REA increasing their BP and making other changes

[Lorewalker]

We have had this discussions a lot. My POV on this is that I do not care as a bidder what the house charges me. I factor that into my bid. If others do not do this then I will likely not be winning as much and those bidders might find they are paying more.

One thing that is now a real factor is the sales tax we pay at almost all houses. Some buyers are sales tax exempt but most are not and that sales tax, while not kept by the house, is part of what we pay for the items we win. On graded cards, the sales tax is not included in the data that is collected by all of these apps and websites that give us sales info.

[Jay Wolt]

Originally Posted by Lorewalker

We have had this discussions a lot. My POV on this is that I do not care as a bidder what the house charges me. I factor that into my bid.

Exactly!
If you have a price you are willing to pay, factor in buyers premium, tax & shipping

[mrreality68]

I am not sure what the number is but at some point the % will be to high that either the bidder will not be willing to pay it and go elsewhere or do without that item or the consignor will find another format/platform to sell it as they are getting a smaller piece of the pie(except perhaps a small portion that can negotiate for top cards). Because if you are able to sell elsewhere and pocket more of the money (that you would have given up to the auction house then their services may not be worth it)

I prefer private sales and/or trades but auction houses for now still get the bulk of the business because they currently get the vast majority of cards most of us desire

[doug.goodman]

As a buyer, I bid as long as :
(Bid + BP + CA tax + shipping) <= (what the item is worth to me)

I don't really care what an auction house charges, it could be 1000% and it wouldn't bother me.

[oldjudge]

In theory, the levels of BP shouldn't matter to bidders. They can just adjust their bids accordingly. However, in practice I have found that it does because 1. my cut off point for bidding is not a hard and fast number, and 2. If the final bid is below my cutoff with a 23% premium then I have paid 3.4% more (add 10.25% tax bite) than I otherwise would have with a 20% buyers premium.
Will this stop me from bidding in REA (or Goldin or HA)? If I "have to have an item" --no. However, it will dissuade me from bidding on whims.

[BioCRN]

Originally Posted by doug.goodman

As a buyer, I bid as long as :
(Bid + BP + CA tax + shipping) <= (what the item is worth to me)

The shipping is what kills me in the past few years compared to years past (not REA for me, btw).

Some auction houses are good about steady or expected shipping rates and some I have no idea what shipping/insurance/packing/etc metrics they're using to come up with surprisingly huge numbers.

Then there's the sometimes surprising multiple-items = multiple-packages = multiple-shipping-fees...sometimes understandable, sometimes questionable.

[parkplace33]

I’m sure the others will follow suit. 25 percent can’t be far behind

[Johnny630]

Originally Posted by parkplace33

I’m sure the others will follow suit. 25 percent can’t be far behind

Geez when will enough be enough lol

[notfast]

Originally Posted by parkplace33

I’m sure the others will follow suit. 25 percent can’t be far behind

I noticed heritages non sport auction is 25%

[Jstottlemire1]

Originally Posted by mrreality68

I am not sure what the number is but at some point the % will be to high that either the bidder will not be willing to pay it and go elsewhere or do without that item or the consignor will find another format/platform to sell it as they are getting a smaller piece of the pie(except perhaps a small portion that can negotiate for top cards). Because if you are able to sell elsewhere and pocket more of the money (that you would have given up to the auction house then their services may not be worth it)

I prefer private sales and/or trades but auction houses for now still get the bulk of the business because they currently get the vast majority of cards most of us desire

Amen!