Mastro Auctions

Teknobailey · November 27, 2007 5:41AM

Hey all,

Do you have to be a member of their site or something? I keep seeing some $75 sign-up fee... what the heck is that?

I'm watching an auction that I'm seriously interested in, but I dont know how that whole process works. Help?

BobaFett72 · November 27, 2007 5:42AM

tell me its the Menko Disk auction!!!

ill send you the $75! lol

Teknobailey · November 27, 2007 5:44AM

It's this:

Kidding of course, but good luck with your auction.

No, it's actually a full, uncut sheet of 1949 Bowmans.

Anyone help?

Treetop · November 27, 2007 5:46AM

Generally, The $75 is a one time entry fee. Once you pay and bid at least on one item in any of there auctions, you'll continue to be on there mailing list and receive all catologs, which are very impressive. Full color lay-outs of most auction items.

Teknobailey · November 27, 2007 5:48AM

So you must pay the fee to bid on anything?

That's sick...

What if I only want one thing.. and I never intend to buy from them again?

Sick....

Treetop · November 27, 2007 5:51AM

Still have to pay and you'll need a reference or two. If you sell/buy on ebay enough, your ebay ID can be one of the references

RoarIn84 · November 27, 2007 5:58AM

makes sense...these are high dollar items and they don't want any idiots putting down fake bids.....would you? little johnny the inbred 8 yr old says 'ooooooohhh cooooooooool! a Babe Ruuuuuuuth card!!!!' many of the items in these auctions are once in a lifetime finds. i think $75 is appropriate and good piece of mind that what yr bidding on is authentic.

Teknobailey · November 27, 2007 5:58AM

You need freakin references?

Are you joking?

This is nuts...

Does anyone else have a membership to this site that wants to help me out? I'll give you a little kick-back if you wish....

hankcaddy · November 27, 2007 6:00AM

i wanted to watch a few auctions myself, but 75.00 to watch stinks

Teknobailey · November 27, 2007 6:05AM

<< makes sense...these are high dollar items and they don't want any idiots putting down fake bids.....would you? little johnny the inbred 8 yr old says 'ooooooohhh cooooooooool! a Babe Ruuuuuuuth card!!!!' many of the items in these auctions are once in a lifetime finds. i think $75 is appropriate and good piece of mind that what yr bidding on is authentic. >>

I agree with you, to a point.

I, for one, dont have two references. I'm just a guy with money that wants their stuff.

And $75.00 for an item that might only be $300.00 is just plain stupidity. 25% of the final value just to bid? I'll pass.

mikeschmidt · November 27, 2007 6:33AM

Some of us were grandfathered in before there was a fee ;-)

I don't win a whole heck of a lot from Mastro, but I know that they like me, since I'm one of the early bidders, on a ton of stuff. (99% of which never holds, but it helps push things along).

mikeschmidt · November 27, 2007 6:33AM

FWIW --

It is a one-time fee, and if you like keeping auction catalogues, it is definitely worth the fee.

Marc

Teknobailey · November 27, 2007 6:34AM

Cool man. I wish I was grandfathered, lol.

bifff257 · November 27, 2007 6:42AM

<< I'm just a guy with money that wants their stuff. >>

I am just a guy who wants there stuff.....

<< If you sell/buy on ebay enough, your ebay ID can be one of the references >>

What other type of Reference do they need besides Ebay??????

<< i think $75 is appropriate and good piece of mind that what yr bidding on is authentic. >>

After hearing the discussions about this I would have to agree!!!!

msassin · November 27, 2007 7:06AM

<< I keep seeing some $75 sign-up fee... what the heck is that? >>

$75 sign-up fee?

Are there auctions that much better than the ones that don't charge the sign-up fee?

jrinck · November 27, 2007 7:17AM

The $75 fee should at least be refunded out of any buyer's fees paid at the end of the first auction(s) they win.

halosfan · November 27, 2007 7:18AM

The fee to stay current just encourages bids from folks not intent on winning. This artificially drives prices up.

I am not a fan of the auction house circuit.

Ichiro51fan · November 27, 2007 7:47AM

<< You need freakin references?

Are you joking?

This is nuts...

Does anyone else have a membership to this site that wants to help me out? I'll give you a little kick-back if you wish.... >>

I don't really think that this is unreasonable and this is why... first, by charging $75 and requiring references, they are probably eliminating 95-98% of all potential dead-beat bidders. On the flipside, if they were to waive both of these security measures, can you imagine how many idiots you would have screwing up all the auctions with bogus bids? That would be a nightmare! It's true that most of their material is either unique or very, very difficult to find. We're not talking about PSA-8 Ripken, Marino, or Rice rookies here. Yeah, it kind of sucks if you're only interested in 1 fairly cheap item, but trust me... most people bidding on these types of items won't even feel the $75 fee.

