REA catalog and consignment question

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Posted By: warshawlaw

It has actual information instead of hype and is very much appreciated. One little comment, if the powers that be at REA are reading: paragraph breaks. It is really hard to follow some of the longer descriptions that run for a page without any breaks.

I don't know which way to go w/r/t big versus small houses. I've consigned to some smaller auctions and have been satisfied but not thrilled with the results as compared to ebay when the 20%-30% total hit and the delay in payment are taken into account. As a buyer I've picked up a number of really good deals from smaller houses, so I am guessing that as a seller I'd not have been too thrilled with them. I'm not that concerned that good items will be buried by big auctions simply because we ALL scour every auction for what we collect, especially with search engines in many of them.

Finally, I have a serious question that may sound frovolous or smartalecky but is not: I noticed a lot of descriptions stating that the item was previously sold in _________ famous auction for $___________ yet these items are reserved at 50% of the prior price. Why is that? Are these people really so desperate or stupid that they are willing to take 50% hits on their items? How is this decision made? As a potential consignor I find the scenario to be off-putting.