Watching Christies

[aljurgela]

Originally Posted by Mark

The traditional auction format has its merits--very clean, straight-forward and fast. Still, I was saving my cash for one of the later lots, and so I didn't make a serious effort at a couple of earlier lots that either passed or went under the low estimate. I guess that I wish that they would let me pick the order of lots.

+1 Would have been different if I would have known that I would get blown out on my most expensive item....

[Snapolit1]

As already noted the reserves were nuts. The one Ruth photo from his Red Sox days had a reserve of $1,000-$1,500. Did the person who set this have a clue?

[glchen]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

The oddest thing I noticed today was that some of the Ty Cobb photos went for rock bottom prices. There was a lot of them.

I agree. This approximately 8x10" photo whose image was used for Cobb's 1967 Topps Venezuelan card "only" went for $625 after BP. (I didn't win it.) There were others like this also.

[Scocs]

Question still not answered: does any one know how to print copies of the prices realized list for both auctions?

[Snapolit1]

I guess the answer is no one knows.

[bobfreedman]

Was thrilled to add this to my collection from Christie's first day of the auction.

[Al C.risafulli]

Spectacular pickup, Bob. Seeing it in person, it was definitely one of the more magnificent pieces in the entire auction.

-Al

[judsonhamlin]

What's the take on the George Davis ALS? It seems to gone for less than I would have thought.

[gnaz01]

Was VERY surprised at the hammer prices of the Bain Mathewson photos

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

As already noted the reserves were nuts. The one Ruth photo from his Red Sox days had a reserve of $1,000-$1,500. Did the person who set this have a clue?

And That would have went for double(minimum) if it was not torn in half originally and repaired.

[GKreindler]

That Pittsburgh litho is top notch - the colors seem to have a glow about them. Bravo!

[bobfreedman]

I dont believe the estimates were the reserves. I was at day one and the auctioneer would take the bids and for example lot 1 reached a price of $5,000 but was a no sell. The reserves were secret so you never knew what it was.

As a side note, some of the Horner photos were a steal, many came with the original cabinets and were not disclosed. They only took photos of the photo portion and not the cabinet

[prestigecollectibles]

Originally Posted by Scocs

Question still not answered: does any one know how to print copies of the prices realized list for both auctions?

SALE TITLE The Golden Age of Baseball, Selections of Works from the National Pastime Museum

http://www.christies.com/Results/Pri...id=26565&lid=1

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by bobfreedman

I dont believe the estimates were the reserves. I was at day one and the auctioneer would take the bids and for example lot 1 reached a price of $5,000 but was a no sell. The reserves were secret so you never knew what it was.

As a side note, some of the Horner photos were a steal, many came with the original cabinets and were not disclosed. They only took photos of the photo portion and not the cabinet

Omg.. I had no idea. I wish I knew that. Crazy. Why would they do that?
I guess.. Same answer to "why not showing borders or backs". Damn..

[bobfreedman]

Originally Posted by Forever Young

Omg.. I had no idea. I wish I knew that. Crazy. Why would they do that?
I guess.. Same answer of why not showing borders or backs. Damn..

Same reason that they sold multiples cards in one lot (old judges etc.) but only showed one card in the lot.

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by ajjohnsonsoxfan

That was a lot of fun! Wish all auctions were conducted that way. I couldn't tear myself away from the screen and loved to see what each item eventually hammered for. Gotta say the auctioneer today was much easier on the eyes than the one yesterday. :-)

It was really fun and very smooth. Very few mistakes by the auctioneer or technology involved.

I got shut out on Ruth Conlons(I am sad as I wanted the portrait-30k hammer). I was, however, able to pick up a pretty special Gehrig Conlon with all the fixins' on back(writing, sig and stamp) and used for the star player candy card.

[Leon]

That is a great Lou photo, congrats. Now you need the card to go side by side ....

Originally Posted by Forever Young

It was really fun and very smooth. Very few mistakes by the auctioneer or technology involved.

I got shut out on Ruth Conlons(I am sad as I wanted the portrait-30k hammer). I was, however, able to pick up a pretty special Gehrig Conlon with all the fixins' on back(writing, sig and stamp) and used for the star player candy card.

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by Leon

That is a great Lou photo, congrats. Now you need the card to go side by side ....

