Heritage Buyers Premium

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

I think we all take the buyers premium into account when we bid but with a higher premium do we still end up pay more for cards--I think so. For example, let's say there is a card coming up that you want. Let's say you are willing to pay $1000 for it. The current bid is at $750 and the next bump is to $800, do you make the bump? At a 20% BP the total is $960, which is under $1000 so you bid. At a 22% buyers premium the total $976 so you also still bid, but now because of the change in BP you have paid (assuming you win the card) $16 more. Maybe at times the higher BP results in the bid exceeding the person's cutoff while the lower BP would have allowed for a bump. While theoretically possible I think most bidders have a little flex in their cap and therefore, I think in most cases the higher BP just results in more money spent on the same card. Because of this my preference is always to favor the auction house with the lower BP.

Of course this will increase the costs to bidders in the heat of the moment bidding, as we all know. But Goldin going to 22% ensured that other houses would follow. I think Heritage was the first to go to 20% and they haven't had an increase in about ten years is my guess. Of course, their gross sales have quintupled probably since then so I suspect they'd be fine without raising the BP 2 points.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by calvindog

Of course this will increase the costs to bidders in the heat of the moment bidding, as we all know. But Goldin going to 22% ensured that other houses would follow. I think Heritage was the first to go to 20% and they haven't had an increase in about ten years is my guess. Of course, their gross sales have quintupled probably since then so I suspect they'd be fine without raising the BP 2 points.

Spot on, Jeff.

The buyers who are on a budget will adjust; the rest won't. The real losers here are consignors. I'd venture a guess that only a small % of card consignors actually pay a consignment % to the AH. With so much zero consignment fee stuff, it is a way of taking another 2% out of sellers' pockets. Makes sense that they feel good doing it given that the average eBay fees are creeping up to the point where DIY selling is nearly as expensive as consigning at 20% BP.

[Rhotchkiss]

I think this is 100% the result of consignors having leverage and taking larger and larger pieces of the BP. Over the past 3-4 years, for high quality stuff most AHs would give -5% to -10% of the hammer (a quarter to half the BP); really great stuff gets even better terms. I think in order to compete, that amount has recently shifted to -7% to -12% and now that’s being passed through. So I am not sure it comes out of the consignors pocket, but the AH certainly ain’t taking the hit.

Nobody says you have to consign. Plus, it’s noteworthy that the BP on almost every other type of auction is 25%…

[Yoda]

Heritage is a money machine, so I wonder if this move is an inflation adjustment to reflect their increased internal cost or just plain greed, like Goldin.

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

I think this is 100% the result of consignors having leverage and taking larger and larger pieces of the BP. Over the past 3-4 years, for high quality stuff most AHs would give -5% to -10% of the hammer (a quarter to half the BP); really great stuff gets even better terms. I think in order to compete, that amount has recently shifted to -7% to -12% and now that’s being passed through. So I am not sure it comes out of the consignors pocket, but the AH certainly ain’t taking the hit.

Nobody says you have to consign. Plus, it’s noteworthy that the BP on almost every other type of auction is 25%…

What Ryan said, plus there aren't many, if any, consignors of quality material who are paying consignment fees these days.

[Gorditadogg]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

I think this is 100% the result of consignors having leverage and taking larger and larger pieces of the BP. Over the past 3-4 years, for high quality stuff most AHs would give -5% to -10% of the hammer (a quarter to half the BP); really great stuff gets even better terms. I think in order to compete, that amount has recently shifted to -7% to -12% and now that’s being passed through. So I am not sure it comes out of the consignors pocket, but the AH certainly ain’t taking the hit.

Nobody says you have to consign. Plus, it’s noteworthy that the BP on almost every other type of auction is 25%…

I think this is bad for the hobby overall, though. We need to see transaction costs come down, to make it easier for collectors to buy and sell cards. Effectively telling consigners "If you don't like it, keep your cards" is not a good message.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Gorditadogg

I think this is bad for the hobby overall, though. We need to see transaction costs come down, to make it easier for collectors to buy and sell cards. Effectively telling consigners "If you don't like it, keep your cards" is not a good message.

There are alternatives to consigning with a major AH for most cards.

[BigfootIsReal]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

There are alternatives to consigning with a major AH for most cards.

and I'll be looking at the alts. AH doesn't charge the consignor but the consignor really pays a ghost fee of now 22%.....ghost meaning if a card is valued at 24K more than likely the buyer is only going to bid 20K to make up for the 22%

[Gorditadogg]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

There are alternatives to consigning with a major AH for most cards.

Fair. So it's more like "If you don't like it, find some other way to sell your cards."

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

There are alternatives to consigning with a major AH for most cards.

What do you think are the best?

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

What do you think are the best?

There is no one best. It depends on your situation. Do you need to sell fast, what is in your collection, do you want cash, selling part(s) or whole collection, plus many many more things that make the "best" different for everyone.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

What do you think are the best?

Selling on the BST here seems to be a popular option. For stuff that is widely collected and desirable for this crowd, my guess is that you’ll routinely get full value for it here relatively quickly, and without selling costs, although some buyers will ask to share in those savings.

Seems like a lot of people also tout FB marketplace. I don’t have a FB account, so have never tried it, but I hear good things.

Working with a dealer for a private commission also seems like a decent option, particularly for stuff that has a more niche audience. I’m not familiar with the cost to sell this way, and I suspect it can vary widely depending on the dealer, depending on the piece and the volume of stuff you bring to the dealer. But I wouldn’t be surprised if you can often get a lower selling cost this way. And for stuff that is more exotic and not widely collected, your odds of getting your desired price are probably as good or maybe even better than rolling the dice on an auction.