h_yee auctions

[drc]

post removed so I don't get in the middle of a silly demate

[sflayank]

yes this is what i won
$260.52 RARE 1955 Post Cereal TED WILLIAMS Comic Book w/ MAILER
just because i win something in his auction doesnt mean i dont think he has shills in his employ...Im quite sure i overpaid for this item..if it wasnt his auction it would go for 100 bucks on ebay...you should see the items i didnt win...one lot that normally goes for 300-400, i put in 3 times that amount to make sure i won it, and went to sleep and lost it
2 months ago on ebay i won a pin in nrmt+ condition with charm bat chain ribbon etc for $62...he sold the same pin same condition or less for over $300...So once again the ONLY point I was making is that he has this invisble group of bidders who apparently only bid on ebay when he has an auction...the rest of the year they turn off their computers...That is my point and ONLY point..he can be the nicest guy in the world..I have this need to know how u can put up an item on ebay and get 100 he puts it up next week and gets 400 and another one appears a week later and gets 80...WHO are these collectors that only bid in his auctions and no one elses

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by sflayank

yes this is what i won
$260.52 RARE 1955 Post Cereal TED WILLIAMS Comic Book w/ MAILER
just because i win something in his auction doesnt mean i dont think he has shills in his employ...Im quite sure i overpaid for this item..if it wasnt his auction it would go for 100 bucks on ebay...you should see the items i didnt win...one lot that normally goes for 300-400, i put in 3 times that amount to make sure i won it, and went to sleep and lost it
2 months ago on ebay i won a pin in nrmt+ condition with charm bat chain ribbon etc for $62...he sold the same pin same condition or less for over $300...So once again the ONLY point I was making is that he has this invisble group of bidders who apparently only bid on ebay when he has an auction...the rest of the year they turn off their computers...That is my point and ONLY point..he can be the nicest guy in the world..I have this need to know how u can put up an item on ebay and get 100 he puts it up next week and gets 400 and another one appears a week later and gets 80...WHO are these collectors that only bid in his auctions and no one elses

I guess I just don't get your point. You ask "WHO are these collectors " yet you admit to bidding 3 times what you think and item is worth.

[timzcardz]

Originally Posted by Forever Young

I guess I just don't get your point. You ask "WHO are these collectors " yet you admit to bidding 3 times what you think and item is worth.

Just a wild guess, but I suspect that he wasn't the captain of his high school debate team.

[thekingofclout]

Originally Posted by timzcardz

Just a wild guess, but I suspect that he wasn't the captain of his high school debate team.

Jeez, thanks Tim! I'm lucky I was only drinking water when I read that. At least it was room temperature liquid coming out my nose!

[steve B]

It's all about reputation and promoting the auction to the right people.

Sothebys and I could sell the exact same Item. Guess who would get the higher price? Of course they would, wether the auction was on Ebay or in the New York office.

On a smaller scale, but a perfect example there's this personal experience.

A friend of mine sells 16mm films. Lots of them. And he sells almost nothing else. He has built a reputation for accuracy in descriptions. Films fade or get worn. Many sellers underestimate how bad something is. He's a very conservative grader.

At one point I was helping him sell some inexpensive films. I sell a wide range of stuff when I'm active, cards, bike parts, small antiques... One film was a short story, and in fantastic condition. Barely used, on mylar film with an emulsion that's not prone to fading. I put a good description, and a picture.
No takers at $25- what we both thought was a good price. Then no takers at $10. I gave it back to him after 3 tries since I didn't think it should go for a price lower than that. The can and reel would sell for $4-5.
He listed it as a buy it now at $25 using my description.
It sold in less than 12 hours.
So there's a case from Ebay with the exact same item and one seller gets at least 2.5x what another could get. And he does little to no promotion of his auctions.

Steve B
PS if anyone collects films and has a want list just let me know and I'll pass it along. But you probably know him already.

[bobbyw8469]

So there's a case from Ebay with the exact same item and one seller gets at least 2.5x what another could get. And he does little to no promotion of his auctions.

I don't deal in photos, but this sounds exactly like Brent and his company, PWCC. We could have the EXACT same card (according to the PSA serial #). Say, for example, a PSA Gem Mint 10 1965 Topps common. I PROMISE you, he would get more for the card than I would if we sold it via the same venue (Ebay). To quote Yogi, "It's just the way it is...".

[ibuysportsephemera]

Originally Posted by steve B

It's all about reputation and promoting the auction to the right people.

Sothebys and I could sell the exact same Item. Guess who would get the higher price? Of course they would, wether the auction was on Ebay or in the New York office.

On a smaller scale, but a perfect example there's this personal experience.

A friend of mine sells 16mm films. Lots of them. And he sells almost nothing else. He has built a reputation for accuracy in descriptions. Films fade or get worn. Many sellers underestimate how bad something is. He's a very conservative grader.

