Auction Houses. Do we need more?

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by T205 GB

So with all the auction houses out there is there room for more? I have been thinking how nice interaction with someone would be. The fact you're waiting what seems like 30 days for an auction to close only to stay awake for the next 48 hours to try and win it. The fees are absurd to say the least.

A format where everyone logs on and bids in real time. Questions can be answered, certain views or angles can be shown, hammer drops that evening before the next auction goes live. BP is minimal because the overhead is minimal.

I guess I want to know if anyone would consign to and/or buy from a format like that?

Are you thinking like a live auction over a video feed?

Heritage Sunday Auctions have live bidding format. There is still very little interaction though. Combining that platform with a video feed could be interesting.

[T205 GB]

Originally Posted by bn2cardz

Are you thinking like a live auction over a video feed?

Heritage Sunday Auctions have live bidding format. There is still very little interaction though. Combining that platform with a video feed could be interesting.

Andy you hit the nail on the head with that one.

A video feed live format auction at a set time. Maybe biweekly or monthly. Only take in X amount of lots. I seriously think I can get the % to a solid 10 across the board no matter the hammer price. Fair and transparent deals in a real time format. Small picture preview of consignments.

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by T205 GB

Andy you hit the nail on the head with that one.

A video feed live format auction at a set time. Maybe biweekly or monthly. Only take in X amount of lots. I seriously think I can get the % to a solid 10 across the board no matter the hammer price. Fair and transparent deals in a real time format. Small picture preview of consignments.

I believe it would be worth a shot. With the technology and the common place of video in communications, I think it is a matter of time. Someone will have to be the first.
I think high detail photos would still be needed. Video doesn't always work to pick up things. The high detail images for zooming in the Heritage auctions is always nice.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

How 'bout plain old live? ��

[T205 GB]

Originally Posted by bn2cardz

I believe it would be worth a shot. With the technology and the common place of video in communications, I think it is a matter of time. Someone will have to be the first.
I think high detail photos would still be needed. Video doesn't always work to pick up things. The high detail images for zooming in the Heritage auctions is always nice.

The scans are the easy part. The audience is what is needed and the consignments need to be great to draw an audience.

[mechanicalman]

Just one person's opinion, but it seems like the market is saturated with AHs. If the amount of good material to sell stays relatively constant, I don't know if the market can sustain this many AHs. There will likely be some winners and losers, but I just don't see how 10-15 players offering a similar product can sustain success in the long term.

That said, maybe a significantly different approach as you suggest could disrupt things, but you still have to fight to get the material that will pay for your labor, overhead, advertising, etc.

[deeg23]

Honestly, I love this idea. I would definitely be a participant! We had an auction house about ten minutes from my house close down a couple of years ago because the owner was retiring. I looked forward to it every week. I typically don't pay a ton of attention to the current auction houses because I usually forget about them once the time comes... Plus, this just seems a lot more fun!

[mantlefan]

I agree that there are too many houses right now. The ones that run until 6 AM do a disservice to the Hobby and have to go. Live auctions via the net with reasonable hours would be great.