Here's the Wisconsin AAA dangler sign Frank is referring to. Two-sided porcelain, with original hanging bracket. It was my sign that Glenn Miller just sold. I'm happy, of course....but, my wife (holding the sign in the photo) still isn't smiling! Many of you older, married guys will understand this situation.
To Glenn's credit, he does good photographs of the auction items for internet promotion and online bidding through AuctionZip, places large picture ads for his auctions in most of the hobby publications, charges "just" 15% buyer's fee for online bidders and NO buyer's premium for in-person bidders, holds the seller's commission to just 15%, and is known for very good packaging and reasonable shipping charges for online auction winners.
I believe there were fewer than 90 in-person bidders at today's auction, much smaller than usual for Glenn's events. The balance of the action came from online bidders. From what I could tell by the bidding numbers, online bidders were the winners of a fair number of the auctions at today's Miller event in Tomah, Wisconsin.
Tankar is certainly right about Glenn tending to get very good money for many of the items consigned to his auctions. But, I'm not concerned about that. This reality didn't prevent me from attending, and still trying to get a "bargain". I personally didn't wind up buying anything today, although I bid on perhaps ten items. A number of well-known dealers were also bidding in-person at today's auction, and THEY were winning the bid on a fair number of auctions. So, while the hammer-down prices may have seemed high to some of us, these dealers were paying up, with the expectation of re-selling the signs at a profit. I'd note that these dealers weren't the "newly-minted" ones we're currently seeing around at many auctions and shows, but rather guys who have been buying and selling for the past ten to fifteen years, or more So.....they should know their business. In other words, in most cases, these pros are unlikely to overpay for an item. John