@DisneyFan said:
That won't work at StacksBowers -
Then don't bid there. Problem solved.
The key is not to adapt to the world you live in but to force the world to become the world you want to live in.
It's funny that no one has even bothered to comment on the coins I made money on after paying a 912% buyer's premium!
Was that coins also? Seem to recall you bought some of those canceled dies which, as I recall, mostly sold for $1 to $5 hammer range plus the minimum buyer's premium of somewhere around $29 to $32 at the time.
Either way that makes clear the good point that the amount of "buyers fee" does not matter. It is the final total that matters for the buyer regardless of how the accounting is done. The fee is ultimately only coming out of what a consignor will receive as the net amount. That is the case because the buyers control the price paid rather than consignors. I'm not a fan of the BP. I just deal with it as it is.
The beginning of the buyers fees trend in US coin auctions mostly began around 1981 to 1983 range as an accounting gimmick to try to catch unknowing consignors to fall for low or zero or below zero percent commission marketing (played up big in ads at the time) and to catch some buyers who don't understand the terms or forget about it. Guessing that those types of buyers are not a significant factor. Since then, the buyers fee has been an ever escalating game of keeping up with the Jones's (the other auction companies) by raising after another major company raises theirs. A bit like moving a clock ahead a couple minutes so you seem to have more time. Keep doing that and the hammer price gets farther and farther away from the actual price realized.
Most people are used to the game and it now seems like it has always been that way, so it is not ever going back (though would be revolutionary if a major company went back to no BP permanently - but would it affect getting consignments). There are now plenty of flavors available for buyers and sellers from zero percent (Ebay etc) to various BP amounts up to and probably above the current 22 percent for major coin auction companies.
As for those who are upset by the fees, I fully support your sitting out all such auctions - when I'm trying to buy. (Your bidding is fully encouraged when I'm trying to sell.)
Wow. Good memory.
Yes, it was the canceled dies.
With shipping, they averaged about $34 and I net about $50 each on them.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
Comments
Wow. Good memory.
Yes, it was the canceled dies.
With shipping, they averaged about $34 and I net about $50 each on them.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.