Auction House Buyer's Premiums

[T206Collector]

Figured we should get to the bottom of these pesky buyer's premiums that seem to get a fair amount of us all utzed up!

[brian1961]

ALWAYS. Furthermore, when a record price is established, the adjusted value for the given card should take into account the gavel-winning bid AND the buyer's premium, considering the winner HAD to pay that out as well, before the auction house would mail him his card. Twenty percent buyer's premium is the going rate, and that ain't chump change! ----Brian Powell

[tschock]

Honest answer is Most of the time rather than the 'real money' one, because sometimes (though rare), I do forget.

[T206Collector]

The early responses so far are restoring my faith in humanity!

[kailes2872]

When I consigned with Heritage a few years ago, my rep told me "most people don't take the BP into consideration". In that instance, I had to pay 10% on my end plus the impact of the BP. I doubt I will go that route again because I don't think I get enough incremental eyes on it to break even at a 30% vig.

Where I struggle the most with is, even though I know and calculate the BP, the bid increments along with the BP usually cause me to overpay. I needed a '54 Bowman Ted Williams last year in a PSA 5. Peter had one on the board that was beautiful but it was sold before I got to it. Ebay had dried up for some reason - as there are usually 3-4 mid grade going at any time. As a result I bid at a mid-level AH with a 20% BP. In extended, my 1000 bid ($1200) felt steep but it was a pretty nice example. It was outbid with $1100 as the next one. I had to go $1200 to win it $1440. I knew it was $1440. It was clear. I am sure if I waited another month, I would find one here or on Ebay for $1000-$1200 delivered. But, to my error ad impatience, I was singularly focused on that hole in my collection and to the delight of consigners everywhere, I bit my bottom lip, hit the bid now button one more time and gave a PSA 6 price for a PSA 5 card.

If that card would have been on Ebay, I would have been just as eager to get it, but I wouldn't have been at $100 increments (120 including BP) and I might have been able to save in a 2 person war.

[bobbyw8469]

I know I lost my tail selling a 1954 Bowman Ted Williams SGC 5...something like $800...before fees. That's why I won't sell another one on there.

[Fballguy]

This poll doesn't tell us anything. I factor in the BP every time, but I still bid to win and deal with the consequences later.

The question should've been do you reduce your max bid by the full amount of the BP every time? That would tell us more than these options do. But I get it, you wanted to skew the results to support your opinion.

[ullmandds]

it's gotten to the point in this hobby where if you want super premium items...you almost almost always have to pay a super premium price for them. And since it is the bigger AH's where these items tend to appear...this is the reality.

If you're overpaying at AH's on common T206's...you're stupid! IMO.

[Luke]

If you "bid to win and deal with the consequences later", isn't that just another way of saying you'll bid above your pre-determined max if you feel you have to in order to win an item? If so, the BP has nothing at all to do with it. You'd bid above your "max" in an eBay auction as well it sounds like. If you don't care how much you spend, there's no point in blaming the BP.

I don't think there's anything wrong with bidding to win at any cost for certain items. That being said, it's weird to blame anyone but yourself when you get the invoice.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Fballguy

This poll doesn't tell us anything. I factor in the BP every time, but I still bid to win and deal with the consequences later.

The question should've been do you reduce your max bid by the full amount of the BP every time? That would tell us more than these options do. But I get it, you wanted to skew the results to support your opinion.

I think that's implicit in the question, but I agree with you () it would have been more precise phrased that way. And I still would have answered yes.