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Need some advice regarding consigning to the 3 auction houses

Started by gojira,

27 posts in this topic

gojira

gojira

Posted
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I might consign some books and OA to one of the three different auction houses in the future and am in need of some advice. I have made purchases from Clink,CC and HA but never consigned anything to them and was wondering if those of you who have done so might be able to clarify a few things for me.

 

First of all I was wondering about the fees. I think that most of them charge around 10% (please correct me if I'm wrong). Are there any additional fees? For graded comic books and for OA?

 

Which of the three gets the best results in your opinion? Do you think that it might be better to consign let's say Atlas books to one and mid level Marvel keys in grades between 9.0 and 9.4 to another?

 

Which one does better with OA, no high end stuff, but let's say a Demon Kirby splash and some nice 60's and 70's pieces?

 

In my opinion HA would be the better choice for OA and higher grade super hero books, but will it be worth a shot? Those would probably sell for higher amounts, but will the extra money be spent on higher fees?

 

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

(I haven't decided yet what to sell and am not 100% sure to go through with this, since it depends on some outer factors, so please don't PM me asking what I have for sale.)

 

 

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gojira

gojira

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Thank you for your input to all.

 

All 3 auction houses exist and coexist for relative reasons. Your sole decision mostly will be based on what you have. To give you the best answer/opinion, I'd need to know exactly what it is you have to consign.

 

That's the problem. I will have to figure that out myself if I decide to do this. That won't be easy.

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Sqeggs

Sqeggs

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I believe Heritage takes 19.5% off the top, so its fees are considerably higher. Some items do seem to sell higher on that site than on the other two—some being the operative word.

 

I think this is the buyer's premium. The seller's premium I believe is 10%. Of course, you need to add them together to get the wedge between what the buyer pays and what the seller receives. You can call them and see what kind of break they might give you for consigning some desirable items.

 

The key with HA, I think, is to try get into one of their signature auctions, although even the Sunday auctions seem to have been doing very well lately.

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tth2

tth2

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Go with CL straight ten percent fee :)

The phrase "penny wise but pound foolish" comes to mind when I hear this.

 

For example, the CGC 9.4 Fantastic 1 couldn't sell at $15K on CL, and then sold $24K on Heritage last week. Would you have been better off paying 10% on $15K at CL or 29.5% (assuming you're paying full boat, which no one does) on $24K at Heritage?

 

Also, Heritage does a great job of marketing and reaching out to an international audience. Comiclink? It blocks bidders from Asia from its website. So several billion potential customers, gone.

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jimjum12

jimjum12

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All 3 of the aforementioned options, as was said before, have their strengths. CL doesn't provide data to GPA so their results are difficult to assess, but I've seen many results for SA material there that were significantly higher than what GPA suggests as the "high". I must confess that I haven't followed the GA offerings as closely. HA seems to have a very strong market for marquee type material and their client base is HUGE, with many types of deep pocketed collectors of different yet similar material exposed to their marketing campaigns regarding comics. CC is the new guy on the scene but their consignment fees are reasonable and it's hard to discount the huge paydays that much of the better material has been experiencing there lately. I'm not sure how fast payment is received from HA or CC, but CL isn't too bad of a wait. Another option I've not heard mentioned is SparkleCity on eBay....... but in all honesty, ANY of these houses will generate strong results with the "right" material. The trick is having an idea of just what that might be. GOD BLESS...

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

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jimjum12

jimjum12

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It's unfortunate that both CL and CC have failed to realize what a powerful marketing tool the Auction Archives at HA are. It's a level of transparency that has a profound effect on bidder confidence. Still, the 20% buyer's premium is quite a barrier to overcome when a prospective consignor begins to analyze their projected "bottom line". GOD BLESS....

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

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Sqeggs

Sqeggs

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As Tim mentioned, you can negotiate the seller's premium with HA if you have enough quality material. The higher the value of your books and OA, the more HA is willing to lower the SP.

 

I've had them offer to waive it completely, but the 19.5% BP is another matter. Although apparently some consignors have managed to get a slice of that as well. hm

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TheWatcher

TheWatcher

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Although apparently some consignors have managed to get a slice of that as well.

 

This is correct. I know of at least two people that consigned enough books (six figures worth), that HA waived the SP and gave them 5% of the BP

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maraxusofkeld

maraxusofkeld

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It's unfortunate that both CL and CC have failed to realize what a powerful marketing tool the Auction Archives at HA are. It's a level of transparency that has a profound effect on bidder confidence. Still, the 20% buyer's premium is quite a barrier to overcome when a prospective consignor begins to analyze their projected "bottom line". GOD BLESS....

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

What auction house is CC?

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Cat-Man_America

Cat-Man_America

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It's unfortunate that both CL and CC have failed to realize what a powerful marketing tool the Auction Archives at HA are. It's a level of transparency that has a profound effect on bidder confidence. Still, the 20% buyer's premium is quite a barrier to overcome when a prospective consignor begins to analyze their projected "bottom line". GOD BLESS....

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

What auction house is CC?

 

ComicConnect, the consignment & auction house arm of Metropolis Comics. (thumbs u

 

Note: If you're consigning books, their reduced fee structure (w/o a heavy Buyer's Premium) and delayed final hammer is bound to have appeal. IMO, each of the three BIG comic auctions have unique pluses and minuses.

 

I'm a firm believer that with competition there's always room to improve existing systems. :sumo:

 

 

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maraxusofkeld

maraxusofkeld

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It's unfortunate that both CL and CC have failed to realize what a powerful marketing tool the Auction Archives at HA are. It's a level of transparency that has a profound effect on bidder confidence. Still, the 20% buyer's premium is quite a barrier to overcome when a prospective consignor begins to analyze their projected "bottom line". GOD BLESS....

 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus) (thumbs u

 

What auction house is CC?

 

ComicConnect, the consignment & auction house arm of Metropolis Comics. (thumbs u

 

 

I did know that, just didn't hit me doh!

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