Christies - World Class (Pains in the Ass)

[Snapolit1]

I mean I get the whole need verifying ID nonsense and all that if I was representing some guys from the other side of the world who wanted to anonymously buy a $425 million dollar piece of modern art, but I'm not. I'm just trying to buy a few cool baseball pieces for a few thousand dollars. Seemingly very low risk that I am money laundering for Iran or Saudi Arabia.

That in a nutshell is why its so hard to deal with them. They treat every transaction like you are trying to buy the Mona Lisa.

[sb1]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

I mean I get the whole need verifying ID nonsense and all that if I was representing some guys from the other side of the world who wanted to anonymously buy a $425 million dollar piece of modern art, but I'm not. I'm just trying to buy a few cool baseball pieces for a few thousand dollars. Seemingly very low risk that I am money laundering for Iran or Saudi Arabia.

That in a nutshell is why its so hard to deal with them. They treat every transaction like you are trying to buy the Mona Lisa.

With a buyers premium and shipping costs to match....

[MVSNYC]

I had to update my account/contact info, so I called them yesterday...They were very nice and helpful, and updated all of my info, and made sure I was registered to bid. If you haven't already, just call their NY office (212-636-2000), was simple and fast.

[glchen]

Originally Posted by sb1

With a buyers premium and shipping costs to match....

In one of their previous auctions, I won an 8x10 photo for $1000. The buyer's premium was 25%, which added $250 to price. Then shipping was an additional $179, so I had to pay $1429 total. Compare this with my recent Heritage Auctions invoice which was ~$36K, which also had a photo roughly the same size (incl holder) and the total shipping, handling, insurance was only $98. Granted, Christies packaged the photo like it was the Mona Lisa, but it was still way overkill.