Barry Sloate Auctions Now Closed

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Posted By: JimB

Shut out again.

Barry,
Congrats on a great auction.
JimB

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Posted By: Dan Paradis

I was also a little surprised at this card going for over $6k.

Very nice auction Barry. I finally won something after being shut out in the last 3 auctions!

Dan

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Posted By: barrysloate

Good morning to all. Again I want to thank everyone who participated.

One observation I made as this auction was winding down: there were many spectacular bids, and virtually all of them were for high end cards in SGC holders. There were some very high prices for PSA cards too, such as the N172 Alcott, but SGC cards clearly led the way. I think they have a firm grip on the pre-war market, no question about it.

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Posted By: Matt

Barry - Congratulations on the success of the new format! The fact the auction was closed before 1 AM is fantastic and hopefully what you have implemented here can serve as the model for other auction houses.

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Posted By: Rob D.

Barry,

Congrats on the spectacular bids. Here's hoping they're real, too.

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

Barry's extended bidding period lasted just less than 7 hours; REA's lasted just less than 12 hours. Considering the exponential difference in lots, I'm not sure that Barry's model applied to REA would have made any difference.

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Posted By: Rob D.

Oh goody, I smell a debate brewing.

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Posted By: Joe D.

John,

I think you may have stumbled on a very effective economic stimulus package.

If all of my packages were delivered by that courier.... I sure would be ordering things every day.

Much better than a rebate check.... lets go with Wonka's courier service.



Barry -
congratulations on another great auction!

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Posted By: Matt

Jeff - I agree that would make a big difference.
I wonder if a modified approach where REA closed each segment of lots together - closing all baseball card lots as one group, memorabilia lots as another, autographs as another, basketball, etc. would help.
The premise to keeping all the lots open together is that someone might want to shift money from one item to another if they get outbid; the assumption with doing it in groups as above is that if you get outbid on a baseball card, most people aren't going to shift their money to an autographed basketball.

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Posted By: Phil Garry

Barry:

Great job on another nice auction!!!

Prices realized appear very strong in the current market. With those numbers, I've got to consign something for your next auction. As soon as I figure out what it is, I'll be in touch with you.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Phil- I'm all ears.

Regarding the length of the extended period, I recognize that in the last few hours bids were coming in pretty slowly, with an occasional burst of several bids. Often the clock was winding down before somebody placed one. So while the closing time of 12:40 AM was acceptable, there was still a bit of dragging as we wound down. I don't think that will change.

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Posted By: Alan

Love that delivery service !!!

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

Matt, good point on REA closing down sections at a time. While it may make a difference, I suspect next year at around 330 am at the end of the REA auction the same bunch of us will be out here bitching.

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Posted By: Jason L

you wrote: "...So while the closing time of 12:40 AM was acceptable, there was still a bit of dragging as we wound down. I don't think that will change."

don't forget that the reason you want to leave some window is that people will use any extra time you allow them to re-think and then re-calculcate their assumptions on what they can "afford" when under time clock pressure.

For instance, in the last few seconds of any auction for something I want badly, I usually come down to the "can I refi the house again?" conundrum.

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

Barry, where the hell are my winnings? Rob's already sent me next year's catalogue!

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Posted By: Jason L

Jeff,
I don't participate in any of these big auctions like you guys, but I have to say that reading that last post demanding your winnings made me laugh out loud -in a fairly hearty manner.
well said.

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Posted By: leon

I already have my winnings from Rob's auction in 2009. You are way behind.....

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Posted By: MVSNYC

Leon- i have you all beat...

i just received my consignor's payment from Barry, for a card i haven't even purchashed yet, which i will consign to him next year...

wow, that is fast!

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Posted By: barrysloate

I'm going to purchase a time machine so I can travel back in time and get orders out more quickly. Jeff, I would run over the Brooklyn Bridge and hand deliver your card, but it's cold and rainy today. I'll bring it instead to the post office tomorrow.

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Posted By: Judson Hamlin

Nice results- once I realized I was getting blown out on the Red Hindu Griffith, I redirected and grabbed my secondary targets (E95's); yea!

Great auction, Barry.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Thanks Judd, you got two!

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Posted By: David R

Congratulations to Barry for another great auction. Prices appeared to be very strong (I was outbid on the lots I was interested in).

Some of the prices surprised me, however. For example, a T206 SGC 50 Matty portrait sold on eBay in late April 2008 for $671. The same card in Barry's auction with a similar common back just sold for $1072.00. The one in the auction may have been a little nicer, but not significantly. This seemed very odd to me. Any thoughts? Does the auction crowd not look at or buy on eBay? Why the tremendous price difference?

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Posted By: Matt

David - I believe your supposition is correct - prices at major auction houses almost always bring more then similar items on ebay. Perhaps the buyers like knowing they don't have to worry about the source and the vehicle of payment.

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Posted By: MVSNYC

"redirected"..."secondary targets"

Judd- i like your terminology...navigating you're funds thru the auction process involves very strategic moves...

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Posted By: leon

I am not sure if I buy differently than others but lately, with all of the ebay issues, I look less frequently than before. Don't get me wrong as I still watch ebay. But the auctions are more legit and there are no reprints and scams to wade through. The auction "excitement" might account for some of the higher prices too....

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Posted By: Judson Hamlin

Already printed the invoice, Barry. I was getting ready to change my password to "underbidder" after your last couple of auctions.

Now about that UPS driver...

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Posted By: barrysloate

Regarding ebay versus catalog auctions:

While I'd be happy to take full credit for the high prices I achieved (and there were a few low ones too), it's tough to say that ebay prices are always less than catalog ones. I've had great success, as well as disappointments, using both venues. I think ebay may be a little less consistent than it was in the past, but I always maintain that high prices are a product of the right combination of bidders.