Ha! Thanks Leon.
I know this is the card side... BUT... If I have the photo, no need for the card. It's part of the point. I have the rarer.. Older..purer version����

[Bicem]

Agreed, card doesn't begin to compare.

[e107collector]

1952 Topps Mays PSA 9 sells for $247,500 at Christies. A few months ago, a PSA 9 sold at Heritage for $478,000. Hmmmmm

Pretty big price fluctuation there.

Tony

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Forever Young

Ha! Thanks Leon.
I know this is the card side... BUT... If I have the photo, no need for the card. It's part of the point. I have the rarer.. Older..purer version����

I used to collect photos used for cards and enjoyed putting them together, next to each other in my collection. I am more of a card collector than a photo collector but still like the photos too.
To each their own....It's part of what makes collecting so fun. If everyone collected exactly the same way it would be boring.

[BeanTown]

Couple of thoughts on their auction. I got registered pretty easy and their credit line they gave me was very fair without doing any research on me. I was able to put in some absentee bids a week before it began. I was hoping they would let you know if you know if you was the high bidder going into the live auction part, but they do not.

I called a day before the auction to understand how reserves went. I was at first told that only some lots had a reserve on them and the auctioneer would tell us. Then another person jumped on the phone and said every lot has a reserve on it and it's anywhere between 60 percent of the low estimate all the way up to the low estimate.

I watched both days on my home computer and was pleasantly surprised how fast they were able to coordinate all the phone bids, Enet bids, room bids, against the absentee bids which the auctioneer had on podium. I enjoyed not listening to long auction descriptions and really enjoyed understanding what the auctioneer was saying unlike traditional auctioneers (Automobiles, Live stock, etc...).

I was texting a couple of friends during the auction who was in attendance in NY and watching back home as I was. It was nice hearing both perspectives on how they thought the auction was going.

What I don't think Christies did well was the photography of each lot. I wanted to see the backs of cabinets, postcards, and original photos. I was wondering why the Clarke Horner Photo went for more money than others... Answer it was in a complete Horner Cabinet mount but you would never know that from the description or picture. I too wanted to see the group of Old Judge Cabinets which included a Dogs Head. I wanted to see the other four punch cards in the group of 5.

My observation is that it's a tremendous advantage to be in attendance not only to view the actual items, but it seemed that bidders in the room always got their bids taken first which forced outside bidders to take the next increment up.

I like their format. Problem is I can tell it's no where close to their area of expertise. From images to descriptions and most of all the estimates. I feel they hurt many items with low estimates as many collectors/investors entering the hobby might put a lot of weight into what the printed price "should" be.

All and all It was a great expierence and had a lot of fun participating in it as I enjoyed the auctioneer mentioning where people were from when bidding online. I was Georgia and it seemed at times like it was an SEC battle as South Carolina was in almost every Cuban lot.. Well fought!

I snagged a couple of items and will look forward to their once a decade auction. I was hoping to snag the Joe Jackson Semi Pro 1908 team cabinet but ended up being the bridesmaid. I was glad they showed the entire cabinet!

[glchen]

I won one item also (the 1930 Yankees team photo). I believe the others have given really good descriptions of the auction. I just wanted to add that Christies does charge sales tax in a few different states, which might not be immediately obvious: NY, CA, FL, IL, RI, TX. In addition, you can charge up to $50K on your credit card for your winnings. Most auction houses only limit CC to $2-3K, so Christies does allow significantly more. One of the reasons their BP is so high, I guess.

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by glchen

I won one item also (the 1930 Yankees team photo). I believe the others have given really good descriptions of the auction. I just wanted to add that Christies does charge sales tax in a few different states, which might not be immediately obvious: NY, CA, FL, IL, RI, TX. In addition, you can charge up to $50K on your credit card for your winnings. Most auction houses only limit CC to $2-3K, so Christies does allow significantly more. One of the reasons their BP is so high, I guess.

Well done on the cabinet!

Jay cee.. You nailed a lot of my thoughts. The estimates were worthless. The only thing I could come up with is they went off of what the consigner had in them. They made no sense (in the photo auction anyway). And I believe this must have cost them money.
Also, it absolutely amazes me that auction houses continue to leave out the back scans. It is at minimum, 75 percent of how one can tell what a photo is online. It's absolutely ridiculous.
As much as I loved this format, I have a feeling there will be many disappointed people when they receive their photos if they thinking they are type 1s. I am not saying the majority or even half but I will guess double digit percentages.
I could tell just off the fronts and the sizes that some were problematic.
I will give Christies a bit of a pass on this as it is not their wheelhouse of items but there is NO EXCUSE for sports centric auction houses to leave back scans out of photo lots. ZERO. If they do, it must be by design and not for the bidder's/customer's well being at hand.

