h_yee auctions
 

i post this every year after every one of his auctions
there cant be anyone out there who believes he is legit
how is it possible every auction he gets double triple 5x what an item is worth on ebay..if he put his stuff in REA he wouldnt get half what he gets on ebay...and ebay as we all know right now is very slow...economy etc...I guarantee you that if i or anyone else put up some of the same items on ebay you cant get 25% of what he gets...its a joke...also is anything he sells real? alleged 1st generation photos? pins?
every auction he comes up with the same RARE NEVER BEFORE SEEN stuff and if you look back every auction he sets new record high prices...if this was 1929 he would still set record prices
i need a real explanation

Larry:

I can't comment too much on the memorabilia items but I don't think there are any issues at all with the legitimacy of Henry's Type I photos and he clearly identifies those which he knows to be of later generation production.

hyee
 

i dont know much about these photos
but i always wonder how u can have a 1st generation photo of the same picture 50 times...did the AP photographer take the same picture 50 times....and how can anyone possibly tell the difference...use 50 year old photo paper and make all the copies u want in your dark room...but the real question still remains
if u buy something in his ebay auction for 500 tonite and put it back up on ebay in 2 weeks i guarantee you wont get 150 for it
So the only explanation I ever come up with is he has a select group of buyers that dont use the internet ever, except when he has an auction..they apparently believe that ebay only exists when he has an auction.. the reason he doesnt put his stuff in a catalogue auction house is because he gets more on ebay..am i the only one who thinks thats amazing

Larry - you understand that Type 1 is a period print from the original negative? The photographer took 1 photo and could have printed it many times; all would be considered Type 1.

Larry, no matter what anyone says, 50 year old paper would have loss of contrast and some fogging in the grey areas...even if the paper was stored in the fridge/freezer in optimum condiitions...this is especially true in fiber based paper, so you would see a quality drop-off if using old paper to print photos today. There are a lot of people on this board that collect type1 photos, and not just on ebay. I have always had issue with the fact that there is no way to determine how many photos were printed in the "type1 window" and how many remain, but even not knowing, there are still a lot less than say...ticket stubs from a big game, or baseball cards etc. As for your contention that one of these photos that sells tonight won't get a fraction of the selling price a couple of weeks down the road, I say it might just be the other way around. I'm tracking a photo that I know sold in a recent auction and I'm betting that it will only get about 60 percent in Henry's ebay auction.

I think lke most any auction, some of his items go for what they should be expected to, while others go for signifcantly more . . . or less . . . than one might expect.

I know that I picked up two items from his auction in May that I thought were steals.

And unlike most ebay auctions, he only does it every couple of months with a lot of quality items.

He also promotes it by emailing his past buyers, and I've seen the current acutions mentioned and discussed on more than one board by satisfied customers. How many other ebay sellers do you see that for?

My humble opinion is Larry has some interesting comments, in particular on the price you'll get if you resell a week later.

I too am always surprised by the number of bids on his items-am I the only one who may or may not use bidnapper/snipe software? I would like to hear others thoughts on his prices realized......

well
 

I won a few lots from him in this most recent auction. I thought the prices were fair to high. I didn't follow a whole lot of them though. I did manage to win a few things below my max bids. regards

Hyee
 

I would love to say something about this topic But for now I feel I best keep my thoughts to myself .

Outrageous
 

IMO, some of the final results were so high that I can't even offer an explanation. I respect the quality and reputation of Henry, but many prices were astronomical by a significant percentage.

Looking over the lots that ended I don't really see much out of the ordinary. Saw a couple nice Bronko Nagurski and Red Grange photos that ended under 50 bucks I wish I would have put a bid on.

He tends to get crazy prices on some Mantle photos, just like he always has. Other then that, there's a lot of stuff that seemed like relative bargains and a lot of stuff that went about where it should go.

There was a few head-scratchers for sure, both on the high end and the low end...........but that's pretty typical of photo auctions.

Granted I'm not an expert in everything he has offered up for auction.

Henry's Auction
 

Henry does seem to get major auction prices on some things on ebay but so did Scott Gaynor several years ago when he was listing weekly on ebay.

It is simple, people go where the stuff is and he gets good quality items and a good quantity of them, markets himself well and only does auctions 4 or so times a year.

He markets his ebay auctions as events. A friend of mine does the same thing in general line antiques on ebay and even takes out an ad in the antique journal. His sales for those auctions yield 25-35% higher results.

Don't beat the guy up for success.

As a side note, I was 3 for 4 in his auction last night.

The one I lost I was 25% off the top bid.
One my max bid was totally max out to the penny.
One my max bid was 10% over the selling price
and the last one my max bid was 4 times the purchase price.