Joewoowoo · November 27, 2007 7:56AM

I am a member and never paid $75 I guess I am also grandfathered in. give them a call to get the right answer. If you decide to pay the $75 you will happy you did ,Mastros always has great items and like another poster said the catalogs are awesome. good luck !

Joe

ping4u43 · November 27, 2007 7:59AM

Turn on your PM. I will help

My error your PM is on, I wasn't logged when I sent dumb ??

perkdog · November 27, 2007 8:08AM

Unless your looking to shell out HUGE money for big ticketed items I wouldnt bother, there is a buyers fee like 15% on top of your winning bid I believe. Like someone stated earlier it keeps the riff - raff out. ( Not throwin' stones- I would fall under the riff-raff category

)

jrinck · November 27, 2007 8:11AM

<< Unless your looking to shell out HUGE money for big ticketed items I wouldnt bother, there is a buyers fee like 15% on top of your winning bid I believe. Like someone stated earlier it keeps the riff - raff out. ( Not throwin' stones- I would fall under the riff-raff category

) >>

The only thing the buyer's fee hurts is the consigner. Bidders just bid down accordingly.

perkdog · November 27, 2007 8:15AM

<< 

<< Unless your looking to shell out HUGE money for big ticketed items I wouldnt bother, there is a buyers fee like 15% on top of your winning bid I believe. Like someone stated earlier it keeps the riff - raff out. ( Not throwin' stones- I would fall under the riff-raff category

) >>

The only thing the buyer's fee hurts is the consigner. Bidders just bid down accordingly. >>

Im not following you here? the buyer does not pay the 15% fee?

jrinck · November 27, 2007 8:22AM

<< 

Im not following you here? the buyer does not pay the 15% fee? >>

The buyer does, but as a buyer, if I'm willing to pay $150 for something, yet I know it has a 15% buyers fee that goes straight to the auction house, I'll just bid $130. The consigner thus, in effect, loses out on $20.

nam812 · November 27, 2007 8:22AM

He's saying that if he's willing to pay $1,000 for an item he will only bid $700 so if he wins, when they add the 15% he is back to his $1,000 spent. So the consigner loses out if everyone thinks that way, because his piece is devalued due to everyone lowering their bids.

perkdog · November 27, 2007 8:30AM

I get it!

Makes sense...

Teknobailey · November 27, 2007 8:44AM

Yet another reason why I will not buy what I wanted to buy....

Disappointing...

justmichael · November 27, 2007 8:48AM

Is it true that you can only get the auction catalogs by paying the $75?how would one know if there is something they would like to purchase if you cannot get a catalog?What about the other auction houses?Do you have to pay for them?I know with REA you do not have to pay to register or get a catalog.Thanks for any answers.
Mike

zep33 · November 27, 2007 8:53AM

your Burger King dude is freaking me out

detroitfan2 · November 27, 2007 9:24AM

On a slightly related topic, can anyone explain to me why it is so difficult for the major auction houses to place their lots in some sort of chronological order? For example, there are 1955 Bowmans in the 250, 710, and 1200 lot number range? Is this to force you to look at the entire list of lots? I would think it would have the opposite effect (i.e. people would miss something). At the very least, it shows a lack of organization, at least in my opinion.

jrinck · November 27, 2007 9:30AM

<< On a slightly related topic, can anyone explain to me why it is so difficult for the major auction houses to place their lots in some sort of chronological order? For example, there are 1955 Bowmans in the 250, 710, and 1200 lot number range? Is this to force you to look at the entire list of lots? I would think it would have the opposite effect (i.e. people would miss something). At the very least, it shows a lack of organization, at least in my opinion. >>

Milton the MBA says... "Make them look at everything to maximize viewcounts and aggregate revenue performance!"

Kit the Customer says... "This is a mess! I ain't lookin' at all this shiite!"

ezyshooter · November 27, 2007 9:42AM

First of all there is a 75.00 dollar fee to cover the cost of mailing catalogues to you. Once you pay the 75.00 dollar fee you will get a catalogue for every auction they have thereafter. Also the buyers premium is 20 percent and not 15 percent.
As for the 300.00 dollar bid for a uncut sheet ??? You will have to add at least a zero. If you think a 1948 uncut sheet is going to go for 300.00 dollars you have been looking at the wrong auction !!!!
Obviously you don't have money if you are worried about a once in a lifetime fee of 75.00 dollars.
JMO
Steve

BobaFett72 · November 27, 2007 9:51AM

perhaps they should refund the $75.00 after say..spending $1000 on their auctions.

they really make a killing on those premium eh? rape the buyer AND the seller. what a deal!

