REA v. Mastro

[Archive]

Posted By: Andrew

REA may offer a bit more selection of rarity and Mastro more of high grade, but do you think such collectors stay away from either auction? That is, I wonder what percentage only browse and/or bid with one house and not the other? Some might say zero percent because if you browse, you're likely to bid. However, I browse various auction houses, but only bid with a few. So unless you have ethical concerns about either company, I wonder from a bidder perspective how important it is that either REA or Mastro have a niche?

For the scoresheet:
Customer Service = REA (mainly applies to Rob, others who answer phones are no better/worse than Mastro)

Shipping accomodation = REA
Selection = Mastro
Consigner fees = REA
Turnaround payment/shipping = same
Auctions per year = Mastro (I prefer two, the offerings don't seem to suffer because of it)
Higher hammer price = same so far, but I'm sure this is the core of the debate



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