Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Petroliana News Morphy Auction July 23 & 24 catalog posted

Yah. I know. Could also be stated as, 'what will the market bare? I get all that. I'm as right wing conservative capitalist as they come. But in a typical market the seller will output more goods to balance supply vs price vs competition.
This is more like the diamond market, where supply is controlled in order to keep price up. But in this case it's even more of a monopoly if the seller has the rare item you want.
I don't know, it just gets frustrating, and like I said, it turns my stomach to pay 22%!! What will it be next year? Or the year after that? How long until it's 30%?
As some old man somewhere once said, "they have you by the short hairs".

best thing you can do is not get wrapped up in it... it may be a rare piece, but eventually you'll find another item just as rare that you dont have to give a 20%+ premium on.

ive watched several collectors, even friends, overpay like crazy for items coming out of some of these auctions... they say they are thrilled to have the item, but you know deep down inside they feel sick to their stomach, lol

At the last sale there was something I would have liked to have. I bid to what I was willing to pay with the 20 percent included. I did not get the item. A month later I bought a similar item in the same condation from a friends collection for what I was willing to pay at the auction and did not have to pay the 20 percent. Most things there are more then one of them out there, it just takes patiance. None of this stuff is nessery it is just luxury.

Could be worse. In the commercial art world, gallery commissions have gone from 30 to 50%. This is taken from the price, not added like a buyers premium. Buyers premiums in Art auctions however range from 10 to 25%.

I'm not a fan of the buyers premium, but I realize it's not going away at collector auctions. I figure out ahead of time what I'm willing to pay for an item including the buyers premium, sales tax, packing, shipping. I deduct those extra expenses from what I'm willing to pay for something, and that's my maximum bid. I managed to buy 5 incredibly rare globes at the Morphy auction in April. If I hadn't bought those items at that auction the best I could have hoped for was to buy them from whoever got them for even more money later on.
If you're planning on buying more common items, buy them from other collectors at the shows. The price you pay may be the same as the auction price + the BP, but that 20% won't be leaving the hobby.

Well stated Bob. There have been items at these auctions you know you might not ever see for sale again. It throws common bidding logic out the window. I've just been ignoring items I know I might get a chance on in the future.

Vern, I had been wanting one of the globes for 13-14 years. In that time I found a grand total of one of those globes and it was a single lens. When the one showed up in the auction I decided what I was willing to pay, and got it for less.
The upcoming auction has about 30 items I'd like to have. I've narrowed it down to 3 that I'll place serious bids on.

Most auction companies charge 25 to 30 percent, usually they split the commission so the seller pays more of the commission, not sure what there charging the owners, I personally have bid on an item, but included their commission in the final price, probably won't get it but there is always more out there. Its just stuff, something your kids are going to sell as soon as your dead anyway.

20% from buyers, and 20% from sellers, the other 2% for buyers is a credit card fee

Anybody going from Calif?

I personally don't like the high BP either but I believe most buyers, like myself, factor it in when determining value or an upper bid limit. (I also consider shipping costs.) Ultimately, its the consignors who are being penalized more, in my opinion.

IMO- there running stuff thru too quickly & not getting the value for the sellers, for that reason I'd never use this auction house .. ...

I think they're slow. 4 1/2 hours in and only on lot 375. Matthews or Aumann would be on lot 450. Restored pump prices are usually soft at this type of venue.
The 20-22% juice, sales tax, packing and shipping costs, along with rarity/desirability, and condition are all factors as well. Throw in this sale being close to the time of Iowa Gas can all have an effect on prices realized.

Great place to buy pumps again, prices are just tough when you have to ship. Got more for my unrestored Starkey in Matthews auction then the restored one brought here. Canadian twin was also a buy it seems.

Internet bidder 7003 is making Morphy's a pile of money...lol
either winning bid or making everyone Pay!!