JeremyDie1 · November 27, 2007 9:56AM

Mastro by far is my favorite of all the auction houses. I have been a long time bidder and buyer. I have always been very happy with their customer service.

ezyshooter · November 27, 2007 9:58AM

When you consign i guess it depends what you are consigning. Some people consigning don't pay a thing. Others pay up to 20 percent.
Steve

hofautos · November 27, 2007 10:09AM

<< 

<< Unless your looking to shell out HUGE money for big ticketed items I wouldnt bother, there is a buyers fee like 15% on top of your winning bid I believe. Like someone stated earlier it keeps the riff - raff out. ( Not throwin' stones- I would fall under the riff-raff category

) >>

The only thing the buyer's fee hurts is the consigner. Bidders just bid down accordingly. >>

yea, bid down as in not at all...lol...i wont do those auctions simply because of the buyers fee - ridiculous.

hofautos · November 27, 2007 10:10AM

<< He's saying that if he's willing to pay $1,000 for an item he will only bid $700 so if he wins, when they add the 15% he is back to his $1,000 spent. So the consigner loses out if everyone thinks that way, because his piece is devalued due to everyone lowering their bids. >>

since when is 15% of 1000 = 300...time to go to school again...and another reason not to even bother with these auction houses...for people who cant do math.

11235813 · November 27, 2007 10:10AM

There were a couple of items in their last auction that I was semi-interest in....I went to sign up, saw the thing about $75 and references and said forget about it.

Auction houses should be making it easier for people to sign up and bid, not putting more hurdles in their way!

Allen · November 27, 2007 10:14AM

<< since when is 15% of 1000 = 300...time to go to school again...and another reason not to even bother with these auction houses...for people who cant do math. >>

I was thinking the same thing. I am going to pay the $75 so I can try to win that Mikan they have up for bids.

JeremyDie1 · November 27, 2007 10:21AM

Memory Lane and Heritage have great auctions too, and are free to register.

RawPlusSlabbed · November 27, 2007 11:18AM

<< So you must pay the fee to bid on anything?

That's sick...

What if I only want one thing.. and I never intend to buy from them again?

Sick.... >>

Do you pay the PSA membership fee each year?

Teknobailey · November 28, 2007 1:26AM

Yes, but I get a lot of use out of that.

I would use Mastro one time.

Griffins · November 28, 2007 2:00AM

It's worth $75. just for the catalogs alone. If you bid occasionally, win or lose, you'll stay on their mailing list.

grote15 · November 28, 2007 11:50AM

I agree with griffins. It's well worth the $75 if you plan on participating, and you can factor the cost into your bid if it bothers you that much. Why in the world would a major auction house like Mastro's try to make it EASIER for any schmo to sign up and bid? On ebay you get deadbeat bidders for a $20 card, I can only imagine the BS they'd have to deal with if they let idiots bid on stuff worth thousands of dollars only to catch a case of buyer's remorse. The catalogues are collectibles in their own right, too.

jmbkb4 · November 28, 2007 12:16PM

<< He's saying that if he's willing to pay $1,000 for an item he will only bid $700 so if he wins, when they add the 15% he is back to his $1,000 spent. So the consigner loses out if everyone thinks that way, because his piece is devalued due to everyone lowering their bids. >>

nam, your math interests me.

TheCARDKid · November 28, 2007 12:54PM

Call me crazy, but I think the $75 fee is well worth it:

-It's a one time fee. You get the best catalogs in the business. REA's are nice, but that's only once a year, and 90% pre war baseball. Mastro is the only high quality catalog that focuses on all 4 sports, americana, pull out sections of big sets (T3). I got the Dec catalog last week, gorgeous.

-You have 6 auctions a year, 3 Classic Collector, 3 big ones. Say you win a $500 lot once a year, divide the fee by a few years, its not very much.

-Excellent customer service and support. No hassle like with Ebay. Although you might disagree with their grading, buyers premium or other practices. You can imagine the crazies that would start bidding up $50 k Mantles if they didn't have some type of safeguards in place.

I spend $10-15 going to a Naxcom show with a hot dog and drink. And those are the same guys everytime.

And like others have said, the catalogs are really nice. I save all of them. Great reference tools.

Buccaneer · November 28, 2007 1:01PM

I find it incredulous that some of you will actually bid on Masto auctions, as well as any other auction houses. I guess the numerous information about bad practices doesn't matter.

jmbkb4 · November 28, 2007 2:24PM

<< I find it incredulous that some of you will actually bid on Masto auctions, as well as any other auction houses. I guess the numerous information about bad practices doesn't matter.

>>

agreed. Mastro and Memory Lane are easily the 2 shadiest (and, ironically, 2 most successful).

Mastro Auctions

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