First time consigning - question about process
 

I'm going to be consigning an item to a major auction house. I've never consigned something before. The house is asking me to send the item first, then they say they'll follow up with a consignment contract. Is that normally how business is done? I would feel more comfortable having the contract first, but I have no idea how these things work.

You need to know what the commission rate is UP FRONT before you ship them anything!!!!

The acceptance of the lot comes before the contract-- and I assume they want to examine it in person before acceptance. They'd be in trouble if they were having contracts for items that turned out to be fakes.

Most to all of the big auction houses are fully insured, so you shouldn't have to be worry about loss, theft or breakage.

This is true....but please find out the commission rate....some are better than others, and that determines how much you will get..

I have a $3,000 item....do I really want to consign it to a house that is going to charge me 10% and the buyer 20%? They basically will get $900 for handling my item,....that is money I don't see.....you can shop around for the best rate.

It's a 10% rate, which I can live with considering it's an item that should sell anywhere between $1,500 and $2,000. I have less than $200 into it.

Thanks guys!

Including the buyer's premium?? Because you are paying that too ultimately.

i don't think the consignor's perceived value of his item should be the only deciding factor of if a consignment fee is fair.. if the item is a $3,000 graded card, then a 10 percent consignment fee seems excessive. if the consignment is a large group of ungraded cards or sets that take more time to photograph, write an auction description, then the AH likely deserves to be paid for that work. To just quote a number about value and state that a consigning charge isn't fair is irresponsible.

There are major auction houses that will not charge you a seller's fee for auctioning a $1,500 - 2,000 item, assuming the AH will not have to do an unusual amount of work with it. I suggest you contact several, and don't hesitate to negotiate.

Agreed....shop around.

Shop around, I have done items in that range several times and never paid a sellers premium, also my buyers premiums were in the 13-20% range.

Thanks for the responses everyone. Ordinarily I think I'd definitely ask for a reduced fee or no fee, but with this particular sale I essentially have almost nothing into the item and I feel like it should sell for at least $1,500, so I am actually content with the fee this time around and to get my foot in the door. Appreciate all your insight.

pm sent

I have consigned to a place with contract, and also a AH where there was no contract. I didn't even ask about fees, just let them handle it.

However, a big point I make to consigners is to make sure you write out the important parts about the lot, especially if it's an esoteric item or group lot. Don't assume that the AH will catch it all, know all the details and make all the good points-- in part because they don't have limitless time

I just went through this process for the first time and posted about it. The link to the thread is below, but here are some key takeaways:

1) For an item that is $1500-$2000 that does not require much work (ie. it is already authenticated; it does not require them to do additional research etc) there is no reason not to ask them to wave the consignment fee. They are doing almost no work with the item and taking on no risk. It doesn't matter that you have little money in it. They don't give you more money if you have a lot of money in it. Simply tell them that you think they are an elite auction house but you are speaking to a couple of others and given the ease of listing the item, are looking for one who is willing to work with you on this.

2) If there are "non-obvious" factors about the baseball, make sure to provide them for them. I won a baseball used in the 1945 Navy All-Star
Game. It also happened to be signed by Wimpy Quinn, one of the toughest signers of the 40's. This latter detail was not mentioned.

I also won a Negro League signed baseball referred to as "Jackie Robinson and others." Some research tied all the players to the 1953 Barnstorming Tour that he did.

Make sure you've done your research and share that info with them. Don't assume they will do it at the level you want.

3) Consider if the item will sell as well on eBay. For many cards, eBay provides a similar sale price but is quicker and has lower fees. You can list yourself or have a consignor list on eBay.

4) Make sure you are comfortable with the timetable. Auction houses often need the item a decent amount of time in advance to the auction, and it may take a few weeks for payment after the fact.

Here is the link to the thread I started:
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=240100

lots
 

I would agree with this.

What's interesting to me though, is taking a place like PWCC who charges more for a group lot vs a single graded card. If I were to consign 50 cards to them, they take less of a cut for them individually sold then if I were to sell them as a lot.

Seems like the lot would be easier to prepare/photograph/describe then 50 individual items.

Is this the norm for AH's?

I think there is some human mentality associated with taking a consignment. It's not always rose and lily gardens. Generally if a lot of work has to be done then more expense is incurred and thus higher fees. IF something is different than that, all the better for the consignor.