heritage signature auction is up!

[Lantern]

DAM

 

Just like you I got my catalog yesterday as well. Also like you I ended up bidding on some more stuff due to the ease of browsing and the great presentation. This is the first set of catalogs I have ever gotten from Heritage (I got the Comics and the Original Art catalogs) and I must say that I am very impressed with them. I was not expecting that high quality of a product. The scans are very nice to look at, and my drool does not screw the glossy pages up either.

[comicartfan]

i got my catalog the other day and i must say, these are not cheap books to print. The photos are outstanding and they serve as a great reference tool later on.....course, bidding is out of the question......this stuff in these Sign Auctions go to high for my wallet......

[g-man]

i got my catalog the other day and i must say, these are not cheap books to print. The photos are outstanding and they serve as a great reference tool later on.....course, bidding is out of the question......this stuff in these Sign Auctions go to high for my wallet......

 

kevin will loan u the $$.

[JLA_ALL_THE_WAY]

Got mine yesterday; book is fantastic.

 

But it begs the question: " How much of the 15-20% premium goes towards these catalogs?"

 

As nice as they are, I'd rather do without the "FREE" book if the cost (that's absorbed through the premium) is too high.

 

For example: A winning bid of $500 means another $100 (20%) is tacked on to the total (NOT inc s/h). So if Heritage takes 'only' 50% for itself, then you are actually paying the full $50 price marked on the catalog. Now, how nice is it?

 

Rick

[greggy]

Got mine yesterday; book is fantastic.

 

But it begs the question: " How much of the 15-20% premium goes towards these catalogs?"

 

As nice as they are, I'd rather do without the "FREE" book if the cost (that's absorbed through the premium) is too high.

 

For example: A winning bid of $500 means another $100 (20%) is tacked on to the total (NOT inc s/h). So if Heritage takes 'only' 50% for itself, then you are actually paying the full $50 price marked on the catalog. Now, how nice is it?

 

Rick

 

Yo, it's pretty standard to have buyer's premium in that range so getting rid of the "free" book won't do much!

[murph0]

I've done this before, but if you take a look at what they're making in these auctions.. they could easily afford to pay for these catalogs and send them free to people who've won auctions of theirs in the past... and still walk away with way more than enough $ profit to make the event profitable for them.

Now if you factor it with both sides, it's appalling the $ premium they're bringing in.

 

Brian

[JLA_ALL_THE_WAY]

Greggy & Brian,

 

Thanx for the quick replies (why am I not surprised).

 

But as far as the number crunching goes, does this factor in giving these $50-priced catalogs to the hundreds/thousands of bidders who did not win any auctions...like me? Not to mention their $3.85 cost for postage.

 

Rick

[murph0]

No, which is exactly what I don't get.. people who have at least bought from them once certainly would in some way warrant a free catalog.. but when they just start sending catalogs to anybody and everybody... it's a waste of money IMO.. and it's costing those of us who DO actually bid. Anyways, w/ the 30 percent total commission..you'd be very surprised at the amount of $ they make.. I did this for a Signature auction a year or so ago. Figured the space to cost, say.. 20,000 dollars (set up, auctioning, etc etc).. catalogs at around 10,000-15,000 (the cost of these books to create isn't as huge due to the mass mailing, we used to send out what would normally be 5 dollar booklets to our Alumni association but ended up only paying 1 dollar a booklet due to sheer quanity)... misc expenses (transportation, web space, employees, and anything else) 15,000 dollars. Add ALL that in.. and they were still bringing in over 150,000 dollars for themselves. And this auction only had 2-3 of the huge $ comics, and I wasn't factoring in $$ from anything other than comics.

 

Brian

[JLA_ALL_THE_WAY]

Murph0,

 

Your numbers make sense, so I guess it is more than doable.

 

Now as for this:

but when they just start sending catalogs to anybody and everybody... it's a waste of money IMO.. and it's costing those of us who DO actually bid.

 

You do realize that I did put several bids in, right? As a matter of fact, I put in bids on the last 2 auctions, but did not receive any catalogs from the auction before last...?

 

My guess is your bid must meet a certain amount- to show you're serious with the bucks- before Heritage will consider offering you their gift. And I put in a bid that was 5x guide for a high grade early JLA...and ended up 4th!

 

Of course if this was the case, anyone with a half pint-full of comic knowledge could throw in a harmless thrill bid to get a book. So who knows?

 

Rick

[musicmeta]

3) Tales of Suspense #65 9.6 NM+ oww.........whoo hoo! Amazing.

 

4) Fantastic Four #50 9.2 NM- oww..............nicest copy I've seen. So psyched.

 

5) Daredevil #30 9.4 NM w.................great Thor cover.

 

6) Iron Man Annual #1 9.4 NM w............I'm a big Iron Man fan, so this is .

 

I'm drooling big time over the Tales Suspense #65 and Iron Man Annual #1. WOW!

[greggy]

Murph0,

 

Your numbers make sense, so I guess it is more than doable.

 

Now as for this:

but when they just start sending catalogs to anybody and everybody... it's a waste of money IMO.. and it's costing those of us who DO actually bid.

