Posted By:
warshawlawI've said it before and it bears repetition now: NEGOTIATE!!!! A consignment fee is an agreed figure. With the number of qualified auction houses out there, NO ONE leaves 35% on the table unless they are ignorant. I'd venture an educated guess that the average consignor pays Mastro 10% as a commission and that someone with a very significant item will pay 0%-5%.
Coincidentally, I had a related discussion yesterday (I was really sick on Friday and ended up in the hospital ER that evening with respitratory problems, so mortality came up as a discussion at home; feeling much better now and back to work after a weekend resting). I told my wife that if I was to die unexpectedly, she is to call some auctioneers I named and "auction" the right to liquidate my collection among them, and I told her not to pay any commission on the seller's side.