Does The Auctioneer Impact The Price?

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Posted By: davidcycleback

For non card items, yes. Even if it came in with PSA & GAI COAs, I would pay a bit extra for an autograph collection sold by Mike Gutierrez. As authenticity is important, being able to say it was purchased through Gutierrez is important upon resale ... If I was buying a Picasso print, I would pay extra if it was being offered by Sotheby's. Upon resale, it would be nice to have a receipt showing it was purchased from Sotheby's. Even if the buyer isn't ordinarilly an art collector, he'll know of Sotheby's. The average person will assume the Picasso is authentic because of where it came from ... For many unusual sports memorabilia, having purchased it through Mastro, REA or Sotheby's will make resale easier, as the provenance gives it status and as most collectors will assume it's genuine because of where it came from. At the least, a buyer will have more confidence in the item as it was pictured and written up in the auction catalog, and he knows he can show the same catalog page when he resells it ... In this sense, good documented auction house provenance (catalog page, receipt) is the equivillent of an LOA. Being able to prove you purchased an autograph from Mike Gutierrez is as good as a PSA/DNA LOA ... Lastly, the big auction houses often auction the estates or large personal collections of famous poeple. Documentation that the celebrity personal item was purchased from Sotheby's or Mastro can be the strong evidence or even proof that it came from the estate. I've won celebrity items being auctioned on consignment by the family through Sotheby's, so I purchased the items directly from the family, with the sale being handled by Sotheby's. At later times, I've only had to point to the catalog pages, picturing and describing the item and stating where it came from, to prove the famous former ownership. While a buyer might have his doubts that the General George Patton family would consign through an eBay seller with marginal feedback, the potential potential will beleive that Patton's family would consign to Sotheby's or Mastro. At a later date, you'll have an easier time reselling Patton's pistol and helmet if you purchased it from Sotheby's as compared to from eBay id paulieshoreisasexgod. With the latter provenance, your potential buyer will say, "To start, the person you purchased this gun from obviously is insane. Second, I thought it was illegal in most states for Paulie Shore fans to own guns."