Consignment/Auction House Question

[anchorednw]

Funny enough, I had planned to send in something smaller to REA soon, but was dragging my feet as I was wrestling with selling a larger quantity and quite sure REA wasn't going to be the place.

The Sales Rep that I had worked with on a sale previously reached out and wanted to know why I hadn't sent anything in yet. I told him my concerns and that I was shopping around. He then proceeded to tell me REA was the way to go and what my concerns. were.

I told him about how my most recent consignment was buried amongst a sea of identical items with no warning. Plus, my agreed upon hammer price with one of their direct and closer competition.

He politely, in so many words, told me to have a nice *#%@ day!

I will NEVER consign material with REA ever again due to the obvious above-mentioned concerns and his lack of f***s given.

[etsmith]

You also have to consider that the largest auction houses may be in collusion with each other, we've seen it before.

Edw@rd Sm.ith

[raulus]

Originally Posted by etsmith

You also have to consider that the largest auction houses may be in collusion with each other, we've seen it before.

I guess that’s a possibility! At the same time, they seem to compete pretty fiercely against each other, so I have a hard time imagining them really colluding together.

But if collusion were occurring, it would also seem like a great opportunity for a smaller upstart to take market share. Or a new entrant to do it.

Of course, there are some decent barriers to entry that limit the ability of a new competitor to just start a new auction house and have it take off. The new operator would have to really want it, and would need to have a good chunk of change to finance the ramp up.

[Leon]

+1 AH's don't collude with each other.

Originally Posted by raulus

I guess that’s a possibility! At the same time, they seem to compete pretty fiercely against each other, so I have a hard time imagining them really colluding together.

But if collusion were occurring, it would also seem like a great opportunity for a smaller upstart to take market share. Or a new entrant to do it.

Of course, there are some decent barriers to entry that limit the ability of a new competitor to just start a new auction house and have it take off. The new operator would have to really want it, and would need to have a good chunk of change to finance the ramp up.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by Leon

+1 AH's don't collude with each other.

I don't know of any collusion among AH's in our hobby, but Christie's and Sotheby's were successfully sued for collusion to inflate consignor rates years ago. They got caught because consignors who were used to playing one against the other suddenly got stonewalled at the same rate by both companies.

[parkplace33]

Originally Posted by anchorednw

Funny enough, I had planned to send in something smaller to REA soon, but was dragging my feet as I was wrestling with selling a larger quantity and quite sure REA wasn't going to be the place.

The Sales Rep that I had worked with on a sale previously reached out and wanted to know why I hadn't sent anything in yet. I told him my concerns and that I was shopping around. He then proceeded to tell me REA was the way to go and what my concerns. were.

I told him about how my most recent consignment was buried amongst a sea of identical items with no warning. Plus, my agreed upon hammer price with one of their direct and closer competition.

He politely, in so many words, told me to have a nice *#%@ day!

I will NEVER consign material with REA ever again due to the obvious above-mentioned concerns and his lack of f***s given.

You will see more and more of this in 2024. Many of the same card being sold in auction. T206 Cobbs come to mind.