How is that for all over the board. To me it sounds like ebay.

I thought the prices were high also, but then again, I'm a complete photo novice. There's a thread on pop reports on the other part of the forum, but or the Classic 1939 Lou Gehrig "Luckiest Man" photo, is there any ballpark number on how many Type I photos are out for this pose? Less than 10, 10-50, hundreds?

AGREED
nonsensical witch hunt.

I actually thought his prices were a little more reasonable than normal, but I think that the selection was not quite as good as some of his past auctions. I bid with total resale in mind on everything in this auction (nothing for me personally this time around) and I was 3/14. I won a nice Ruth photo for about 1/3 what it would have gone for in a major auction so I was pleased!

Rhys

Like Scott's auctions, it is nice in Henry's auctions for a bidder to see a large quantity of similar offerings being offered by one seller. I bid on ten items, and I suspect I would only have found five or so with my usual search terms. Most bidders don't put tremendous amounts of energy into looking for items on ebay. If the auction is marketed and well presented to them, they will bid.

Henry's got great original stuff, always has. He's always answered my inquiries too, completely, honestly and accurately.

I look forward to Henry's auction, as I suspect many do -and it's never a let down.

Not sure if the vague OP is accusing him as a shill or not. But, it's never crossed my mind.

Again, there are often several of the same Type 1's floating about. As mentioned above.

word gets 'round
 

I had about a 30 minute conversation with Henry last night, pertaining to Net54baseball. He expressed his displeasure at folks thinking he is shilling. He did it in a polite manner and Henry and I have always got along fine. A long time ago there were a few descriptions that could have been a little better (imo), no one's perfect, but I have always found him to be honest and reliable. He said if you think his prices realized were high you should be consigning to him :)> I think he might have a point. We had a really good chat and I like Henry quite a bit. Happy collecting.

I buy a handful of items every year from Henry, and have always been able to do so at reasonable prices. Even though I'm not a big spending customer, he always treats me very nicely and his customer service is amazing.

Greg

Leon,

Conversely, did he by any chance express his pleasure in the larger number of people that posted above as satisfied customers who look forward to his auctions?

Just curious.

Looking at the photos I was watching that were sold, I'd say the prices were quite reasonable this time around. As I stated earlier in this thread, there was a Barney Stein photo (the exact photo, markings etc) that sold in an auction earlier this year for $100 that sold last night in Henry's auction for around $50...but I think that can be said for a lot of memorabilia also. It just depends on who knows about it, who's bidding, what time of year, etc.

sort of....
 

I guess Henry hasn't tried to check the board out as he thought you have to be registered (which he can do and I told him he could) to even see the messages. Of course you don't but if you want to see some other things you do have to be. I told him that the way I saw it, he was coming out ahead at this point, and I think he should be happy. After we spoke for a while he agreed. The good comments outweigh the poor ones by quite a bit. There is always going to be someone in a community that thinks differently and this one is no different. :) By the time we got off of the phone he was cool with it and happy. I just had to explain it a bit....regards

Thanks for the response, Leon.

Henry Yee
 

I just want to put in my two cents on behalf of Henry, having had many dealings, both selling and buying, with him over the years. In that time I have not had a single occasion on which to doubt his honesty or professionalism. In addition, Henry is a class act all the way: polite, friendly, and intelligent. As to the question of why his eBay auctions get terrific prices, How about this: he has the highest quality material; his descriptions and photos are the best possible; he alerts his clientele before every auction; and perhaps most pertinent of all, each item carries with it his reputation for knowledge and accuracy. Finally, when it comes to his famous photo auctions--HE WROTE THE BOOK! So why should it be a mystery that his auctions do so well? Like every auction, however, there's always a few bargains to be had for the bottom feeders like me. As for the allegations of shill bidding, let's see the proof. Since it's eBay, the bidding is open for all to see. Shouldn't be too hard to prove shill bidding with all the examples to study from his auction. Based on my experiences with Henry, I'm not expecting to see any.
Hank Thomas

Henry
 

I find it interesting that the creator of this thread is not a Photo guy and offers no specific examples. Why would you admit to posting negatively about someone every time the auction comes up and then admit you know nothing about most of the items in it? I agree that we are all entitled to our opinion but can we at least act responsibly? Especially on New Years?? :)

