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Goldin Auctions Enters the Market
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354 posts in this topic

I think for them to be successful, they need to hit the 1st auction with some grade A material and achieve what could only be classified as astonishing final hammer prices.  Buyer and seller fees need to be less than HA I would think.  The auction has to go off flawlessly from a technical standpoint which you would hope they already have down.  Not hitting any of these things will greatly inhibit their ability to become a major player.

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On 7/23/2021 at 10:25 AM, batman_fan said:

I think for them to be successful, they need to hit the 1st auction with some grade A material and achieve what could only be classified as astonishing final hammer prices.  Buyer and seller fees need to be less than HA I would think.  The auction has to go off flawlessly from a technical standpoint which you would hope they already have down.  Not hitting any of these things will greatly inhibit their ability to become a major player.

I will second that, but these guys know what it takes to put a splash in the market, what they need is a like 1500 to 2000 minimum lot auction and run with it...and have a 2000 lot waiting in the wings both quality and quantity . Look for the commission structure to benefit both buyer and seller, as least in the beginning. The greatest threat is not toHa.com or even CC to some extent but to CL and other auction houses. Look for a possible merger/ purchase of one the the smaller guys if they are successful.

Edited by Mmehdy
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On 7/23/2021 at 11:30 AM, Mmehdy said:

I will second that, but these guys know what it takes to put a splash in the market, what they need is a like 1500 to 2000 minimum lot auction and run with it...and have a 2000 lot waiting in the wings both quality and quantity . Look for the commission structure to benefit both buyer and seller, as least in the beginning. The greatest threat is not toHa.com or even CC to some extent but to CL and other auction houses. Look for a possible merger/ purchase of one the the smaller guys if they are successful.

Honest question Mitch. How many books do you think HA has in the queue for upcoming auctions?  I almost get the impression they have too many books right now. 

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On 7/23/2021 at 11:17 AM, batman_fan said:

Honest question Mitch. How many books do you think HA has in the queue for upcoming auctions?  I almost get the impression they have too many books right now. 

their weekly auction platform has room to expand, and they are agressive in their adding better and better material to these weekly auctions. I suppose they could go up to 2000 items per week or more. So I think there is room, now that they have expanded the Signature auctions from four to six, I suppose they could do it every 6 weeks instead of 8 and cram in a couple more in the year timeframe.

 What is so impressive is the ability of our current GA/SA market to handle the price increases but as you note the volume increases. Yes, the GA/SA market has adjusted is doing just fine.

 There is plenty of room for a new auction company, but the issue still remains...can they get the HA overflow or CC overflow...very interesting time to be a GA/SA TCBC.

Edited by Mmehdy
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On 7/24/2021 at 1:25 AM, batman_fan said:

I think for them to be successful, they need to hit the 1st auction with some grade A material and achieve what could only be classified as astonishing final hammer prices.  Buyer and seller fees need to be less than HA I would think.  The auction has to go off flawlessly from a technical standpoint which you would hope they already have down.  Not hitting any of these things will greatly inhibit their ability to become a major player.

This.  Since Heritage is the best at maintaining a data base of previous sales, Goldin should target consignors with books that were won on Heritage and provide a guarantee that will sell at least 2x of the Heritage sale price.  And charge only a 1% fee as a special "pioneer consignor" rate to entice consignors.

Win win! :idea:

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On 7/23/2021 at 12:14 PM, Crowzilla said:

Wasn't that Larson Bat #1 most recently being peddled by Vinnie?

Yes, it was at a Buy It Now for $800K I believe on the Metropolis side/site of the business

 

 

Edited by DanCooper
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On 7/23/2021 at 10:25 AM, batman_fan said:

I think for them to be successful, they need to hit the 1st auction with some grade A material and achieve what could only be classified as astonishing final hammer prices.

Sounds as though their big introductory first auction is scheduled to start up next month in August which is going to put them right up against all of the big auctions from HA, CC, and CL which are also scheduled to start up in August.  :slapfight:  :slapfight:

From a straight timing point of view, can anybody here explain the rationale for all of these comic book auction houses to have their major auctions pretty much all starting off at the same time against each other, and then the auction market cools off a bit for the next 2 months while setting up for the next big one.  Especially when collectors wallets are only so deep and wouldn't it make more sense to have a major auction during some of these quiet "off" months?  ???  (shrug)

 

On 7/23/2021 at 10:25 AM, batman_fan said:

Buyer and seller fees need to be less than HA I would think.

Have they stated what their BP (if any at all :wishluck:) and SP will be, because I believe this is going to make a huge difference to whether they are successful or not?  ???