At one point I was helping him sell some inexpensive films. I sell a wide range of stuff when I'm active, cards, bike parts, small antiques... One film was a short story, and in fantastic condition. Barely used, on mylar film with an emulsion that's not prone to fading. I put a good description, and a picture.
No takers at $25- what we both thought was a good price. Then no takers at $10. I gave it back to him after 3 tries since I didn't think it should go for a price lower than that. The can and reel would sell for $4-5.
He listed it as a buy it now at $25 using my description.
It sold in less than 12 hours.
So there's a case from Ebay with the exact same item and one seller gets at least 2.5x what another could get. And he does little to no promotion of his auctions.

Steve B
PS if anyone collects films and has a want list just let me know and I'll pass it along. But you probably know him already.

I am finally getting back to this thread. I want to make it perfectly clear that I was not in anyway saying that I though Henry was shill bidding.

In the above post Steve says exactly what I was thinking. Thanks.

HOWEVER, I would like to point out is that it really is easy to shill in Henry's auctions. I believe that he takes consignments. If that is the case, what is to stop the consignor from having another eBay user bump up the price. Henry would not even know it.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by timzcardz

Just a wild guess, but I suspect that he wasn't the captain of his high school debate team.

Now there, that's funny. Thanks Tim.

Lets see, I bid 3x the amount I usually do, and I am asking myself- "Self- how DOES HE get such high prices?" As Yogi would say: If it's the way it is, it probably is the way it is.

Something tells me I need to call Henry and charge him for this advertising.

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by timzcardz

Just a wild guess, but I suspect that he wasn't the captain of his high school debate team.

+3

[Scott Garner]

I was 3 for 4. I felt that all 3 that I purchased were fairly reasonable.

Here are my 3 winners:
Carl Hubbell original 1930's photo (I love this shot)
1946 Bob Feller 1946 Type I of his speed test on August 20th at Washington DC
Type II Johnny VanderMeer second no-hitter 6/15/38 at Ebbets Field (also 1st night game)

[thekingofclout]

Originally Posted by Scott Garner

I was 3 for 4. I felt that all 3 that I purchased were fairly reasonable.

Here are my 3 winners:
Carl Hubbell original 1930's photo (I love this shot)
1946 Bob Feller 1946 Type I of his speed test on August 20th at Washington DC
Type II Johnny VanderMeer second no-hitter 6/15/38 at Ebbets Field (also 1st night game)

Nice photos Scott. You know GRAIG is gonna cry like a six year old girl when he sees that Hubbell... guaranteed.

[thekingofclout]

I thought that some of you guys who don't know Henry or have yet to do business with him, should take a look at his background.

From PSA's website...

Henry Yee's interest in photography as a form of artistic expression and historical preservation started at the age of 15 at Brooklyn Technical High School where he studied photography and photojournalism. Yee then earned his business degree from the University at Buffalo's Business School of Management. He has spent the last ten years on Wall Street consulting with Fortune 500 companies and is the owner of HY Ventures, LLC, which specializes in organizational development and IT/business systems management solutions.

As a collector and dealer of sports memorabilia and sports photography for over two decades, Yee has handled millions of news photographs from public and private archives around the country, including some of the hobby's finest examples. With his vast experience, Yee has been able to amass one of the largest exemplar archives of news photo and wire photo stamping specimens in the world. He is the co-author of A Portrait of Baseball Photography published by MastroNet (2005). The landmark volume was the first exhaustive account of baseball photographs.

[jacksons]

Great pickups everyone!

I struck out on the 1921 team photo, but glad I showed some measure of restraint!

I'll be consigning a dozen or so photos with Henry next go- around.

He's a class act all the way.

[T206Collector]

...in this race -- I don't collect photographs or bid in Yee auctions -- but it is OBVIOUS that if you were going to purchase Type 1 photos, you would be extremely concerned about who was selling them. You would also, OF COURSE, pay a premium to buy them from a reputable source.

Photos are naturally harder to authenticate than baseball cards. Like autographs, you would want them coming from trusted sources, and would pay a premium for that.

[glchen]

Originally Posted by T206Collector

...in this race -- I don't collect photographs or bid in Yee auctions -- but it is OBVIOUS that if you were going to purchase Type 1 photos, you would be extremely concerned about who was selling them. You would also, OF COURSE, pay a premium to buy them from a reputable source.

Photos are naturally harder to authenticate than baseball cards. Like autographs, you would want them coming from trusted sources, and would pay a premium for that.

Let me ask this, and I also don't want to question Henry's reputation. However, Henry works for PSA as an authenticator/grader for Photos. Yet, he sells / consigns photos directly. Is that not a conflict of interest?

Thanks, Gary

[fkw]

I havent bid on many Yee items recently, but when I see his name as the seller I know that the item will be high quality and top of the line. And I know is will sell good.

Thats why his stuff sells for more than the average eBay seller IMO

Heck he got almost $600 for a very nice but very common 1948 (really 1947) Old Gold Jackie Robinson "raw" card. Ive bought lower grade examples in the past for under $25.