Posted By:
warshawlawAll of the below applies to the "average" stuff; if you have a T206 Wagner, don't worry about it, the auctioneers will be kissing your ring to get you and will negotiate rates and terms readily:
Consider commissions first: all of the major houses (Mastro, Lelands, Robert Edwards) and many of the minor ones hit both ends for 15% or more, meaning in effect that it will cost you at least 30% of the sale price to sell your goods.
Minimums: The large auctioneers put incredibly low minimums on their lots. While they usually get action enough to make sellers happy, you are always taking a risk of a low sale if no one wants the cards. I will never forget picking up a lot of major HOFers (Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, etc.) for the same price as a single card from the lot that also sold in the same auction. Had to be one disappointed seller. Smaller auctioneers will work with you to establish the minimums more than the bigger houses.
Lotting: The large houses "throw away" lots of cards in big, random lots that only wholesalers want, leaving your $$ on the table. This irrational behavior is rational on their end when promotional costs (catalog printing and photographing--you know, the only things they do) are considered. The externalize their costs onto you. I once consigned a very significant collection of Academy Awards memorabilia to a major entertainment auctioneer. Not only did the bastards make me pay for the photography (s sure sign, BTW, that the auctioneer is a loser), they threw my whole collection into one random lot, did a lousy job of describing it, set a low minimum, and essentially threw it away.
Accuracy: It frequently happens that the major auctioneers do not give sufficient care to describing the "average" lots, especially when they throw hundreds of cards together. I've purchased lots of cards that were surprisingly misdescribed.
It is imperative that you describe what you have accurately, tell the auctioneer what you want for it, and make sure that the auctioneer lots the items as you see fit.
If you are selling non-six-figure stuff, you should strongly consider doing it via this forum's BST thread first, then via ebay.