Why are auctions so popular?

[barrysloate]

I appreciate all the responses and see that by an overwhelming margin everyone likes auctions despite all the problems involved. I know there is still the feeling that auction allows the bidder to go as high as he wants, and that is good. It's just that rarely a day goes by without a discussion about shilling, so I wanted to see if collectors are burned out by the whole process. Apparently not, as auctions seem to still be the favorite way for buyers and sellers to conduct business.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

I appreciate all the responses and see that by an overwhelming margin everyone likes auctions despite all the problems involved. I know there is still the feeling that auction allows the bidder to go as high as he wants, and that is good. It's just that rarely a day goes by without a discussion about shilling, so I wanted to see if collectors are burned out by the whole process. Apparently not, as auctions seem to still be the favorite way for buyers and sellers to conduct business.

Some of us are burned out/getting burned out by the process!!!!

[kamikidEFFL]

Looks like everyone has their own opinion on auction houses. Love these type of topics

[Fred]

It's like Vegas or an indian gaming casino.... the house always wins!

In most cases the house collects from both the buyer and seller. Isn't that a bit insane. Yes, I get it, the auction house has a bit of overhead.

To me, if you have something that isn't rare or scarce and the prices are known, then you could probably figure out the value of the item based on past sales and then put it up for sale with a discount that takes into account the auction houses take (buyer and seller premium). Oh no, now I've opened up myself to being called an idiot because I made a comment with how I feel about this... go ahead, it's open season, call me an idiot and get it over with...

[Luke]

I prefer a straight sale. I've yet to consign anything because I like to have control over the fees and the price I net. In the last year I made a number of four-figure buys from fellow net54 members and I think everybody went home happy. To me getting the item is the exciting part, not the bidding process. If I can come to an agreement with someone on a card I want, and only have to wait 4 days to get it, that beats an auction.

That said, auctions are great too. They can be fun, educational (seeing new issues you aren't familiar with), and exciting. Also, if a family collection surfaces, there's no way I'm getting any of those cards in a straight sale, so I'm glad that auction houses provide the service they do.

[barrysloate]

Thanks Jimmy for the kind words, but truth be told, I burned out. I did many auctions over a long period of time, and finding quality consignments was getting really difficult. As I like to say, nothing lasts forever.

[Jantz]

Hi Barry

Auction Houses are making perfect sense to me.

Especially in the past few weeks. When I got my mail today I received another baseball card completely mangled.

This is the third item in the last month I've bought through Ebay to arrive damaged. No fault of the Post Office in any way either.

Ebay in their infinite wisdom has decided to start taking a cut of S&H fees, so sellers have been failing to properly package items for mailing.

I'm not saying auction houses couldn't improperly package an item, but for all the years I've been buying on Ebay, I've never received a damage package until after Ebay starting scalping S&H fees.

The Ebay seller of today's acquisition states that he doesn't take returns. That's about to change. I will be mailing him the card back just to educate him. No way can he resell the card since its so mangled that it won't even come out of the toploader.

Just for laughs, I thought about starting a "Guess the grade" thread.


Jantz