Posted By:
Louis BollmanFirst, in the intrest of full disclosure, I used to work for MastroNet / Mastro Auctions from 1998-2002 (end of 98 to the end of 02). And have not always had the best relations with some at Mastro's and at other times got along great with everyone there. Kind of like a big family; you might, at times, have the greatest contempt for your siblings but eventually you get over it. Since I no longer have any affiliation with Mastro's, in fact I am currently consulting for a competing auction house (I won't attempt to highjack the thread by posting the auction house name in this thread for promotional purposes) so I have nothing to gain by jumping to their defense. While employed by Mastro's I never witnessed any type of "protection" being offered to a consignor. On the contrary, I have personally seen some premium consignements lost due to the company policy of making it a "true" auction without hidden reserves.
This is an attempt at getting this thread back on track to an honest question. These are my limited observations about where to sell / auction your material.
1) All (in my experience) dealers and auction houses do have customers that are unique to their buisiness. When I hired on at Mastro's they had a mailing / customer /potential customer list of well over 10,000 names while I, on the other hand, had a relatively small customer list of under 1,000 names. When we merged lists 80% of my customers were not on their list. Furthermore, when auction houses sell a variety of different collectibles (i.e. sports, comics, political, etc.) you will inevitably intrest some of your customers from one area to another. I can't imagine a collector of something, not sports related, not wanting a Ty Cobb card or a Babe Ruth ball. So often times auction companies that handle a variety of different collectibles can bring more buyers to the table.
2) Auctions are material driven. Regardless of how a collector (for the most part) feels about an auction house, that collector will likely bid if what they are looking for is only available in an auction that they would prefer to avoid for whatever reason. If you have a special piece up for auction, the buyers will find it.
3) Collectors often times feel more comfortable bidding or bidding higher than normal if the auctioneer or auction staff has more in depth knowledge of what they are interested in. Since many in the business got into the business as a result of being collectors first it would stand to reason that rare display pieces, pins, and photos will sell for more in Mastro's if they get a chance to talk to Bill Mastro personally; collectors of Old Judge and other 19th century cards may feel more comfortable talking about a potential purchase with Barry since it has been a strong area of interest for him for many years, etc. Because of this, personal relationships with dealers / auction houses that you as a consignor or buyer are comfortable with are very important. If you sense someone trying a "hard-sell" technique on you call someone else you trust whether it be a fellow collector or another dealer for their opinion.
4) The amount that an auction company spends on advertising is often irrelevant. Nearly all of the advertisements are geared toward obtaining consignments. Even when they preview upcoming auctions, it is in order to show potential consignors how the auction house is willing to promote future consignments. I'm not saying that the advertisements don't produce a few more bids in an auction but, again, the auctions are material driven and the overwhelming majority of collectors looking for a particular item will find the auction whether they see an ad or not.
5) Look at any potential auction company's prior catalogs / auctions and decide for yourself if that company's auction will compliment your consignment to your satisfaction.
I am sorry if this post seems long-winded. For many on this board I haven't written anything that would change the way that you sell or consign. For those that do not sell or consign often these are all things that you should seriously consider before signing "The Contract"; you only get to sell it once, there aren't any "do overers". Even if you feel that the item that you have already consigned isn't going for what you hoped for, having one of your "friends" shill bid the item to the point of winning your consignment back is a lousy idea. Is that item going to sell for enough more in another auction to make up for the seller's commission (0-15%) and the buyers premium (15-20%)that you'll be on the hook for if you buy it back?....Probably not.
Hope this helps,
Louis Bollman