I wanted to give my personal experience with Hyee. I both consign and buy from Henry. I spent damn near 4k on a photo a year or two ago and never thought it was shilled. This auction, I had one Mantle photo exceed 1k(oversize) but had a Clemente photo bring less than I originally paid(oversized). I purchased one photo for 6 dollars(George Brett original Malcolm Emmons). Needless to say, I didn't suspect shilling on my win. If you cannot believe how great the prices are, consign and find out. I promise you will not be disappointed with how you are treated as Henry is class all the way. All in all, I come out ahead on the photos I have sold that hit big that make up for the ones that slip through the cracks(as in every auction). I still remember the first time I spoke to Henry..he said "Ben, don't worry about a thing..I will take care of everyhing". Which, to me, means seemless and no stress...and he was right. My purchased items and commission checks are NEVER delayed. He also returns every call/email and offers honest opinions.
The fact is, Henry lists quality items that are rare(i.e. photos and pins to name a couple). There is no price guide that I know of for photos and one that is worth a damn but pretty dated for pins. Being a collector of both, I know that prices can range all over the board. There are high end collectors who have deep pockets that have refined tastes for quality. They most likely do not have time to search ebay everyday or the patience to deal with people they do no know and/or trust. Maybe it is an image they fall in love with/that they have never seen or a pinback that is minty...
Why is it so odd that they might go for twice or thrice as much as a similar photo or a pinback not as nice?
I believe Henry caters to loyal, refined collectors who appreciate quality and service. And I also think he uses Ebay's software/marketing brilliantly as I always know when an auction is coming based on email blasts to all 3 of my accounts. I truly believe he would also do "the right thing" if there was a problem. I find it interesting there is no specific example posted otherwise as there normally is on other auction house threads.

In closing, reading this thread was initially very discouraging to me as Henry is one of the good guys in a hobby where there is a lot of garbage. If we are all into improving our hobby, why would we crap in the sink?

What do you think of this?
 

I searched the user name sflayanks on ebay, and look what this guy bought;:confused:

260703860952 Dec-05-10 Dec-12-10 18:39:22 US $260.52 RARE 1955 Post Cereal TED WILLIAMS Comic Book w/ MAILER sflayank (*) hyee_auctions :eek:

The term 'whack job" immediately came to mind.:rolleyes:

post removed so I don't get in the middle of a silly demate

hyee
 

yes this is what i won
$260.52 RARE 1955 Post Cereal TED WILLIAMS Comic Book w/ MAILER
just because i win something in his auction doesnt mean i dont think he has shills in his employ...Im quite sure i overpaid for this item..if it wasnt his auction it would go for 100 bucks on ebay...you should see the items i didnt win...one lot that normally goes for 300-400, i put in 3 times that amount to make sure i won it, and went to sleep and lost it
2 months ago on ebay i won a pin in nrmt+ condition with charm bat chain ribbon etc for $62...he sold the same pin same condition or less for over $300...So once again the ONLY point I was making is that he has this invisble group of bidders who apparently only bid on ebay when he has an auction...the rest of the year they turn off their computers...That is my point and ONLY point..he can be the nicest guy in the world..I have this need to know how u can put up an item on ebay and get 100 he puts it up next week and gets 400 and another one appears a week later and gets 80...WHO are these collectors that only bid in his auctions and no one elses

I guess I just don't get your point. You ask "WHO are these collectors " yet you admit to bidding 3 times what you think and item is worth.

Just a wild guess, but I suspect that he wasn't the captain of his high school debate team.

now there....
 

Now there, that's funny. Thanks Tim.:D

Lets see, I bid 3x the amount I usually do, and I am asking myself- "Self- how DOES HE get such high prices?" As Yogi would say: If it's the way it is, it probably is the way it is.

Something tells me I need to call Henry and charge him for this advertising. :)

It's all about reputation and promoting the auction to the right people.

Sothebys and I could sell the exact same Item. Guess who would get the higher price? Of course they would, wether the auction was on Ebay or in the New York office.

On a smaller scale, but a perfect example there's this personal experience.

A friend of mine sells 16mm films. Lots of them. And he sells almost nothing else. He has built a reputation for accuracy in descriptions. Films fade or get worn. Many sellers underestimate how bad something is. He's a very conservative grader.

At one point I was helping him sell some inexpensive films. I sell a wide range of stuff when I'm active, cards, bike parts, small antiques... One film was a short story, and in fantastic condition. Barely used, on mylar film with an emulsion that's not prone to fading. I put a good description, and a picture.
No takers at $25- what we both thought was a good price. Then no takers at $10. I gave it back to him after 3 tries since I didn't think it should go for a price lower than that. The can and reel would sell for $4-5.
He listed it as a buy it now at $25 using my description.
It sold in less than 12 hours.
So there's a case from Ebay with the exact same item and one seller gets at least 2.5x what another could get. And he does little to no promotion of his auctions.

Steve B
PS if anyone collects films and has a want list just let me know and I'll pass it along. But you probably know him already.

