The seller and venue matter a lot as well.
The appraisers on antiques roadshow are among the very few people that can actually get the sort of prices they appraise things for. The furniture guys wouldn't be able to get the prices on toys and the toy guy wouldn't be able to get close to the furniture prices for furniture.
Same thing for different levels of dealer. The flea market guys are sometimes cheap because that's all they can get for what they have at that flea market. A guy with a shop might be able to get a bit more, but couldn't move a big box of newish commons. And a big auction house will usually do better than a small one. They have better connections to collectors with more money than the little places. (Or well connected startups)
Even on Ebay this can matter. I've sometimes helped my film collecting friend do some selling. I had one film that was in fantastic condition, with good actors and a famous story. tried $25, tried $10 nothing. Gave it back to him and it got a bid in minutes at $25. But I've sold some pretty crummy stuff he had that he thought wasn't saleable. Why? Because people trust his opinion of condition more than mine. He does just film, I do pretty much anything I think I can make a few bucks on.
I saw a local auction of a Wagner a few years back, then watched it travel through several auction houses over the next year or so. Each larger auction house was able to get more for it than the previous one. It went from $30K when I saw it to 120K a year later.
Local ad and small hobby ad 30K sale
small scd ad small auction 60K minimum
quarter page scd ad 90K minimum
full page scd ad 120K minimum
I lost track of it after that.
Steve B
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