[BeanTown]

Was this image ever used anywhere? Hope it comes in as advertised as an Original Paul Thompson photograph.

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by BeanTown

Was this image ever used anywhere? Hope it comes in as advertised as an Original Paul Thompson photograph.

Pretty sure that one is 100 percent legit. Give or take.. Lol!
Nice addition!

[thecatspajamas]

Originally Posted by Forever Young

The estimates were worthless. The only thing I could come up with is they went off of what the consigner had in them.

This is what I was told by an attendee that the reserves were based off of, and it sounds like the ranges were then based on the reserves. So the ranges could have been indicative of one collector's buying history, but not necessarily true market value of any one piece?

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by thecatspajamas

This is what I was told by an attendee that the reserves were based off of, and it sounds like the ranges were then based on the reserves. So the ranges could have been indicative of one collector's buying history, but not necessarily true market value of any one piece?

Correct. Not sure how the attendee knew but I agree with him/her(must be politically correct).

Anyone else want to share their winnings?!

[thecatspajamas]

Originally Posted by Scocs

Question still not answered: does any one know how to print copies of the prices realized list for both auctions?

http://www.christies.com/salelanding...565&saletitle=

[bobfreedman]

By Paul Thompson

[thecatspajamas]

Originally Posted by Forever Young

Correct. Not sure how the attendee knew but I agree with him/her(must be politically correct).

I think he got the scoop from the consignor. In retrospect, I'm not sure whether he was referring to the memorabilia or the photos (perhaps they were the same consignor?), though we were discussing the photos at the time. Mostly wondering how many lots would not reach their reserve due to the reserves being based on what he paid for them.

And I'm pretty sure he's still a he. No stereotypes being broken here today

Speaking of which (reserves, not he/she's), anyone have any ideas which lots did not meet reserve? I did not watch the auction live, so have no idea how they identified the reserve, or which if any fell short. In looking back at the prices realized, I think my own estimates on several of the photos fell a bit short of what they ultimately hammered at, but then I'm a bit on the cheap side and not accustomed to paying top dollar.

[Bicem]

Originally Posted by Forever Young

As much as I loved this format, I have a feeling there will be many disappointed people when they receive their photos if they thinking they are type 1s. I am not saying the majority or even half but I will guess double digit percentages.
I could tell just off the fronts and the sizes that some were problematic.

Very interesting! Any lots in particular?

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by Bicem

Very interesting! Any lots in particular?

I would say 350, 352, 440 and 470 to name a few are not type 1s. Also, photos mounted on board are issues oar likely to get a Psa letter. I suspect there are more...but a ton of good ones too(the majority I would gather)! Plus some don't care about the type 1 distinction. It was an exciting auction... I could watch that all day long.

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by bobfreedman

By Paul Thompson

Love it. Very nice bob!

[aljurgela]

Originally Posted by BeanTown

Couple of thoughts on their auction. I got registered pretty easy and their credit line they gave me was very fair without doing any research on me. I was able to put in some absentee bids a week before it began. I was hoping they would let you know if you know if you was the high bidder going into the live auction part, but they do not.

I called a day before the auction to understand how reserves went. I was at first told that only some lots had a reserve on them and the auctioneer would tell us. Then another person jumped on the phone and said every lot has a reserve on it and it's anywhere between 60 percent of the low estimate all the way up to the low estimate.

I watched both days on my home computer and was pleasantly surprised how fast they were able to coordinate all the phone bids, Enet bids, room bids, against the absentee bids which the auctioneer had on podium. I enjoyed not listening to long auction descriptions and really enjoyed understanding what the auctioneer was saying unlike traditional auctioneers (Automobiles, Live stock, etc...).

I was texting a couple of friends during the auction who was in attendance in NY and watching back home as I was. It was nice hearing both perspectives on how they thought the auction was going.

What I don't think Christies did well was the photography of each lot. I wanted to see the backs of cabinets, postcards, and original photos. I was wondering why the Clarke Horner Photo went for more money than others... Answer it was in a complete Horner Cabinet mount but you would never know that from the description or picture. I too wanted to see the group of Old Judge Cabinets which included a Dogs Head. I wanted to see the other four punch cards in the group of 5.

