AH Blues

[Yoda]

Well, I managed to get through the avalanche of auctions over the last few months and am still nearly solvent. But I just don't under stand the allure of PWCC as a consignor. I initially thought they were primarily a dumping ground for lower condition graded cards, but some of the more recent stuff on Ebay was pretty impressive. Here is my query: Why would a consignor go to PWCC with, say, a PSA5 T206 Cobb Green and pay a scheduled fee when he/she could take it to a national AH and pay nothing?

[Scott L.]

Quicker $ maybe?

[mechanicalman]

If the same PSA 5 Cobb sells for $20k through PWCC and $20k through an auction house, the consignor will cash a check for north of $18k from PWCC and somewhere around $16.6k from the AH.

[mantlefan]

Originally Posted by mechanicalman

If the same PSA 5 Cobb sells for $20k through PWCC and $20k through an auction house, the consignor will cash a check for north of $18k from PWCC and somewhere around $16.6k from the AH.

On a high dollar item, the consignment fee is ZERO for many, many AH's including the biggies. At most they will charge 5% on items under $1000.

Some AH's will even give you an extra few points back!! They need stuff to sell. A Green Cobbie will be a featured item and will draw more bidders who will find other stuff to bid on!

[glchen]

Originally Posted by mantlefan

On a high dollar item, the consignment fee is ZERO for many, many AH's including the biggies. At most they will charge 5% on items under $1000.

Some AH's will even give you an extra few points back!! They need stuff to sell. A Green Cobbie will be a featured item and will draw more bidders who will find other stuff to bid on!

There's no buyer's premium on ebay ....

Saying that, a consignor usually wants to find the auction house or consignment shop that they believe will give their items the most visibility, the right buyers, and the auction ending type they believe will bring the highest price for them. There are also other factors such as the service of the AH, the payout speed, and other perks such as cash advances, discounted grading, etc.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by mechanicalman

If the same PSA 5 Cobb sells for $20k through PWCC and $20k through an auction house, the consignor will cash a check for north of $18k from PWCC and somewhere around $16.6k from the AH.

Apparently what you call it matters more to people than the math, Sam. So in your example the AH consignor isn't paying anything he's just taking in less money.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Apparently what you call it matters more to people than the math, Sam. So in your example the AH consignor isn't paying anything he's just taking in less money.

From now on I am mandating that I pay a 20% Sellers premium on my consignments and there will be NO buyers premium. Isn't that better now, Peter? The buyers won't be paying any fee now.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Leon

From now on I am mandating that I pay a 20% Sellers premium on my consignments and there will be NO buyers premium. Isn't that better now, Peter? The buyers won't be paying any fee now.

Rob will be thrilled that he won't have to pay a premium.

[Fballguy]

Originally Posted by Leon

From now on I am mandating that I pay a 20% Sellers premium on my consignments and there will be NO buyers premium. Isn't that better now, Peter? The buyers won't be paying any fee now.

This is a great idea. If it's all going to work out the same in the end, why don't they do it.

There's that question again that nobody wants to answer.

[mechanicalman]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Apparently what you call it matters more to people than the math, Sam. So in your example the AH consignor isn't paying anything he's just taking in less money.

Very true, Peter. I also didn't take into account the many folks who want to spend $20K on a PSA 5 Cobb and bid that amount in an auction, only to receive a surprising bill for $24K.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by mechanicalman

Very true, Peter. I also didn't take into account the many folks who want to spend $20K on a PSA 5 Cobb and bid that amount in an auction, only to receive a surprising bill for $24K.

When that happens to me I get really pissed.

[x2drich2000]

This is a good question and the answer lies in the difference in the fees charged by PWCC and whatever the AH you choose. Taking a look at your example, a PSA 5 green Cobb is probably somewhere in the $15-20k range now (i could be off on that, but simplicity lets just use $15k for an example).

PWCC charges 8% commission for any card over $5k. So if the card sells for $15k, the seller will net $13,800 and PWCC gets $1200.

Most premier AH's charge around 20% buyers premiums (yes I know there are AH with lower BP and for a card of this price you could probably negotiate some percent of the buyers premium but just trying to keep it simple). In order for the consignor to net the same amount as he would with PWCC, the hammer price before the BP would need to be $13,800. Add the 20% buyers premium and the customer would have to pay $16,560. So that would mean the card would need to sell for $1500 more in the auction house for the consignor to net the same amount. As a consignor you need to ask yourself which is more likely to happen and make your choice which way to go from there.

[ruth_rookie]

Originally Posted by x2drich2000

PWCC charges 8% commission for any card over $5k.

This thread has me laughing my butt off. On a serious note, if PWCC is only charging 8%, how are they making money? Doesn’t eBay charge them about 10% after their sale? What am I missing here?

[mechanicalman]

Originally Posted by ruth_rookie

This thread has me laughing my butt off. On a serious note, if PWCC is only charging 8%, how are they making money? Doesn’t eBay charge them about 10% after their sale? What am I missing here?

I'm sure because they sell in large quantities, they've negotiated a deal with eBay to pay a much smaller fee.

[ruth_rookie]

Originally Posted by mechanicalman

I'm sure because they sell in large quantities, they've negotiated a deal with eBay to pay a much smaller fee.

Once again, the small guy gets screwed. Oh well, life goes on.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Yoda

Well, I managed to get through the avalanche of auctions over the last few months and am still nearly solvent. But I just don't under stand the allure of PWCC as a consignor. I initially thought they were primarily a dumping ground for lower condition graded cards, but some of the more recent stuff on Ebay was pretty impressive. Here is my query: Why would a consignor go to PWCC with, say, a PSA5 T206 Cobb Green and pay a scheduled fee when he/she could take it to a national AH and pay nothing?

How do you figure they are paying nothing? Unless the AH is going to kick back some or all of the buyer's premium, they are of course paying via a reduced hammer price attributable to the BP.

[pokerplyr80]

Originally Posted by Yoda

Well, I managed to get through the avalanche of auctions over the last few months and am still nearly solvent. But I just don't under stand the allure of PWCC as a consignor. I initially thought they were primarily a dumping ground for lower condition graded cards, but some of the more recent stuff on Ebay was pretty impressive. Here is my query: Why would a consignor go to PWCC with, say, a PSA5 T206 Cobb Green and pay a scheduled fee when he/she could take it to a national AH and pay nothing?

Almost every card I couldn't sell here or privately, as well as those I didn't bother trying with, have gone to PWCC. Lower fees, high prices, and they run an auction every month. I dont understand why anyone wouldn't want to use them. Unless you're selling more obscure cards that will benefit from a write up and an auction catalog.