 

You do realize that I did put several bids in, right? As a matter of fact, I put in bids on the last 2 auctions, but did not receive any catalogs from the auction before last...?

 

My guess is your bid must meet a certain amount- to show you're serious with the bucks- before Heritage will consider offering you their gift. And I put in a bid that was 5x guide for a high grade early JLA...and ended up 4th!

 

Of course if this was the case, anyone with a half pint-full of comic knowledge could throw in a harmless thrill bid to get a book. So who knows?

 

Rick

 

Hey, I've bid a minimum amount the last 3-4 auctions and have gotten them all free. I think you just have to be the high bidder for a few auctions.

[murph0]

Of course if this was the case, anyone with a half pint-full of comic knowledge could throw in a harmless thrill bid to get a book. So who knows?

 

This is what I was referring to.. say once you place a 1k bid on a book, you are entitled to receive catalogs.. people could just go toss a 1k bid on an ASM 1 9.4 and score free catalogs.

No offense to you (I'm sure you've attempted to win auctions), but I think the catalogs should only be FREE to those who have WON an auction.. that would IMO cut their expendable costs the most, unless they're willing to stop having Signature auctions at the major cons which would alleviate the transportation, set up and some of the other costs. However, we know they won't do that.

I believe if they cut out some of the B.P. they'd get more bids and possibly more $ on auctions...b/c ppl would feel less like they're paying 50 + dollars just for the "privlege" of winning a book from them. If they only send catalogs to ppl who've won auctions, they'll at least be saving some $'s and can pass the savings on to all their current regular customers.

And don't even get me started on the fact they feel they need to make over 100k just to run a 3-day auction.. sure it takes a lot of work leading up to it but I think their take home is drastically overdone.

 

Brian

[JLA_ALL_THE_WAY]

I agree,

 

Catalogs should only go to winning bidders. That would reduce their cost while creating incentive not just to bid, but bid to win!

 

But dang it, they forced me to take one!

 

I just thought of something else in regards to their expenditures. Tax write-off?

 

Rick

[greggy]

I agree,

 

Catalogs should only go to winning bidders. That would reduce their cost while creating incentive not just to bid, but bid to win!

 

But dang it, they forced me to take one!

 

I just thought of something else in regards to their expenditures. Tax write-off?

 

Rick

 

Rick, you have to understand that even if Heritage only sends catalogs to winners, it is unlikely that they will change the buyers' premium percentage. It's their cash cow. BTW...you need bidders to make them $$. Even some thrill bids by some make them $$, as it helps bump up the winning bid!

[JLA_ALL_THE_WAY]

Even some thrill bids by some make them $$, as it helps bump up the winning bid!

 

Good point, greggster.

 

Oh no, I just complimented him. Well, there goes the rest of my year.

 

Rick

[greggy]

Even some thrill bids by some make them $$, as it helps bump up the winning bid!

 

Good point, greggster.

 

Oh no, I just complimented him. Well, there goes the rest of my year.

 

Rick

 

Yep...it makes no sense for them to decrease the buyer's premiums. It's pretty standard in the industry and they don't really have any competition that offers the same selection for a lower percentage. Hell, I appreciate the free catalogs and do bid on books that I want and can afford.

[murph0]

Rick, you have to understand that even if Heritage only sends catalogs to winners, it is unlikely that they will change the buyers' premium percentage. It's their cash cow. BTW...you need bidders to make them $$. Even some thrill bids by some make them $$, as it helps bump up the winning bid!

 

Perhaps it does, but IMO it's more likely the books get bidded up due to their website... NOT their catalog mailing.

IMO sending catalogs freely to ppl who haven't won auctions is like throwing $ out the door.

It's become very obvious that Heritage does deserve the bad rep that it's gotten throughout a lot of the people who have knowledge of them and their practices. It couldn't look anymore like they're just here to milk the comic market dry.. leaving behind no survivors

 

Brian

[Bonds25]

Quit yer person_without_enough_empathyin' everyone, and enjoy the catalogs! They're VERY nice, very expensive to print, and I'm sure very time consuming to make. I've never had any problems with Heritage that weren't solved, and they usually go out of their way to respond to any problems. I paid my $100 for catalogs from the next 3 auctions, but they give you a credit of $100 if you win an auction, so they're free. And I bid on a lot of items that I normally wouldn't bid on without the catalog. Who has time to look at every single lot on the computer??

[murph0]

Yeh, I'd guess it's tough for you to pick and choose.. considering you bid on every comic listed on eBay :\

 

Brian

[Kevin76]

Quit yer person_without_enough_empathyin' everyone, and enjoy the catalogs! They're VERY nice, very expensive to print, and I'm sure very time consuming to make. I've never had any problems with Heritage that weren't solved, and they usually go out of their way to respond to any problems. I paid my $100 for catalogs from the next 3 auctions, but they give you a credit of $100 if you win an auction, so they're free. And I bid on a lot of items that I normally wouldn't bid on without the catalog. Who has time to look at every single lot on the computer??

 

Well said Matt!