Are collectors more focused for a catalog auction and less so for ebay, which is more like a 365 day a year auction? Possibly, but sometimes I get incredibly high prices on ebay and say I wouldn't achieve them in my catalog auction.

Not a slam dunk either way. The difference for me is when I get a big consignment, the better pieces get directed to the catalog, and the lesser ones to ebay. All in all, slight edge to catalog prices.

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Posted By: Bob

Hmmmm, looks like that courier in the picture is holding the box containing my E98 set which disappeared during a UPS shipment 5 years ago. John, maybe you should give her my card so we could discuss things.

Barry- i think you are spot on in your musings on ebay vs. auction prices. Things seem to really be in a state of flux right now. The E97s on ebay recently did poorly compared to past prices, the E90-2s did fantastic, I want to wait and see how Alan's E98s, E92s and E94s do on ebay before jumping to any conclusions about caramel card prices....

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Posted By: davidcycleback

With off-ebay auctioneers who are knowledgeable about the material and reputably, people are not only more confident that the item is as described but they are more confident sending a big check. One reason why a $100,000 book price item will sell more in a REA than on eBay is that people are more confident sending that big check to REA. In particular with big price items, known and reputable sellers are often preferred.

While there are many good sellers on eBay, there are also thieves and shenanigans and various silliness. Barry Sloate's auctions are 100% Barry Sloate, and REA is 100% Rob Lifson-- and who wouldn't want to buy their Old Judge or rare baseball poster from Barry or Rob.

Say I were to tell you there are right now two "1933 Goudey Napoleon Lajoie"s in auction, one on eBay (seller & feedback you don't know) and one in a REA Auction. What percentage chance you give that this unseen Lajooie card in the REA auction is original? 100%? 99.5%? ... Now, what percentage chance do you give that the eBay card is authentic? 30%? 5%? 15%? 1%? ... You've just answered why some collectors and investors consciously bid more in a REA auction than on eBay.

I also think that for investors buying rare and expensive memorabilia, provenance is significant. If you're spending $50,000 on a game used jersey, it's a good thing to be able show that it came from a REA auction. When you go to sell it, you know ahead of time that potential buyers will know of REA or Lelands ... You may know next to nothing about Claude Monet paintings, but, if one was purchased from Sotheby's, you have heard of Sotheby's and will assume Sotheby's is knowledgeable about paintings. The Sotheby's provenance itself will lead you to guess the painting is likely genuine.

When you're bidding $25 a graded card on eBay, these issues may not loom in your mind. However, if you're spending $10,000 or $100,000 can be very significant. To start, while you may PayPal $25 to sellers you don't know all the time, how many people on eBay would you be confident in mailing a $20,000 check to?

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Posted By: David R

David,

I totally agree that I wouldn't feel comfortable buying a $25,000 card off eBay and that the auctions are the way to go for rare or very high-priced items or where the provenance can be sketchy (like a game-worn jersey).

But for a widely available SGC-graded card that sells on eBay for less than $700 from a reputable seller, who takes PayPal, and who has 99.9% positive feedback with over 2200 transactions, it just suprises me when the premium for purchasing that same card through a reputable auction two weeks later is almost $400. I guess it all depends on who's bidding when and how much they want it at that moment.

David

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Posted By: davidcycleback

I suspect that for a number of very well healed collectors/investors, they simply won't buy on eBay and spend stritcly at Mastro et al auctions. These would be the types who spend $30,000 on a jersey or $100,000 on an autograph. This likely is because they don't trust eBay and that, for the amount on $$ they are spending, they only go through well known quantities. This would explain high prices on many high end items.

Frankly, if I had $200,000 to spend on memorabilia I'd pick up a Mastro Auction and not even visit the local flea sale. At the least, it's a more efficient way to blow $200,000. This would mean the $200,000 would be infused into the Mastro Auction and not the flea sale. And, more than once, eBay has been referred to as a giant flea sale.

It is likely that a lot of big time sports memorabilia money never enters eBay, as the money holders consider it a flea market and rather untrustworthy.

I would imagine for someone looking to purchase a couple of Monet paintings for his den, plus or minus $10,000 is not as big a deal as it would be for you or I. That he could possibly get the same or similar item for $5,000 less may not compel him to drop the Sotheby's catalog and type 'Monet' into eBay. And, despite the likely higher prices and premiums and high shipping charges, it's safe to assume Sotheby's is a better place to look for your Monet paintings than eBay.

When I was in college, my girlfriend worked one summer as part of those house-to-house cleaning crews for the wealthy (including a former NFL head coach). She said in one home that belonged to the president of a department store chain there was an original Renoir painting hung from a wall and protected by a custom laser security system. Forget the painting, I would guess the cost of the security system dwarfed the average eBayer's annual collecting budget.

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Posted By: Bob

"I suspect that for a number of very well healed collectors/investors, they simply won't buy on eBay and spend stritcly at Mastro et al auctions."

The E90-2s on ebay went to Louchios (sp?) and Ireland, two of the biggest in the whale fleet.

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Posted By: Darren

It is an absolute pleasure dealing with Barry. As a consignor or buyer I have the upmost trust in his operation. Thank you Barry for another successful auction.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Thanks Darren, it's mutual!

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Posted By: bigfish

Thanks for the great cards and fast service. Look forward to the next auction.

Toby

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

I received my winnings from Barry in Lifsonian fashion.

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Posted By: John

Mr. Sloate thank you she's a beauty, and you're a class act.

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Posted By: barrysloate

It is a nice one John...when I was putting the catalog together that was one that got my attention too.