Auctions Vs. Ebay

[theseeker]

I've got some mid-grade sets and inserts, mostly from the sixties that I've managed to upgrade thru buying a whole collection. For the first time ever, I'll be looking to sell off the excess. Which brings me to a question.... Do I go the auction route or Ebay?
The way I see it, either way, I have to pay a percentage, so way not let an auction house, with experienced pros, do most of the leg work. There really is only one auction house that caters to the items I'm looking to sell-- Huggins and Scott. I know they advertise here. Are they reliable and honest? It's a little scary dropping off a bunch of sets. You're experience and knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

[Leon]

Well, H and S is an advertiser here but even if they weren't I can easily say they are as honest as the day is long. I would trust them with anything in my collection.

[mintacular]

I'm more and more convinced that consignment is the best route to go now that eBay seems hell-bent on protecting buyers...This of course for large ticket items like complete vintage sets, etc. For selling little dinky items of course better to do it yourself. I do however have a personal pride issue whereby I feel like I can better describe my stuff better than some auction house who doesn't have the personal investment. I don't like the idea that I'm not an expert when I am (on most stuff) and have to pay someone else to sell my vintage cards...

[drc]

I like Huggins and Scott. I've never consigned but won group lots and was satisfied with everything, including shipping. So they've been reliable with my money in my experience.

[theseeker]

Thank you all, based on the replies, I do feel better about proceeding with H & S.

As for Ebay's buyer protection, Patrick, I'm sure you heard of the Tiffany Co. law suit filed against Ebay about 5 years ago, where Tiffany bought 200 items claiming to be Tiffany products off Ebay and only 2 turned out to be authentic. Now that's a disgrace. Somehow Ebay managed to win the case but, the negative publicity generated from the law suit forced Ebays hand. From a buyers point of view, I buy a ton more stuff on Ebay based on the buyer protection. I honestly think it benefits all involved.

[mckinneyj]

> I buy a ton more stuff on Ebay based on the buyer protection

I find this to be the case as well. I no longer spend time attempting to research whether or not a seller is legit (at least on smaller ticket items), or pause when someone has little or no feedback - ebay/PayPal for the most part assumes the risk for me. If the seller doesn't deliver or attempts to defraud ebay/PayPal refunds my money (and I presume chases the seller). I bid more and if others are like me and the OP then I presume that this translates into better sale prices for the sellers (and bigger commissions for ebay).

[Leon]

Originally Posted by theseeker

Thank you all, based on the replies, I do feel better about proceeding with H & S.

As for Ebay's buyer protection, Patrick, I'm sure you heard of the Tiffany Co. law suit filed against Ebay about 5 years ago, where Tiffany bought 200 items claiming to be Tiffany products off Ebay and only 2 turned out to be authentic. Now that's a disgrace. Somehow Ebay managed to win the case but, the negative publicity generated from the law suit forced Ebays hand. From a buyers point of view, I buy a ton more stuff on Ebay based on the buyer protection. I honestly think it benefits all involved.

Without looking at the court case Ebay probably got off because they were not the actual entity selling the fakes. They were only a venue and there are many protections for venues, ala this forum itself. There is a strong federal statute (Section 230) that protects owners of blogs/forums. In a nutshell is says that a "venue" isn't the publisher themselves so they can't be held accountable for what people do on their site, under normal circumstances.

As for Pat's thought on selling through an auction or ebay. The only thing that really should matter is exactly where you net the most money in your pocket. An auctioneer should have a captive audience and will get more collectors bidding, with deep pockets, than ebay does....many times. Many of the folks with deeper pockets just don't have time for ebay and shuffling through all of the crap to try to find a golden nugget.