Some pointers for the auction newbs:
1. As a consignor, if you have decent stuff most any AH will sell it for 0% commission--the Buyers Premium (aka the BP or the vig) is where they make their money, typically 20% of the hammer price. If you have a consignment and the AH demands a commission, take it to another AH. If your consignment is really valuable, most AH's will also give you a piece of the BP. Selling your Wagner, ask for 110%-115% of the hammer price and you will get it. 1988 Donruss set, not.
2. Read the rules for each auction.
3. Read the rules for each auction.
4. Some AH's have switched to flat rate shipping charges. REA and LOTG both do that for run of the mill card lots.
5. Read the rules for each auction.
6. Closing methods vary. The goal is to maximize the amounts bid on each lot: happy consignors = repeat consignors. There are various ways to handle it. Here are excerpts from REA and LOTG's rules:
LOTG: This auction closes using the "Double Overtime" method, with a 15-minute rule for the entire auction. In order to bid on an item during the extended bidding session beginning on the date of the auction close, you must place at least one bid on that item prior to 9:00 PM Eastern on the auction closing date. If you do not bid on it by 9PM Eastern on the closing date, you cannot bid on it afterward. To ensure that everyone gets a chance to bid, we will apply the 15-minute rule to the entire auction beginning at 9PM, with the clock resetting every 15 minutes. Bidding continues until no bids have been placed in the entire auction for a full 15-minute interval. As long as there is at least one lot that receives a bid during a 15-minute interval, the entire auction will extend for 15 minutes. Once a 15-minute interval passes without a bid on any item in the auction, the auction will close. At 1:00 AM Eastern, any item that has not received a bid for one hour or more will close without notice. The remaining items will enter "Double Overtime," with the 15-minute rule applied to the remaining lots.
REA: REA will continue to accept bids from qualified bidders after 9:00 PM EDT on all lots in the auction. IF YOU HAVE NOT BID ON AN ITEM BEFORE 9:00 PM EDT, YOU CANNOT BID ON IT AFTER 9:00 PM EDT. If, after 9:00 PM EDT, a period of 10 minutes passes without a bid on ANY lot in the entire auction, then the auction will close. Based on past auctions, this is unlikely, so if the auction continues to 12:00 AM Midnight EDT (technically the morning of Monday, April 25, 2022), each lot will switch to a 10-minute lot-by-lot closing. During this lot-by-lot closing, an individual 10-minute clock will appear on each lot page. A bid on a specific lot will cause the countdown clock to reset. If the countdown clock reaches zero, the lot will close.
7. Read the rules for each auction.