AH's at 20%

Exhibitman · #1 10-02-2014, 11:40 AM

Most AH's will negotiate a 0% commission to the seller, especially for slabbed cards. The BP is where they make their money. eBay's rake when paypal is factored in is about 13% for the casual seller, and that includes a final value fee and paypal fee on shipping costs. So, if I have a $100 slabbed card to sell I can either pay $13 to eBay and co., with the 'pleasure' of dealing with the general public and fulfilling the sale myself, or I can consign it to an AH and take a 15% to 20% hit but have no further dealings with the item after I send it in. To me, the extra few bucks aren't worth the headaches of DIY selling, not to mention that a single bad eBayer under their seller-killing rules can more than make up for any savings.

As for 20% or more BP, for that level of BP the seller should be doing an actual catalog. There are a number of sub-20% BP AH's that are internet only.

What really chaps my hide is what I saw on MEARS:

"There is a 22.5% Buyer's Premium for payment with credit card and PayPal. If you pay by cashiers check, money order, wire transfer or check within 10 days of receipt of invoice a 2.5% discount can be applied to net a buyers premium of 20%. Payments AFTER 10 days by these methods cannot apply the 2.5% discount."

They call it a discount because the credit card processing contracts I've reviewed all forbid vendors from charging a premium for use of the card [it discourages card use], but really it is a penalty to discourage electronic payments via those methods. I don't have any other trade relationships where a net 10 payment discount depends on the payment method; the merchants want their payments quickly and will offer net 10 terms regardless of payment methods to try and get it.

Leon · #2 10-02-2014, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Most AH's will negotiate a 0% commission to the seller, especially for slabbed cards. The BP is where they make their money. eBay's rake when paypal is factored in is about 13% for the casual seller, and that includes a final value fee and paypal fee on shipping costs. So, if I have a $100 slabbed card to sell I can either pay $13 to eBay and co., with the 'pleasure' of dealing with the general public and fulfilling the sale myself, or I can consign it to an AH and take a 15% to 20% hit but have no further dealings with the item after I send it in. To me, the extra few bucks aren't worth the headaches of DIY selling, not to mention that a single bad eBayer under their seller-killing rules can more than make up for any savings.

As for 20% or more BP, for that level of BP the seller should be doing an actual catalog. There are a number of sub-20% BP AH's that are internet only.

What really chaps my hide is what I saw on MEARS:

"There is a 22.5% Buyer's Premium for payment with credit card and PayPal. If you pay by cashiers check, money order, wire transfer or check within 10 days of receipt of invoice a 2.5% discount can be applied to net a buyers premium of 20%. Payments AFTER 10 days by these methods cannot apply the 2.5% discount."

They call it a discount because the credit card processing contracts I've reviewed all forbid vendors from charging a premium for use of the card [it discourages card use], but really it is a penalty to discourage electronic payments via those methods. I don't have any other trade relationships where a net 10 payment discount depends on the payment method; the merchants want their payments quickly and will offer net 10 terms regardless of payment methods to try and get it.

I think That law got overturned (at least in Texas if not the whole US) some time ago....

http://www.merchantcouncil.org/merch...e-customer.php

ChiSoxFan · #3 10-02-2014, 01:09 PM

Like most everyone else, the BP % doesn't matter to me as I take that into consideration when placing my bids. Here is the formula I use, if that helps any.

MaxBid = (MyPrice - SH) / (1 + BP%)

MaxBid is my maximum bid amount
MyPrice is the amount I plan on spending for the card (including any additional fees)
SH is the Shipping and Handling charges (if known)
BP% is the Buyers Premium Percent (as a decimal)

As an example, there is a card in a current auction I'm wanting, but I have limited myself to $1000 for this card. This fictitious auction house has an 18.5% buyers premium and a $5.00 flat rate for shipping. Now I apply these numbers to my formula:

($1000 - $5) / (1 + 0.185)
($995) / (1.185) = $839.66

So if the current bid is less than $840, then I will be placing a bid.

Hope this helps.

ChiSoxFan

chipperhank44 · #4 10-02-2014, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

What really chaps my hide is what I saw on MEARS:

"There is a 22.5% Buyer's Premium for payment with credit card and PayPal. If you pay by cashiers check, money order, wire transfer or check within 10 days of receipt of invoice a 2.5% discount can be applied to net a buyers premium of 20%. Payments AFTER 10 days by these methods cannot apply the 2.5% discount."

My personal favorite was when I saw an auction house's terms and conditions say "No Returns are accepted, all items sold As Is" and then also say "By bidding you agree not to issue a credit or debit card chargeback". I couldn't wait to bid!