I’m old enough to remember when auction house fees were paid by the seller only. And this was really only at live auctions. But the percentage started creeping up. 10% > 12% > 15% > 20% Naturally this couldn’t last. Auction houses found their supply of consignments were drying up because of this growing cut in the sellers’ winnings. (At this time I won’t debate whether it was only increased expenses vs. wanting increased profits.) So the concept of splitting the fees between the buyers and sellers was born. The percentages dropped back to 10%. The auction houses got their 20% split 10% from each. But now it appears the “fee creep” has reached 20% again, this time for both the buyer and seller. 40% take!!! And don’t forget the possibility of taxes. The one real edge left for auction houses is that they can reach a larger bidder market. But if someone is willing to fork over 6 or 7 figure dollar amounts for coins, do you think the cost of an airline ticket or the price of an agent is going to keep them from attending a show? OPINION 1: The auction houses are once again going to run into loss of consignments. OPINION 2: Sellers will turn to sites such as eBay for low to some moderately priced items. OPINION 3: Other moderately to high priced items will be consigned to dealers at large shows. (My primary dealer charges me 10% over his acquisition price.) OPINION 4: Very high priced items will change hands through private sales. PREDICTION: Auction houses are headed the way of the dinosaur. Small ones die off and large ones shrink. Corrections, criticisms and comments, please.
I agree the fees are rediculously high. And, many of today's high priced coins are being sold privately, although through an agent most of the time. However, the majority of the high end coins aren't part of collections. There is no advantage to the seller to sell a large collection privately any more than there is an advantage for a seller to sell a single highly prized coin at an auction. Auction houses are renowned for their catalogs and research, which takes time, which costs money. They also filter out the looky-loos and usually command a better price, even with seller fees, than a stand alone sell. If I were to sell my collection, in my opinion I'd have to be completely insane to sell privately instead of gaining a better audience and selling price and paying a nominal selers fee. But, thats just me. Guy~
Just try selling an entire collection privately and then you'll understand why auction houses are so successful.