I don't deal in photos, but this sounds exactly like Brent and his company, PWCC. We could have the EXACT same card (according to the PSA serial #). Say, for example, a PSA Gem Mint 10 1965 Topps common. I PROMISE you, he would get more for the card than I would if we sold it via the same venue (Ebay). To quote Yogi, "It's just the way it is...".

Hyee winnings this week
 

I was 3 for 4. I felt that all 3 that I purchased were fairly reasonable.:D

Here are my 3 winners:
Carl Hubbell original 1930's photo (I love this shot)
1946 Bob Feller 1946 Type I of his speed test on August 20th at Washington DC
Type II Johnny VanderMeer second no-hitter 6/15/38 at Ebbets Field (also 1st night game)

One more thing...
 

I thought that some of you guys who don't know Henry or have yet to do business with him, should take a look at his background.

From PSA's website...

Henry Yee's interest in photography as a form of artistic expression and historical preservation started at the age of 15 at Brooklyn Technical High School where he studied photography and photojournalism. Yee then earned his business degree from the University at Buffalo's Business School of Management. He has spent the last ten years on Wall Street consulting with Fortune 500 companies and is the owner of HY Ventures, LLC, which specializes in organizational development and IT/business systems management solutions.

As a collector and dealer of sports memorabilia and sports photography for over two decades, Yee has handled millions of news photographs from public and private archives around the country, including some of the hobby's finest examples. With his vast experience, Yee has been able to amass one of the largest exemplar archives of news photo and wire photo stamping specimens in the world. He is the co-author of A Portrait of Baseball Photography published by MastroNet (2005). The landmark volume was the first exhaustive account of baseball photographs.

Great pickups everyone!

I struck out on the 1921 team photo, but glad I showed some measure of restraint!

I'll be consigning a dozen or so photos with Henry next go- around.

He's a class act all the way.

I don't have a pony...
 

...in this race -- I don't collect photographs or bid in Yee auctions -- but it is OBVIOUS that if you were going to purchase Type 1 photos, you would be extremely concerned about who was selling them. You would also, OF COURSE, pay a premium to buy them from a reputable source.

Photos are naturally harder to authenticate than baseball cards. Like autographs, you would want them coming from trusted sources, and would pay a premium for that.

I havent bid on many Yee items recently, but when I see his name as the seller I know that the item will be high quality and top of the line. And I know is will sell good.

Thats why his stuff sells for more than the average eBay seller IMO

Heck he got almost $600 for a very nice but very common 1948 (really 1947) Old Gold Jackie Robinson "raw" card. Ive bought lower grade examples in the past for under $25.

I am finally getting back to this thread. I want to make it perfectly clear that I was not in anyway saying that I though Henry was shill bidding.

In the above post Steve says exactly what I was thinking. Thanks.

HOWEVER, I would like to point out is that it really is easy to shill in Henry's auctions. I believe that he takes consignments. If that is the case, what is to stop the consignor from having another eBay user bump up the price. Henry would not even know it.

Case in point. This George Burke Chas. Gehringer photo I won (item #250739037920). Check out bidder a***5(121). 2055 (!) bids on 149 of hyee's auctions, 99% "activity . . with this seller". I e-mailed Henry about this clown and suggested he block him. He replied that he would and I presume that he did. Am not casting aspersions on Henry whatsoever. We all know that eBay lends itself to all kinds of bad faith shenanigans. This joker could have been shilling to his own advantage or could have been doing it just to jack around Henry. Either way it corrupts the bidding process and probably tends to elevate prices. I will not hold my breath waiting for eBay to do anything about anything.

That can be the case for any auction house or Ebay seller that takes consignments. Have a friend bump up the price.

I accept consignments for my Ebay auctions on a regular basis. I would hope I would notice if something fishy is going on. Like the same bidder bumping up a ton of auctions from the same consignor and not paying on the ones he won.

There would be a pattern. Not just the typical NPB here and there.

If I found out a consignor was messing with auctions, I would make a point not to ever deal with them again, no matter the material they were offering.

Of course I don't do anything near the scope of Henry's auctions. I imagine it would be hard to notice something fishy going on when you have 1600 auctions running at one time.

To play devil's advocate, why would a consignor shill on his own auctions, say to drive up the price $500 when the average selling price is $100?? He knows it will never sell for that price and then he would be stuck having to buy his own item back for quintuple what it is worth. I just don't get it.....

@Bobby...Since I have never shilled, I am not speaking from experience...but as an example, you see lots of activity early in an auction and every time you place the high bid another bidder places a higher bid...if you are not piggish, you could push the price pretty high without worrying about being the high bidder...just sayin.

Let me ask this, and I also don't want to question Henry's reputation. However, Henry works for PSA as an authenticator/grader for Photos. Yet, he sells / consigns photos directly. Is that not a conflict of interest?

Thanks, Gary