Goodwin & Co. Auction Results

[bcbgcbrcb]

IMHO the high starting price on the Novelty Cutlery Speaker caused the final hammer price to go well above what this card has sold for in the past while also taking into account the soft economy that we are experiencing. The final price including juice was $4,100+ and another bid would have brought it to over $4,500 which is why I backed off. I believe that it is around a $3,000 card during good times.

[quinnsryche]

Don't things (houses, cars, baseball cards etc.) usually sell for less in a bad economy, not more? Can you please explain as I think I might be missing something there. If the card sold for $4K isn't it then currently worth $4K (at least to a small group of collectors)?

[bcbgcbrcb]

You would think so, Tony. I actually have been trying for 5 years to add this card to my collection and just to get it off of my wantlist and into my collection, I felt that I "overbid" at $3,700+ but there was no way that I would go over $4,000 for it. I guess that there is one individual out there that was willing to go over $4,000 though........

[Rob D.]

Originally Posted by bcbgcbrcb

You would think so, Tony. I actually have been trying for 5 years to add this card to my collection and just to get it off of my wantlist and into my collection, I felt that I "overbid" at $3,700+ but there was no way that I would go over $4,000 for it. I guess that there is one individual out there that was willing to go over $4,000 though........

I agree that you likely ran into a collector who was willing to overpay for the card. How that's tied to a soft economy or the starting bid, I don't understand.

[bcbgcbrcb]

I think that the "soft" economy is a general statement that I think most everyone would agree with should yield lower than expected prices on MOST items when comapred to those of a stronger economy. My personal scenario is that in almost every auction that I participate in as a bidder, there is only one item or two at the most that I am interested in which probably differs greatly from most members on this board. So you have to understand that I am gauging my opinion on a very small sample of the overall population.

I still believe, without a doubt, the final price stands a much better chance of ending higher with a higher opening bid than one at 25% of fair market value, as has been the auction houses' norm in the past. I have seen it happen to me too many times from the consignor end to ever agree to anything different.

[Rob D.]

Originally Posted by bcbgcbrcb

I still believe, without a doubt, the final price stands a much better chance of ending higher with a higher opening bid than one at 25% of fair market value, as has been the auction houses' norm in the past. I have seen it happen to me too many times from the consignor end to ever agree to anything different.

Phil, I think you're looking at a very small sample size (the cards you bid on and the ones you've consigned in the past and not done well on).

If you look at this entire Goodwin & Co. auction, the consensus seems to say that prices are lower than the norm. When has that ever been said about a Goodwin auction? Even in the previous 18 months or so, when the economy was already "soft," Goodwin auctions realized prices that few collectors would have described as below the norm. And those were with the typical lower starting bids.

I'm not saying that higher starting bids played a role in lower prices realized in this Goodwin auction. But it's odd, because everyone agreed before the auction what great cards there were available. And the result was lower overall prices? Odd.

You saying that higher starting bids lead to higher prices realized -- based on a card you were bidding on going for higher than you wanted to pay and your consignments doing poorly in the past -- makes little sense to me.

[Matthew H]

Originally Posted by bcbgcbrcb

You would think so, Tony. I actually have been trying for 5 years to add this card to my collection and just to get it off of my wantlist and into my collection, I felt that I "overbid" at $3,700+ but there was no way that I would go over $4,000 for it. I guess that there is one individual out there that was willing to go over $4,000 though........

Originally Posted by Yankeefan51

If we could only turn back the clock...

...We learned that one can never pay too much for ultra rare quality material.
Our new strategy has enabled us to acquire more than 30 additions to
America's Toughest Want List since Memorial Day.

-

[scottglevy]

can some explain this.....

how a burch in a '2' with a cycle back sells for 400+ or a hindu 4 for 900+

It simply makes no sense to me?! By the way....if you feel sad that you were the underbidder, please contact me immediately ... i"ve got around 300 cards available for sale (only half-joking here)

[tbob]

On the 1911 Zeenuts, I think there is a reason for the more reasonable prices on Lindsay, Heitmuller, Halla, Bernard, Smith SF, Arlett and others in the auction that are very tough. When 19th Century had their huge PCL blowout a few years ago, there were 4 collectors actively competing for many of the cards, driving prices up. I know there were others bidding, but the 4 guys were all trying to complete the set and all had a ways to go. I am sure there might be others but I know these other 3 guys and they were going to battle for the cards.
Now spring forward 2 years and one of the collectors is no longer pursuing the set and the other 3 set completist guys are all within a handful of cards of completing the set so the prices weren't as strong overall as they were then.
I remember when Larry Fritsch first started selling the 1911 Zeenuts about 5 years ago at $35-40 each for EX and EXMT cards, suddenly cards which had been collecting dust for many years started flying off the shelves and Fritsch put a moratorium on sales until prices were readjusted. I even had to talk to Larry personally on the phone in order to buy 10-12 cards I wanted as he wanted to make sure I was a collector and not looking to flip them. True story. (Glad I had a chance to talk to him before he passed away, we talked about the hobby and many other things. Really nice guy).
Now if Bohen or Fullerton appears, you might be looking at record bids. (Right Steve and Peter?)

[bcbgcbrcb]

As I mentioned previously in the Goodwin preview thread, there were two minor league team postcards c1910 both graded 1.5 by SGC with a HOF'er pictured on each (actually one had two but they were both post-ML career). Starting bid on each was $500 and they both reached $600 in the bidding.

Only a few months ago, I consigned a c1910 minor league team postcard w/Joe McCarthy graded an SGC 1.5 and the auction house would only put a minimum bid of $100. The postcard sold for $100 + $18 juice.

To me, either I chose a really poor auction house (although many on this board are big fans of them) or the starting bid certainly made a big difference on very similar type items.