Which auction houses are good????

tmgrnzx9r

Hi Everyone,
I just have a few questions reguarding auction houses, like the ones that advertise on the top of these forums....
Which ones are the better ones????? Are the betters one for the most part good with the authenticity of the unopened stuff.... Can you really get good deals from these auctions???? For me at least I mainly am in search of late 60's,70's and early to mid 80's unopened packs, boxes, cases, vending boxes, cases, etc.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Eric

70ToppsFanatic

<< <i>Hi Everyone,
I just have a few questions reguarding auction houses, like the ones that advertise on the top of these forums....
Which ones are the better ones????? Are the betters one for the most part good with the authenticity of the unopened stuff.... Can you really get good deals from these auctions???? For me at least I mainly am in search of late 60's,70's and early to mid 80's unopened packs, boxes, cases, vending boxes, cases, etc.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Eric >>



DEPENDS

If you are a buyer, most of the major ones are decent. They'll take your money and send you your items with reasonably decent customer service.
Most have "buyers premiums", and some are much higher than others. Typically they run from 12.5%-20%

If you are a seller, then most of the major ones are a PAIN. They take much longer than is reasonable to remit money owed, and usually it requires
a phone call or two to get what they owe you (have had this experience with two of the major houses). If you are a seller you are probably better
off going to Probstein or PWCC.

In terms of authenticity, the quality and accuracy have varied greatly with many of the major houses. I bought a 1972 Topps "high" series wax box
from one of the major houses a few years back and when the box arrived it was obvious just by some of the cards that could be seen through the
wax wrappers that they were not "high" series. It was clear that this auction house simply did not do what they needed to in order to be sure about
what they were offering. And their policy was firmly ALL SALES FINAL. Eventually, after several calls (and the use of the words negligence, fraud and
attorney), they agreed to provide me with a full refund.

More recently there was another major auction house offering several questionable items. One of these items was brought to their attention more than
a week before the auction was ending and they pulled it. The other was brought to their attention 24-48 hours before the end of the auction and they
let it remain. Unless the item was unique from all others of its kind (not very likely) it was definitely NOT legitimate. They felt that since it was close
to the end of the auction they had a duty to the consignor (and their wallet) to honor. As if that should matter if you have a reputation to protect.

The bottom line is that there are several very knowledgeable people who really have the expertise to determine the legitimacy of unopened items (unless
they are certified to come from Larry Fritsch's stash in which case they are 99.99% likely to be fine). Unless the auction house uses one of these people
and gets their certification then its caveat emptor (LET THE BUYER BEWARE)

ADDITIONALLY, there are a huge number of items encapsulated by GAI from several years back which have been proven to be no good. Just because its
in a GAI slab do not assume that the item is good.

tmgrnzx9r

<< <i>

<< <i>Hi Everyone,
I just have a few questions reguarding auction houses, like the ones that advertise on the top of these forums....
Which ones are the better ones????? Are the betters one for the most part good with the authenticity of the unopened stuff.... Can you really get good deals from these auctions???? For me at least I mainly am in search of late 60's,70's and early to mid 80's unopened packs, boxes, cases, vending boxes, cases, etc.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Eric >>



DEPENDS

If you are a buyer, most of the major ones are decent. They'll take your money and send you your items with reasonably decent customer service.
Most have "buyers premiums", and some are much higher than others. Typically they run from 12.5%-20%

If you are a seller, then most of the major ones are a PAIN. They take much longer than is reasonable to remit money owed, and usually it requires
a phone call or two to get what they owe you (have had this experience with two of the major houses). If you are a seller you are probably better
off going to Probstein or PWCC.

In terms of authenticity, the quality and accuracy have varied greatly with many of the major houses. I bought a 1972 Topps "high" series wax box
from one of the major houses a few years back and when the box arrived it was obvious just by some of the cards that could be seen through the
wax wrappers that they were not "high" series. It was clear that this auction house simply did not do what they needed to in order to be sure about
what they were offering. And their policy was firmly ALL SALES FINAL. Eventually, after several calls (and the use of the words negligence, fraud and
attorney), they agreed to provide me with a full refund.

More recently there was another major auction house offering several questionable items. One of these items was brought to their attention more than
a week before the auction was ending and they pulled it. The other was brought to their attention 24-48 hours before the end of the auction and they
let it remain. Unless the item was unique from all others of its kind (not very likely) it was definitely NOT legitimate. They felt that since it was close
to the end of the auction they had a duty to the consignor (and their wallet) to honor. As if that should matter if you have a reputation to protect.

The bottom line is that there are several very knowledgeable people who really have the expertise to determine the legitimacy of unopened items (unless
they are certified to come from Larry Fritsch's stash in which case they are 99.99% likely to be fine). Unless the auction house uses one of these people
and gets their certification then its caveat emptor (LET THE BUYER BEWARE)

ADDITIONALLY, there are a huge number of items encapsulated by GAI from several years back which have been proven to be no good. Just because its
in a GAI slab do not assume that the item is good. >>



Dave
Thanks for all the advise. I appreciate it!!!!
For me, I would be a buyer of things. Again mostly unopened material.
Do you care to share which specific auction houses are good to watch???
Thanks Again
Eric

jeffcbay

There's always BBCE!

tmgrnzx9r

<< <i>There's always BBCE! >>



I do order from there thanks!!!! They are the best. I was just wondering of other reliable sources that deal with vintage at perhaps a slight discount.
Thanks

Griffins

"auction house" and "slight discount" are not terms that typically are used together. Better to pair auction house with "irrational exuberance" and "super retail"
Most of the bigger auction houses wouldn't even handle late '60's to '80's wax, cellos, etc unless they put them in one massive lot. A good one to keep on eye on though might be Huggins and Scott
They often carry a lot of more mid grade items and affordable items, and run a really solid auction every time. They seem to always have a section of packs and cases of the type you're looking for.

tmgrnzx9r

<< <i>"auction house" and "slight discount" are not terms that typically are used together. Better to pair auction house with "irrational exuberance" and "super retail"
Most of the bigger auction houses wouldn't even handle late '60's to '80's wax, cellos, etc unless they put them in one massive lot. A good one to keep on eye on though might be Huggins and Scott
They often carry a lot of more mid grade items and affordable items, and run a really solid auction every time. They seem to always have a section of packs and cases of the type you're looking for. >>



Thanks for the reply. Yeah huggins and scott is one that I have looked up auctions on, but have not registered yet..... I seen they just had one auction end the other day. There were a few things in it that I would have mind owning and the price on them was not bad either.... Do they have a buyers premium as well?????

Griffins

every auction house has a buyers premium, and 19.5% is pretty standard. It's also standard that all sales are final (except when they are really deceitful and you push very hard for a refund) and credit cards are almost next accepted. Also shipping fees will tend to be considerably higher than on ebay or from dealer sites- it seems like some definitely use it as a profit center.
The only variables on premiums is on the sellers premium, and that ranges from -5% (if you really have something or things that will make the auction much more high profile) to 15%. 0% is standard on several, including Goodwin.

bking

I'm just not sure I could ever go the auction house route. For every house that someone on here has a super experience with, there's at least one other member who has had horrible experiences. I just looked at a lot on one of the top houses last week that had a pack lot with a caveat something like "all packs are assumed to be unopened, although two sent in for grading came back altered" or some such. What sort of auction house trusts their reputation to a description like that??

bigreddog

NONE, Their all hobby parasites

tmgrnzx9r

Thanks for the replys!!