Auction House vs. EBay vs. EBay Consignment?

georgebailey2

Thank in advance for any insights and advice.

I have a relatively high dollar modern insert set (UD 500 Club POH), more popular when the cards first came out but still fairly sought after, that, at the right price, I am willing to let go of to focus on other items. The last auction sale I can verify is from 2005.

Which auction houses get the most eyes, particularly toward modern? Does anyone have opinions on the various auction houses that advertise here such as Memory Lane, Huggins & Scott, Gem Mint, SCP, etc.? If one has what appears to be a complimentary item(s) in their auction, is that good (attracting more similar buyers) or bad (splitting similar buyers)?

Are you better off going it alone on Ebay or are you more likely to do better with an experienced consignor (like Probstein)?

I'll probably add more questions if the thread progresses.

Thoughts?

jeffcbay

My personal opinion, you would be better off selling it yourself on ebay. More money in your pocket. If you're not into selling that much, I think Probstein would give you the best deal and best customer service. I've never used Probstein because I enjoy selling on my own, but it seems like he has the best track record for ebay consignors. He's also a good member of these boards, so that helps.

Yankees001

Auction houses mostly do the Vintage.

Cosignment, is OK. The only question is why pay someone to list the item on ebay for you?

I always just do it myself.

Good Luck with your decision.

Dave

Probstein123

PM sent

70ToppsFanatic

70ToppsFanatic

The main advantage of the major auction houses is that they usually have distribution of a large list
of known bidders that are receive their auction catalogue. For a small consignment it's probably not worth the
consignor's fee (usually 15% +/- 5%). With larger consignments these fees are generally negotiable,
so it can make a bit more sense.

The main disadvantage, in my experience, is that you are normally talking about quite a bit of time between
when you decide you want to sell and when you eventually receive payment. Consignment deadlines can be
4-6 weeks in advance of the auction (sometimes even 8 weeks). Then you have an auction that runs for
about 2 weeks. Then it usually takes about 4 weeks for payments and shipping to get done. So you are
already 10-12 weeks between the decision to sell and receiving payment. That also assumes that the
auction house you are working with pays "on time". I've had difficulties with three major auction houses
in terms of getting payments on time. Post auction one took almost 10 months to geth things settled. The
others took 4 months and 3 months respectively.

If you want don't want to do it yourself on Ebay then most people use Rick Probstein or PWCC. They both
have very good reputations. PWCC seems to run more of a scheduled auction (every month or two) versus
Rick who seems to add new items every week.

Hope that helps

msassin

If you had to go auction house...Huggins and Scott usually has modern like this that would get it exposure.

georgebailey2

Thank you for your responses.

With regard to Ebay (either on my own or consignment) is it better to have:
1) BIN with Best Offer Option;
2) Auction with starting bid at your minimum seeling price; or
3) Auction with a reserve?

If you do an auction with a reserve, are you better off keeping silent with regard to the reserve amount or putting it in the description?

Thanks.

judgebuck

If probstein123 will take it, I would go that way. I recently consigned a huge lot of vintage cards from the 1950s and have been very satisfied with the prices.

Probstein123

With regard to Ebay (either on my own or consignment) is it better to have:
1) BIN with Best Offer Option;
2) Auction with starting bid at your minimum seeling price; or
3) Auction with a reserve?

==> ebay charges more money to start auctions with higher opening bids...
ie: if you have a 1956 topps common in psa 8 , does it make sense to spend an additional 75 cents per auction
with a higher opening bid ?
--------
some items will always do better in auction, and some will always do better in a store...

ie: a 1954 wilson frank may only be needed by 4-5 people and a store would be best for this type of item,
but a 59 clemente in a psa 8 is needed by dozens and supply and demand will get you market value...

feel free to call me if you want advice on specific items and there demand...
thanks
rick
973 594 8222