What is the point of the "Buyer's Premium"?

[parkplace33]

Originally Posted by sb1

Forty-four auctions over the past fourteen years and I have never charged a sellers fee. And, in consigning over twenty-five years I have never paid a consignors fee, except for one time years ago when I paid 5% to a small AH. And further I get points back on nearly all consignments that I give to other AH's. It's not an urban myth, it's reality.

Thanks, appreciate the info.

For those consigning and paying consigning fees, have you asked for it to be waived? Or maybe go to a different AH?

[raulus]

Originally Posted by parkplace33

Thanks, appreciate the info.

For those consigning and paying consigning fees, have you asked for it to be waived? Or maybe go to a different AH?

"This is the best that we can do"...is the response I always get when they quote me consignment fees and I ask to pay less.

Admittedly, it's been a few years since I last consigned anything. But it sounds like I'll need to do some shopping around the next time I'm ready to take something to auction.

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by raulus

"This is the best that we can do"...is the response I always get when they quote me consignment fees and I ask to pay less.

Admittedly, it's been a few years since I last consigned anything. But it sounds like I'll need to do some shopping around the next time I'm ready to take something to auction.

Someone said that to me once and we never spoke again.

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by raulus

"This is the best that we can do"...is the response I always get when they quote me consignment fees and I ask to pay less.

Admittedly, it's been a few years since I last consigned anything. But it sounds like I'll need to do some shopping around the next time I'm ready to take something to auction.

As I replied to you yesterday, I have no idea what you are offering as a consignment or to which houses but but only 1 time I was told there would be a fee and I knew that house was not for me. I took what ended up being a 75K consignment elsewhere.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Lorewalker

As I replied to you yesterday, I have no idea what you are offering as a consignment or to which houses but but only 1 time I was told there would be a fee and I knew that house was not for me. I took what ended up being a 75K consignment elsewhere.

Awesome. I haven’t ever consigned anything that valuable before, so maybe that’s my issue.

[Pat R]

I would think a buyer's premium also has to simplify accounting and other records.

[Orioles1954]

So no one wants to pay a consignment fee or buyer's premium. Seems like a winning business formula

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Orioles1954

So no one wants to pay a consignment fee or buyer's premium. Seems like a winning business formula

If you could guarantee that my item will double the previous high, that would be great.

And oh, BTW, I’d also like to borrow 100% up-front…

[G1911]

Unless I’ve misread, I don’t think anyone is objecting to the auction house getting their cut. The question is to the formatting of it, splitting your actual bid into two parts to try and mask or lose focus on one of those parts. The BP isn’t even the auction houses cut, as many here are talking about, a lot of times part of it is given to the seller too.

Auction house can charge a consignment fee or sellers premium, a buyers premium, and the final bid, or it could simply take X% of the final bid. If nobody ever forgets about any of the fees or they are not a psychological trick designed around how people think, everyone would raise their bid accordingly and the auction house would make the some amount of money with a much simpler and direct system for everyone. The only reason not to use a simpler system with the same $$$ at the end of it, is psychology and what people respond to.

They don’t do this because it is a physiological trick that works. Consigners don’t want to hear they have to give up 25% of the hammer price or whatever it is, having separate fees looks better even if it’s the same dollars at the end of the day. And buyers have an easier time raising those bids when the BP is kept separate, not having to really input their actual total spend. It works.

To recognize it works this way and why is not to say auction houses should work as a charity and not make any money.