OT: I am Done Doing Business with AH's That Rip Me Off

[mechanicalman]

This past weekend, I won a card from Goldin, and I believed the shipping and insurance was excessive. I called them today to ask that they not charge the insurance ($28 worth) because I am covered under my collector's policy. They agreed to do so only if I provided a FedEx number, which I did. Using my FedEx should result in lower shipping than if they sent it on their account. My point is that there may be ways to reduce the final bill.

That said, when it comes time to consign, I'm likely to give the nod to AHs who have the best buying experiences. As in, free shipping or shipment before payment. Just saying.

[irishdenny]

Originally Posted by egbeachley

It's very clear, in fact it appears everywhere, that the minimum BP is $14.00.

I'd be willing to bet that $50 wasn't your max bid. If you had won it for $60 or $70 and still paid $76 then you would be here telling us what a bargain the AH was

Originally Posted by mechanicalman

This past weekend, I won a card from Goldin, and I believed the shipping and insurance was excessive. I called them today to ask that they not charge the insurance ($28 worth) because I am covered under my collector's policy. They agreed to do so only if I provided a FedEx number, which I did. Using my FedEx should result in lower shipping than if they sent it on their account. My point is that there may be ways to reduce the final bill.

That said, when it comes time to consign, I'm likely to give the nod to AHs who have the best buying experiences. As in, free shipping or shipment before payment. Just saying.

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Not Really WHaT the OP intended...
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[bobbyw8469]

As in, free shipping or shipment before payment.

I don't care how good a customer you are.....shipping before payment should be a no-no. If I was a consignor, I would be livid if an AH shipped out my items before getting payment.

[KMayUSA6060]

Can someone explain to me why there's a Buyer's Premium? I get that's how the AH gets paid, but why is that "tax/fee" put on the buyer, and not the seller/consignor?

[Peter_Spaeth]

It's semantics. The seller pays it no matter what it's called, in that he gets less than what the buyer paid. A rational buyer should not care less what part of the price is called a premium.

[darwinbulldog]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

It's semantics. The seller pays it no matter what it's called, in that he gets less than what the buyer paid. A rational buyer should not care less what part of the price is called a premium.

Yep.

[MooseDog]

Originally Posted by KMayUSA6060

Can someone explain to me why there's a Buyer's Premium? I get that's how the AH gets paid, but why is that "tax/fee" put on the buyer, and not the seller/consignor?

Simply stated, it's greed, but...

I believe BPs started with high end AHs like Christies, etc but it basically works like this in an overly simplified example.

Auctions houses could make their money on commissions from sellers only. For example you sell an item through an auction house for $1000 at 10% commission, you get $900, the auction house gets $100.

When someone had the bright idea to add a premium to the buyer too, then in theory it works like this: Item sells for $1000, seller gets the same $100 but the AH gets $200!

Now at 10% that's probably not too big of a deal but now some high end artsy fartsy AHs charge the buyer as much as 30% and as everyone who bids and is aware of BPs, the tendency is to stop bidding taking the BP into consideration. This in theory hurts the seller as he doesn't get as high of a hammer price for his item and the AH still gets a huge cut of the take.

These days with high BPs, auction houses can now offer sellers deals like low or zero commissions, and still make a profit on the sale. I mean 20% on a $1000 item and the seller gets full hammer price, everyone is happy. On really high end items AHs might even give the seller a piece of the BP.

[KMayUSA6060]

Originally Posted by MooseDog

Simply stated, it's greed, but...

I believe BPs started with high end AHs like Christies, etc but it basically works like this in an overly simplified example.

Auctions houses could make their money on commissions from sellers only. For example you sell an item through an auction house for $1000 at 10% commission, you get $900, the auction house gets $100.

When someone had the bright idea to add a premium to the buyer too, then in theory it works like this: Item sells for $1000, seller gets the same $100 but the AH gets $200!

Now at 10% that's probably not too big of a deal but now some high end artsy fartsy AHs charge the buyer as much as 30% and as everyone who bids and is aware of BPs, the tendency is to stop bidding taking the BP into consideration. This in theory hurts the seller as he doesn't get as high of a hammer price for his item and the AH still gets a huge cut of the take.

These days with high BPs, auction houses can now offer sellers deals like low or zero commissions, and still make a profit on the sale. I mean 20% on a $1000 item and the seller gets full hammer price, everyone is happy. On really high end items AHs might even give the seller a piece of the BP.

This is where I have a problem with it. They offer me (as a buyer) nothing more than eBay does, yet make eBay's fees look minimal. The services they offer strictly benefit the seller in most cases, so why are they benefiting twice off the buyer? At 10% I would have less of an issue. But at these 18%+ rates, it irks me.

[RedsFan1941]

Originally Posted by KMayUSA6060

They offer me (as a buyer) nothing more than eBay does, yet make eBay's fees look minimal.

Do you really feel as comfortable paying an eBay seller you do not know four figures or more for a card as you do Heritage or REA? Hats off to you if that's the case.