Sotheby's on crack?

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Posted By: jay behrens 

Has anyone taken a look at some of the items Sotheby's ahs on eBay? Is it me, or are the minimum bids insanely high? The worst I saw was a lot 16 t207 they say are g/vg with an opening bid of $690. The Goudey lots are just as bad or worse.

Jay

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Posted By: David

It depends on who is selling. For the Sotheby's/Ebay auctions, the seller is sometimes Sotheby's but usually is one of a variety of independent auction house/dealer affiliates working under the Sotheby's umbrella. Sotheby's 'in house' auctions are under the eBay name 'Sothebys.com' or similar.

From the limited stuff I've looked at (sport and nonsport), the prices are usually high, on occasion comically. However, I got a deal on one lot from one of the sellers, and was satisfied with the product.

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Posted By: David

Also realize that there will be a buyer's premium and typical auction house shipping charges.

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Posted By: jay behrens

The one nice thing is right below the bid it tells you what portion of the bid is the buyer's premium.

Jay

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Posted By: TBob

Not only Sotheby, but the minimum bids for all the big auction houses seem to be going through the roof and starting off a heckuva lot higher than they used to be.