Consignment/Auction House Question

[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.