$1M+) - If I saw a marketing piece with something of interest to me - it draws me to the auction.

+1 with the caveat that I have a really robust spam filter and 95% of AH emails never reach my inbox. The headline better be compelling and specific or it goes unread.