Consignors:: At what point do you get pissed when not paid by an auction house??

[glchen]

I think it is two months. I've consigned once with Heritage for an auction that ended Nov 10-11, and according to the contract, the settlement date would be Dec 27th. I called them on Dec 28th since I had not received payment yet, but they basically said they mailed it out on Dec 27th, so I would receive it the following week, which I did.

I've also consigned with Goodwin twice. The first time, I actually purchased more than I consigned, so I just had my payment partially offset by my consignments. The second time, it also took a couple of months or a little longer, but much of that was because Bill was working on selling some of my lots that did not have bids, and needed to wait an additional time for those payments to come in.

In summary, I wish both auction houses would send payment sooner. However, it was nothing that I didn't expect, so I was satisfied with both, and I would consign with both places again. (I would probably lean towards Goodwin, however, since they don't have a seller's commission.)

[drc]

Also remember it can depend on how long it takes for the winner to pay. If the winner is a late payer, that will slow your payment and that is not the auction house's fault.