Auction Reserves - let’s discuss

[Rhotchkiss]

A few days ago I (sort of) posted about the SGC 7, 1952 Topps Mantle ending in Heritage tmrw night. As of the date I posted, the hammer on that card was $260k, with an all-in price of $312k with buyers premium. IF the auction ended there, at $312k (and there was 4-5 days left), it would be a substantial increase over a comparable Mantle that most recently sold for $264k. HOWEVER, two days ago a reserve gets posted, currently at $280k before BP. I bet nobody bids and the seller, who almost certainly got a piece of the buyer’s premium, misses out on a solid sale.

In the same auction, there is a super rare, twice signed, 1893 Cy Young Cabinet. It sold in 2018 for $60k. It was auctioned in 2022 but did not hit its $240k reserve (with BP). It was at about $110k with BP a few days ago when a $200k reserve ($240k with BP) popped up. I highly doubt it sells now with that reserve in place, but I promise it would have been bid up bc I had every expectation of going after it a few more times. If it doesn’t sell, Seller misses out on at least 200% profit in 5 years.

One last thing to consider - Heritage makes the consignor pay the BP on all amounts that do not meet their reserve. So, even if the consignors are getting 50% of the BP on the Mantle and Young, they will fork over $20k+ likely to watch their item not sell; this is the second time the Young consignor will suffer that fate. Please note, this is not about Heritage - almost all AH’s will offer reserves and I expect most take a BP even if the item does not sell; it’s just that these examples are in the current Heritage auction.

I understand the attraction of a reserve for the consignor, and I have often considered one when I consign. But then I recall a story by one AH owner who recounts when he tried to convince the consignor not to put a reserve on a lot, the card did not sell at the reserve, the consignor was mad so the AH purchased the card for the reserve amount, the AH then put the same card in its next auction without reserve and it closed well above the reserve amount.

As a bidder, I don’t like a reserve and I rarely go hard after items with a reserve. As a consignor, I have never put a reserve; some items have beat expectations and others have disappointed, but I had resigned to selling the item when I consigned it so I never wished I had put a reserve in the disappointments.

Let’s talk about reserves, as a bidder, consignor, auction house….