Does the REA auction pick up towards the end?

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by Hordfest

Wait...so auction houses charge the sellers a 25% consignment fee AND buyers a 20% fee? And then possibly sales tax on top?!! What a freaking racket. These auction houses are just wringing collectors dry and getting rich in the process.

How do they stay in business?!

Do you think that they pocket the sales tax?

Breaking news: taxes collected are remitted to the state taxing authorities

[Hordfest]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Do you think that they pocket the sales tax?

Okay well that part is true of course lol. Not their fault about sales tax I suppose. I may have gotten a bit carried away in my surprise about 20% buyers premiums haha.

[Exhibitman]

Some pointers for the auction newbs:

1. As a consignor, if you have decent stuff most any AH will sell it for 0% commission--the Buyers Premium (aka the BP or the vig) is where they make their money, typically 20% of the hammer price. If you have a consignment and the AH demands a commission, take it to another AH. If your consignment is really valuable, most AH's will also give you a piece of the BP. Selling your Wagner, ask for 110%-115% of the hammer price and you will get it. 1988 Donruss set, not.

2. Read the rules for each auction.

3. Read the rules for each auction.

4. Some AH's have switched to flat rate shipping charges. REA and LOTG both do that for run of the mill card lots.

5. Read the rules for each auction.

6. Closing methods vary. The goal is to maximize the amounts bid on each lot: happy consignors = repeat consignors. There are various ways to handle it. Here are excerpts from REA and LOTG's rules:

LOTG: This auction closes using the "Double Overtime" method, with a 15-minute rule for the entire auction. In order to bid on an item during the extended bidding session beginning on the date of the auction close, you must place at least one bid on that item prior to 9:00 PM Eastern on the auction closing date. If you do not bid on it by 9PM Eastern on the closing date, you cannot bid on it afterward. To ensure that everyone gets a chance to bid, we will apply the 15-minute rule to the entire auction beginning at 9PM, with the clock resetting every 15 minutes. Bidding continues until no bids have been placed in the entire auction for a full 15-minute interval. As long as there is at least one lot that receives a bid during a 15-minute interval, the entire auction will extend for 15 minutes. Once a 15-minute interval passes without a bid on any item in the auction, the auction will close. At 1:00 AM Eastern, any item that has not received a bid for one hour or more will close without notice. The remaining items will enter "Double Overtime," with the 15-minute rule applied to the remaining lots.

REA: REA will continue to accept bids from qualified bidders after 9:00 PM EDT on all lots in the auction. IF YOU HAVE NOT BID ON AN ITEM BEFORE 9:00 PM EDT, YOU CANNOT BID ON IT AFTER 9:00 PM EDT. If, after 9:00 PM EDT, a period of 10 minutes passes without a bid on ANY lot in the entire auction, then the auction will close. Based on past auctions, this is unlikely, so if the auction continues to 12:00 AM Midnight EDT (technically the morning of Monday, April 25, 2022), each lot will switch to a 10-minute lot-by-lot closing. During this lot-by-lot closing, an individual 10-minute clock will appear on each lot page. A bid on a specific lot will cause the countdown clock to reset. If the countdown clock reaches zero, the lot will close.

7. Read the rules for each auction.

[marzoumanian]

As a consignor in the CURRENT auction, I thought it would help to provide you with an up-to-date review of bid patterns on my item.
First day, April 7, started out slow in the $50 increments. Continued the same on the 8th and 9th. And then NOTHING for three days. On the 12th it started up again in the same $50 bumps. It heated up, moving $700 in one day. Then nothing until the 14th. Suddenly, a $600 leap in ONE day. Holy cow! Then nothing at all for FOUR days. Now it is creeping up again in $100 moves, a couple of bids a day. Slowly.
You get the picture. This is the free market at work and the way it should be. As others have already mentioned, you will go to bed this Saturday night, noting the price your item rests at. When you wake up on Sunday morning you will be stunned. Guaranteed. If you are bidding you MUST be resolved to staying up late if you REALLY want an item. That's just the way the market is nowadays.
Peace.

[darwinbulldog]

Originally Posted by marzoumanian

As a consignor in the CURRENT auction, I thought it would help to provide you with an up-to-date review of bid patterns on my item.
First day, April 7, started out slow in the $50 increments. Continued the same on the 8th and 9th. And then NOTHING for three days. On the 12th it started up again in the same $50 bumps. It heated up, moving $700 in one day. Then nothing until the 14th. Suddenly, a $600 leap in ONE day. Holy cow! Then nothing at all for FOUR days. Now it is creeping up again in $100 moves, a couple of bids a day. Slowly.
You get the picture. This is the free market at work and the way it should be. As others have already mentioned, you will go to bed this Saturday night, noting the price your item rests at. When you wake up on Sunday morning you will be stunned. Guaranteed. If you are bidding you MUST be resolved to staying up late if you REALLY want an item. That's just the way the market is nowadays.
Peace.

I also have exactly one item consigned in the auction. It received the opening bid on the first day and zero action since then. Looks like maybe they started it too high, but it went for 3x as much when they sold it in 2016. Win some, lose some I guess.