selling cards at auction - learner's permit

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by Orioles1954

or most especially Huggins & Scott And with six auctions a year...no real need to worry about deadlines. But hey, I'm biased...

Heh...I didn't leave them out on purpose. H&S is a great auction house.

[Fred]

It sure would be nice if you could share a few of the scans in this thread...

[ctownboy]

First off, I don't have the money to spend thousands of dollars on cards (though I wish I could) so I want to get that out of the way. Now, as far as your cards go, it would be nice to know or, better yet, see what you are talking about.

If you could list some of your cards, or even better, show scans of them then you could 1) get opinions from very knowledgable people on this board whether they are real or not and, if so, what condition they would grade. Also, by doing this, if the cards are real you would be giving a heads up to collectors on this board to what is coming to an auction in the future and whet their appetites fot it.

In short, you would get some info for you to think about and use and we would get to see some cards whether we can afford them or not.

David

[Exhibitman]

Without knowing what type of cards it is pretty hard to suggest the right auctioneer.

[ullmandds]

seems kind of rude to imply these cards may be fake....to me...but it would be invaluable to know what type of cards we're dealing with here as different auction houses cater to different clientele...with varying collecting interests. this would be pertinent to maximize your return.

[terjung]

Good questions and fair questions.

To answer them honestly though, it kind of matters what it is that you are trying to sell. Though there are several choices available, some sales might be better suited for some houses. As an example, REA's auction is a really big deal every year and it gets tons of attention. The catalog is huge and it is full of incredible stuff. If your items would be headliner type of material, that might be the best avenue for you. If, however, it was something more common like a high grade Goudey Ruth, it might get shuffled to the back and not get the attention that it would in a different house. I know that is the crux of your question, but in order to answer it effectively, the scarcity and desirability of the items is also very pertinent. REA is a once a year deal. Other auction houses have great items too though and have auctions more frequently.

Depending on how much you have, spreading them out may not be a bad idea.

To answer your question the best I can without knowing what you are going to be auctioning, I will say this... personally, I would consider:

1. the suitability of the items to be auctioned (weighing "standing out" in the auction)
2. the auction house's reputation,
3. the amount of the buyer's premium (or vig)
4. the willingness of the auction house to wave any seller's premium (should be 0% if you have really nice stuff),
5. the visibility and advertising associated with the auction,
6. how quickly you need your money, and
7. where the auction house is located (since that could remove significant buyers due to state taxes),

Those items are the ones that I would consider. Good luck!
Brian

[barrysloate]

Why don't you post a few scans so we can be a little more helpful. I too would want to make sure they were originals; that would be my first step.