My observation is that it's a tremendous advantage to be in attendance not only to view the actual items, but it seemed that bidders in the room always got their bids taken first which forced outside bidders to take the next increment up.

I like their format. Problem is I can tell it's no where close to their area of expertise. From images to descriptions and most of all the estimates. I feel they hurt many items with low estimates as many collectors/investors entering the hobby might put a lot of weight into what the printed price "should" be.

All and all It was a great expierence and had a lot of fun participating in it as I enjoyed the auctioneer mentioning where people were from when bidding online. I was Georgia and it seemed at times like it was an SEC battle as South Carolina was in almost every Cuban lot.. Well fought!

I snagged a couple of items and will look forward to their once a decade auction. I was hoping to snag the Joe Jackson Semi Pro 1908 team cabinet but ended up being the bridesmaid. I was glad they showed the entire cabinet!

Ha! There you are GA! I was the South Carolina guy! Well fought! Al

[Snapolit1]

I was New Jersey. Thankfully lost much more than I won.

[h2oya311]

Originally Posted by aljurgela

Ha! There you are GA! I was the South Carolina guy! Well fought! Al

I was online "Arizona"...

Al - I think you may have picked up one or two items I was interested in...and perhaps vice versa.

Anyone win lots 454 or 455? I missed those in my original search and only saw them after the fact.

lot 454 = Photo (Outland) of Bullet Joe Rogan in Giants Uniform
lot 455 = Photo (Outland) of Turkey Stearnes in Giants Uniform

[ajjohnsonsoxfan]

Jay that Cobb closeup is really sweet! Nice pick up.

I was wanting a Joe Jackson photo but missed that portion of the auction due to time difference on west coast and my schedule.

I did win a couple:

Satchel Paige: http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/l...jectid=6021746

and

Ted Williams: http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/l...jectid=6021822

Both descriptions say "original photos" which I took as originals from negative or Type I's but could be wrong.

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by ajjohnsonsoxfan

Jay that Cobb closeup is really sweet! Nice pick up.

I was wanting a Joe Jackson photo but missed that portion of the auction due to time difference on west coast and my schedule.

I did win a couple:

Satchel Paige: http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/l...jectid=6021746

and

Ted Williams: http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/l...jectid=6021822

Both descriptions say "original photos" which I took as originals from negative or Type I's but could be wrong.

Nice shots. I am sure your teddy is probably good as it states it has the jacobellis stamp on the back.

[Bicem]

Anyone else get raped on shipping or just me?

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Bicem

Anyone else get raped on shipping or just me?

They had to make up for the low BP ....I didn't bid in it.

[ajjohnsonsoxfan]

Jeff what did they charge you? I'm waiting for a quote to ship two photos

[Bicem]

$194 for one 10k ish photo.

[Bicem]

Still an amazing auction and I had a blast participating and watching, just wish shipping was a little more reasonable.

[glchen]

$179 to California for a $1250 photo.

[ajjohnsonsoxfan]

holy crap! that's insane

[BeanTown]

I'm still waiting on my quote. I called to ask them and they said someone would contact me back about it. They did tell me that it would be at their cost which they have contracted with Fed Ex and everything goes out next day delivery for the safest way to deliver it. I told them I would rather have USPS as Fed Ex has already messed up 2 shipments over the years. So, we shall see.

Christies is like a dinosaur I hate to say where the head doesn't know what the tail is doing!

Jeff, congrats on the Cobb pickup and yes I heard that Pac 12 team of Washinton called out a couple of times during the auction along with Arizona and California. Lol

[ajjohnsonsoxfan]

just got my quote: $373 for two photos totaling $2000

yikes

[h2oya311]

oh boy, I'm in trouble w/ shipping! My quote is due in the next few days. I picked up 7 items at the auction.

Is the high cost due to insurance or something else? At this rate I may have to fly out to NY (from AZ) to pick up my winnings in person!

If my quote is horrible, anyone in NY want to get paid well to pick up my items, ship securely to me and I'll give you a chunk of whatever Christie's is hoping to extract from me?

[bcbgcbrcb]

Derek:

The pick-up in New York will cost you 9% state sales tax, I believe, unless you would be paying similar anyway to ship to you in AZ.