$5,000 minimum consignment?

[Exhibitman]

Sorta OT but not really since we all will have to sell stuff some day.

I saw that Heritage was having an entertainment auction in the spring. I sent the director an email about consignment of my Academy Awards ticket collection. She responded back that the collection wasn’t worth $5000 so they could not take it. That seemed a little odd to me so I did a little checking and found that 2/3 of the lots in their June entertainment auction closed for less than $1000 so I asked why they wouldn’t take my lot for a regular auction. The response baffles me:

“It’s not what the lot sells for – I have to take in a consignment worth $5K or more from any given consignor – if you just have one piece like you do that is not worth $5,000, then sadly, I can’t consign it.”

Anyone ever heard of this before, a $5000 floor on consignment value (not single lots for a major auction but the overall value )? What if I have a $4,000 autograph, no good?

I’ve never heard of that in the sports memorabilia field.

[bigfish]

Bad buisness for a variety of reasons.

[Orioles1954]

I have a hard time believing that is their actual policy and the rep was misinformed. For the auction house I work for we usually ask that a lot has a "fighting shot" of getting to $500. Sometimes it far surpasses that number and other times it does not.

[brob28]

Seems pretty short sighted to me.

[danmckee]

Originally Posted by bigfish

Bad buisness for a variety of reasons.

+1

[btcarfagno]

Originally Posted by Orioles1954

I have a hard time believing that is their actual policy and the rep was misinformed. For the auction house I work for we usually ask that a lot has a "fighting shot" of getting to $500. Sometimes it far surpasses that number and other times it does not.

Nope. That is their policy on the entertainment side of the house. I received a similar response to an inquiry last year and was rebuffed for the same reason. No idea why they do it that way, but they do. Their entertainment auctions are tremendous, so it must work for them.

Tom c

[Jobu]

I would like a follow-up email asking if this means that they sold all of those lots for 80% less than the price that they estimated for their consignors.

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

"... 2/3 of the lots in their June entertainment auction closed for less than $1000"

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Jobu

I would like a follow-up email asking if this means that they sold all of those lots for 80% less than the price that they estimated for their consignors.

I'm reading it as $5000 for the total consignment sent to them. Not per lot.

[Snapolit1]

I would imagine on the entertainment side of the house they might get a virtually endless string of consignors coming to them with smallish stuff. Maybe the need to do this to maintain their sanity. Does seem a little odd that they wouldn't take a $4900 item, or two $2000 pieces.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

I would imagine on the entertainment side of the house they might get a virtually endless string of consignors coming to them with smallish stuff. Maybe the need to do this to maintain their sanity. Does seem a little odd that they wouldn't take a $4900 item, or two $2000 pieces.

I was thinking the same thing. A million, $100 sales, might not be profitable. My guess is they have a very good reason, albeit maybe only their own, for doing it that way. They don't do things that aren't well thought out from what I have seen. I am not saying they haven't made mistakes, as we all have. My wife is the only one who hasn't made any.

[T20Brew]

A few years ago at a National I had a similar experience.
I had an autographed item that was about a $1200-$1500 item. I went to a few auction houses to get their interest in it.
When I went to Heritage I was asked if I had anything else to consign. I didn’t, so since I didn’t hit the minimum threshold for their overall consignment value figure (I can’t recall, but $5k minimum sounds familiar) they wouldn’t take it. If I would have had additional items in the same price range that cumulatively were over $5k they would have taken them all.
They were polite and professional, but didn’t take the item.
It sold in another auction house in that $1200-$1500 figure.

[Stampsfan]

Originally Posted by Leon

I am not saying they haven't made mistakes, as we all have. My wife is the only one who hasn't made any.

My ex wife only made one mistake. She said yes when I popped the question.

[JollyElm]

How close to $5,000 is your Academy Awards ticket collection 'worth,' do you think? Is it relatively close?

[hshrimps]

I tried to consign my T206 H. Wagner but they told me what I had was t206 Heinie Wagner. Disappointing....