AH Buyer's Premium

[Klrdds]

With all the talk about auctions that end at ridiculous times ( after 3-4 AM ) and over-inflated shipping costs for items, and with many auctions now with great items in them and whether max bids can be trusted ...How much does the AH's buyer's premium affect your bidding ?
Do you factor it in to the amount you will bid on an item or does it not matter to you ?
Before the 15% BP I never cared about what I paid for an item if I wanted the item I just got it, but the 20% BP changed my bidding habits by me now factoring it into the total amount I am willing to pay/bid for the item .

[Moyni]

Of course I factor it in to my purchases.

[Gradedcardman]

The buyers premium does make a difference to me and I take it into account when bidding. If its an item I have been searching for then I may not consider it quite as much but normally yes.

[Duluth Eskimo]

I agree 100%. I didn't really care that much until it hit 15-20% or more in some cases. A "buyers premium" is almost ridiculous to say. The seller should shoulder any fee for the sale of an item. I feel like a sheep leading myself to slaughter when I pay to purchase something from an auction house.

[keithsky]

There is no BP on Ebay and they seem to make money. Granted there are more people on the there and a bigger company. Inside the park Collectibles has their auction and they don't have a BP. What you buy is what you pay. Plus it's great people to deal with. They seem to make it ok without a BP.

[Topnotchsy]

Originally Posted by keithsky

There is no BP on Ebay and they seem to make money. Granted there are more people on the there and a bigger company. Inside the park Collectibles has their auction and they don't have a BP. What you buy is what you pay. Plus it's great people to deal with. They seem to make it ok without a BP.

The BP is mostly psychological in 2 ways:

1) As a seller you may consider that money less "yours" because it is not shown as part of the ending auction price

2) For the buyer, at times (particularly in a bidding war) you may pay less attention to it.

I don't know the net margins that auction houses work with, but comparing them to eBay ignores the work that auction houses do as far as write-ups and marketing. As a seller, it behooves us to consider which platform is better for the items they are looking to sell.

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by keithsky

There is no BP on Ebay and they seem to make money. Granted there are more people on the there and a bigger company. Inside the park Collectibles has their auction and they don't have a BP. What you buy is what you pay. Plus it's great people to deal with. They seem to make it ok without a BP.

Yes... Kudos to Lou and John of ITPC for operating all these years with no fee.

They are the best!