In the Computer Age, are Auction Catalogs now Pretty Much Useless?

dragon

Like many others, every year I get flooded with with probably over 100 lbs. of auction catalogs and probably over 90% of them just get pitched the day they arrive unless it's a noteworthy sale or has some really nice color plates I'd like to save.

I don't see the point of flipping through an auction catalog when I can just go online and see everything I need and also place any bids, etc. I can't even remember the last time I mailed in a bid sheet from a catalog, yet the major auctioneers all still seem to send out these expensive catalogs and pay the postage.

I would think if the major auctioneers discontinued the large yearly expense of producing and mailing out all these catalogs, maybe they could lower their fees?? Am I missing something?

Opinions?

tradedollarnut

Granted the online listing is very good for viewing coins in my specialty area, but I still used the catalog to clue me in to desirable items in other areas. A full page pic and writeup is still an attention grabber that can't be replicated online. [well, it can a bit - Heritage has a nice featured item list].

FatMan

I like the catalogs. I write my notes directly next to the coin listings. Can't do that with the internet catalogs.

seateddime

I like them, good to flip thru

Michigan

I suspect the number of catalogs printed and mailed is less than it used to be due to so many people placing bids online. At least
Heritage seems to be keeping track of the fact that I haven't mailed in a snail mail bid in a long time and I have stopped recieving their
catalogs. I only bid online these days.

RWB

Printed catalogs of auctions are the only non-ephemeral representations of the coins and descriptions available to collectors.

The life of a typical web page is less than 18 months. After 18 months, the sample of auctions/coins becomes skewed in favor of the largest companies, so on-line auction archives are nearly useless in tracing ownership/pedigree or market research.

On-line resources offer immediacy and convenience (as long as the electricity stays on), but are of very limited future utility. This holds true in any field where analysis of information trends is important.

All the auction companies I know will be pleased to remove a name from their mail-out list. Saves them money.

DJC

Whenever I spot something in an auction that I want to preserve for future reference, I just find that listing in their online catalog and "save as" the page, pics and all. I have a rather (embarassingly) large folder in my docs folder with thousands of coin pages and pics saved...

RWB

Saving items of interest from on-line resources is a great idea for personal use, but how does one find that auction 25 or 35 years from now?

The National Archives is struggling with the "technology refresh" problem as are major research programs. Care to listen to an original Dictaphone recording from 1930?

Pistareen

The wide margins of auction catalogues are excellent for writing in corrections




(Stolen punchline from a 19th century barb towards the young antiquarians and coin dealers, Samuel Hudson and Henry Chapman)

mgoodm3

Sometimes catalogs are easier to scan than downloading every freakin image in the auction to try to find something that you're interested in.

LeeG

I save all of them. May come in useful in the future if I ever buy a true rarity so I can gather provenance data? I enjoy just viewing the coins and descriptions and also make notes as needed.

SkyMan

While most catalogues that arrive at my house are heaved due to the lack interesting material, in general I like catalogues to write in, and to keep as a quick reference. This is particularly useful for large collections where all you need to do is flip between the pages.

Nysoto

Auction catalogs are much easier to search through than the computer. Also, you cannot trust auction firms to maintain their archives.

ajia

Gotta think of the cost involved in printing those catalogs.
Just like all printed material, auction houses have to be thinking strongly about creating PDF 'books' & letting the bidders decide whether or not to print them. Print just the pages with coins you're interested in, while keeping the entire PDF catalog stored on your computer. Exchanging PDF's would be a snap.

These can be uploaded to computers, PDA's, phones, etc.

It's just a matter of time.

BTW, if these are created as PDF's, archiving would be simple.

roadrunner

Would have to agree about pitching the cataloges. Now I get catalogs for sports memorabilia, manuscripts, art, jewelry, comics, paper money, etc. Those do get pitched very quickly after a quick perusal. While those areas are fascinating there's only so much time in a day.

roadrunner

airplanenut

I look through catalogs I get, but not huge online listings.

cladking

There's a lot more to writing the catalogs than just snapping pictures and putting in a price.

These will still be written for a very long time to come whether all are committed to slick paper or not.

mozin

For me the auction catalogs are a complete waste of time and money.

Oldnewbie

<< <i>I'm pathetic. I still need my catalogs.

For some reason, I miss things on line.

Plus, I prefer writing notes and referencing coins the old fashion way.

In the end, NOTHING replaces seeing the coins in person. Not the web or any catalog! >>



I'd rather spend my money on coins than jet fuel.

Sure, I goof up now and then, but I'm happy doing what I'm doing.

bhartman35

IMHO, auction catalogs just take up space for no apparent reason. I get enough spam in my e-mail without getting even more spam in my postal mail (which is generally harder to go through and clean out, to boot).

I think Ebay and similar auction services (e.g., Heritage) have taken the wind out of the sails of mail catalogs. Why would I want to leaf through a physical catalog to find a coin I want, when I can do it much faster and more efficiently online? True, electronic pictures and descriptions aren't always the best, but print photos and descriptions aren't that much better for telling you what you really want to know.

Frankly, I think the potential is there on the Internet for these listings to be much more valuable. Lots of different sites have 3D views of their wares. (This is done in electronics all the time.) I see no reason why the same can't be done for coins. Being able to turn an image and see how the light plays off of it would be much more useful than any static print image. Granted, it would be a lot more work, but it would give customers that "in hand" experience that all distant auctions (print and online) currently suffer from.