Auctions with reserves. Your thoughts?

[Simes]

Good point.  Am sure we were all thinking all auction houses looked after only posters...

That said, the auction house only needs a good relationship with one shipper.  End of auction, all items needing to be shipped are gathered in on corner, shipper comes into quote, auction house adds 10% to the respective invoices, everything gets shipped off to the shipper for packing and moving on.

Am sure I have simplified things and there might be a requirement for space in warehouses until everyone has paid, but... That said, I wonder if one shipper than multiple shippers stomping all over the place may be less of a headache for the auction house.

[BruceH]

Good point.  Am sure we were all thinking all auction houses looked after only posters...

That said, the auction house only needs a good relationship with one shipper.  End of auction, all items needing to be shipped are gathered in on corner, shipper comes into quote, auction house adds 10% to the respective invoices, everything gets shipped off to the shipper for packing and moving on.

Am sure I have simplified things and there might be a requirement for space in warehouses until everyone has paid, but... That said, I wonder if one shipper than multiple shippers stomping all over the place may be less of a headache for the auction house.

True to a point. But shipping one type of collectible is not the same as another, and if a company gets vintage movie posters for the first time, they will surely make some mistakes.

Here is an extreme example. I once bought a linenbacked six-sheet and a set of lobby cards from Sotheby's. The six-sheet was $5.000 and the cards were $3,000. A few weeks after I paid a single tube arrived and, as you likely guessed, they had rolled in the cards with the six-sheet. 

[martinc]

Well at least they didn't fold them in half!

I bet they charged an arm and a leg for shipping as well. On the only occasion I bought from Christies, back in the 1990s, they charged £40 for sending a small package within the UK, so I dread to think what Sothebys might have charged for sending overseas, or what their charges would be today.

[timelessmoviemagic]

True to a point. But shipping one type of collectible is not the same as another, and if a company gets vintage movie posters for the first time, they will surely make some mistakes.

Here is an extreme example. I once bought a linenbacked six-sheet and a set of lobby cards from Sotheby's. The six-sheet was $5.000 and the cards were $3,000. A few weeks after I paid a single tube arrived and, as you likely guessed, they had rolled in the cards with the six-sheet. 

That's absolutely shocking Bruce.

[Ari]

regarding reserves, if you bid your max, then it doesnt matter really does it? you win or lose or reserve not met. But either way, you werent gonna pay more, so who cares?

Not that i bid on valuable shit anyway, so my thoughts are probably worthless.

[DekeThornton]

regarding reserves, if you bid your max, then it doesnt matter really does it? you win or lose or reserve not met. But either way, you werent gonna pay more, so who cares?

Not that i bid on valuable shit anyway, so my thoughts are probably worthless.

True, I suppose the end result is the same. But getting your hopes up and being disappointed kind of sucks.

[Ari]

yeah, I bet.

[erik1925]

Evening chaps.

So today I took a look at Excalibur Auctions. They had a few items that I liked the look of so I thought I'd try and win them. After I left my first bid I was notified that I was in the lead but hadn't met the reserve. Realising this was a 'reserve' auction kind of put me off so I didn't bother with any other bids.

To me Excalibur would have been better off putting the required first bid the same as the hidden reserve price if they are going to have reserves. As I left after entering my first bid I don't know how successful the auction was but I am willing to bet lots of things were left unsold.

I was just wondering what other people think of 'reserve' auctions both as a buyer and seller? (and this doesn't mean some people can hijack this thread to mention they offer no reserve auctions)

Marc

I think many collectors just skip over these and move on. I still recall on ebay, years ago, how many of these kinds of auctions were listed. They seem to have faded away there, to a great degree. Every now and then, I'd place a couple bids, just to plug in a number, but after a few entries and still seeing that blue "reserve not met" text, I'd also (and still do) move on.

I wonder if HA has seen a decrease in the number of movie poster consignments that have a resereve over the years? I did see a handful in the last Signature auction, but the vast majority were "no reserve."