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On 7/24/2021 at 1:40 PM, lou_fine said:

Sounds as though their big introductory first auction is scheduled to start up next month in August which is going to put them right up against all of the big auctions from HA, CC, and CL which are also scheduled to start up in August.  :slapfight:  :slapfight:

From a straight timing point of view, can anybody here explain the rationale for all of these comic book auction houses to have their major auctions pretty much all starting off at the same time against each other, and then the auction market cools off a bit for the next 2 months while setting up for the next big one.  Especially when collectors wallets are only so deep and wouldn't it make more sense to have a major auction during some of these quiet "off" months?  ???  (shrug)

 

Have they stated what their BP (if any at all :wishluck:) and SP will be, because I believe this is going to make a huge difference to whether they are successful or not?  ???

IMO, there are two dynamics involved for success: 1) they have to offer better front end deals to sellers than those offered by the competition, and 2) their hammer prices on key books have to be equal to or better than the competition's final hammer prices.  The BP and seller's fees can always be negotiated as a means of offering perks to sellers.  

In highly publicized auctions there's one other factor that could guarantee competitive success, but it's the 800 lb. gorilla in the room: top price shill buying key books could guarantee whatever end goal they wish to achieve.  If they're heavily invested in the long term success of this auction, they could actually make this happen and I doubt anyone would be the wiser, the publicity working to their advantage in attracting new sellers.  

Note: I'm not insinuating this or anything shady by any means, just throwing the idea out as a theoretical possibility.  This has often been speculated about with other auctions, why would this one be any different. (shrug)

:tink:

Edited by Cat-Man_America
...Even more ale! (and spelling edit)
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On 7/24/2021 at 9:15 PM, Cat-Man_America said:

In highly publicized auctions there's one other factor that could guarantee competitive success, but it's the 800 lb. gorilla in the room: top price shill buying key books could guarantee whatever end goal they wish to achieve.  If they're heavily invested in the long term success of this auction, they could actually make this happen and I doubt anyone would be the wiser, the publicity working to their advantage in attracting new sellers.  

Goldin has pretty strict policies for payment, especially on high-dollar items in the sports card auctions. It could happen, but it would be a pretty dramatic departure from their current M.O.

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On 7/23/2021 at 9:48 PM, tth2 said:

This.  Since Heritage is the best at maintaining a data base of previous sales, Goldin should target consignors with books that were won on Heritage and provide a guarantee that will sell at least 2x of the Heritage sale price.  And charge only a 1% fee as a special "pioneer consignor" rate to entice consignors.

Win win! :idea:

This is the kind of thinking that should make you a shoo-in for their next consignment director. :wishluck:

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On 7/25/2021 at 10:44 AM, adamstrange said:
On 7/24/2021 at 9:48 AM, tth2 said:

This.  Since Heritage is the best at maintaining a data base of previous sales, Goldin should target consignors with books that were won on Heritage and provide a guarantee that will sell at least 2x of the Heritage sale price.  And charge only a 1% fee as a special "pioneer consignor" rate to entice consignors.

Win win! :idea:

Expand  

This is the kind of thinking that should make you a shoo-in for their next consignment director. :wishluck:

I'll be retiring at the end of the year, so am open to offers...

"Sure you'll lose money initially, but it's all about the number of views!"

Edited by tth2
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I don't think I would risk any big books at their first auction without a reserve.  I can't imagine the top 3 books they have not having some kind of behind the scenes deal. You'd have to be foolish to play them there.  Plus there seller fees are higher than the big 3.  Why on earth anyone would want to consign right now is beyond me.

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On 8/6/2021 at 8:29 AM, Chicago Boy said:

I don't think I would risk any big books at their first auction without a reserve.  I can't imagine the top 3 books they have not having some kind of behind the scenes deal. You'd have to be foolish to play them there.  Plus there seller fees are higher than the big 3.  Why on earth anyone would want to consign right now is beyond me.

I wouldn't be surprised if many of these books are from people who primarily deal in sports cards, and thus know/trust Goldin, and are using these comic sales to generate goodwill with Goldin (e.g., a dealer of sports cards has a customer who also has comics, or who knows someone with comics, and that's how the connection was made). Goldin has been huge in sports cards for a while, so he's not an unknown such that it's a risk, per se, in consigning big books to him, I think.

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On 8/6/2021 at 11:37 AM, Aman619 said:

Goldin could become another Mound City ,  but I guess the first auction would have to be a success though.. 

Whatever happened to Mound City--I forgot about them !  We'll know soon enough if it's a success.  Ay idea how long their auctions run ?  I'm not sure it's worth the extra commission you have to pay as a seller (at least at this point)  Still cheaper than their card rates to sell

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On 8/6/2021 at 9:37 AM, Aman619 said:

Goldin could become another Mound City ,  but I guess the first auction would have to be a success though.. 

Well, if you are talking about the so-called big Mound City comic book auction from about 10 years ago, wasn't that one also pretty also their LAST auction when it came to comic books focused auctions?  hm

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