What to expect from AH consignments?

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Leon

How do you go about ignoring sales tax? Count me in but that is always another 8.25% from me. That is a cost, like it or not, for most collectors.
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For the seller, does it make a difference?

Plus, don't forget the vault! Seems like everyone has a vault these days, which is a nice end around sales tax.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by raulus

For the seller, does it make a difference?

Plus, don't forget the vault! Seems like everyone has a vault these days, which is a nice end around sales tax.

OF course it matters to the seller. It's a higher price to the buyer. Last I checked that counted in a deal.

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[raulus]

Originally Posted by Leon

OF course it matters to the seller. It's a higher price to the buyer. Last I checked that counted in a deal.

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Fair enough. Perhaps living in a zero sales tax state, I forget that from time to time.

Do you think that other buyers lower the amount they are willing to pay when bidding on items by factoring in the sales tax? I suppose it's certainly possible. But my suspicion is that many buyers don't factor it in. At the same time, I could be entirely wrong!

During the auction: "Bidding $100...that seems about right..."
At checkout: "Now I have to pay $108??!!! Plus an extra $10 for shipping!!!??? Stupid sales tax and shipping..."

And now that I've said that, I guess I've just introduced shipping as another cost to the buyer. Do you think that buyers also factor shipping into their calculus? Or does it get ignored, similar to my contention that sales tax is largely ignored?

[teza11]

Just think about the potential power of this forum. "What if" AH consignors on this board pooled their upcoming consignments and let AH's bid on the opportunity to list. This could be done by type, group, time period, etc. Seller consignment fees would be a thing of the past. The discussion would move from seller fees to to seller credits. Just putting it out there. I know Leon is not looking to take this on.

Jeff

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Leon

OF course it matters to the seller. It's a higher price to the buyer. Last I checked that counted in a deal.

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I guess the other reason why I am inclined to ignore sales tax in this context is that when you're debating which AH to take your item to (the question from the OP), I'm pretty sure that all AHs charge sales tax these days. So taking it to one AH v. another isn't going to change the transaction costs when it comes to the sales tax.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by raulus

I guess the other reason why I am inclined to ignore sales tax in this context is that when you're debating which AH to take your item to (the question from the OP), I'm pretty sure that all AHs charge sales tax these days. So taking it to one AH v. another isn't going to change the transaction costs when it comes to the sales tax.

Again, incorrect. Not all AH's have to charge sales tax. But please keep on going .... I know at least a few of our advertisers that don't, unless you live in their state.
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[raulus]

Originally Posted by Leon

Again, incorrect. Not all AH's have to charge sales tax. But please keep on going .... I know at least a few of our advertisers that don't, unless you live in their state.
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I'm on a roll then!

I guess the OP should also look for AHs that don't charge sales tax, as that will be an added benefit. Not sure who they are, but it sounds like they are out there.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by raulus

I'm on a roll then!

I guess the OP should also look for AHs that don't charge sales tax, as that will be an added benefit. Not sure who they are, but it sounds like they are out there.

And while they are at it, consignors can also look at AH shipping costs, since our buyers are brilliant strategists who factor in sales tax and shipping costs when assessing the amount that they are willing to bid.

As with my earlier comments, I'm not convinced that many buyers really factor these costs in when they are bidding. But it sounds like you definitely do, Leon. And bully for you!

[Snapolit1]

For items worth a few hundred bucks, if you are not pairing them with a high ticket commission item, you might be better off just selling here or on eBay. It's the same amount of work for an auction to sell a $5,000 item as a $300 one in most cases. Unlikely to get a great deal on lower value items standing by themselves.\

If you had a 10k or 15k item, you might be able to negotiate a zero seller commission at some AHs.

Of course there are auction houses like Brockleman that never charge a seller's commission of any kind for anything.