Australian Auction Houses Excessive?

oh my florin · August 02, 2015, 02:38:23 PM

Hey everyone

I have seen for some time that the Buyers and Sellers premium for most Australian auction houses run at a combined 30% or around that mark.

Firstly 30% is awfully excessive I mean would a Real Estate Auctioneer take a 30% cut just to sell a house? The top auction houses Heritage and CNG (ancients) charge around 20-25% (sometimes even give cash advances, zero or negative sellers commissions) and they are international auction houses with far better infrastructure, auction archives etc etc.

Is it just the auction houses gouging the market? I mean I remember when it was 16.5% BP and then they all up it to around 19% (for goodness sakes it is a percentage not a flat fee that needs to be adjusted for inflation etc)

One of the only auction houses I would say deserves to charge more is Numisbid due to the consistent quality of Walter, the website and transparency.

Opinions anyone?

stevo1962 · August 02, 2015, 02:44:44 PM

Going by the current auction house rates it makes ebay look pretty good

ausjack · August 02, 2015, 02:56:51 PM

One of the only auction houses I would say deserves to charge more is Numisbid due to the consistent quality of Walter, the website and transparency.

Is that charge the buyer, seller or both :scratch_one-s_head:

Basil · August 02, 2015, 03:16:00 PM

Quote from: 'stevo1962' pid='76830' dateline='1438492484'Going by the current auction house rates it makes ebay look pretty good

Yeah,i think around 10% is fair although it takes a whack out of your sales.As i have posted before people quickly forget what it cost for a classified add in the Herald ,Age,CM etc. during their heyday.

ausproofs · August 02, 2015, 03:48:44 PM

I think charging 10% - 15% is fair play. It makes more sense to charge the seller than the buyer. At the end of the day you want the buyer to pay top dollar for the purchase. More buyers you attract, higher the sale price due to competition... However I think there should be a lower fee for the seller if the sale price is very hight. ( ie negotiated commission rate.. if a coin sells for $30,000, 5% is still a fair amount of money.

oh my florin · August 02, 2015, 04:19:40 PM

Quote from: 'ausproofs' pid='76854' dateline='1438496324'I think charging 10% - 15% is fair play. It makes more sense to charge the seller than the buyer. At the end of the day you want the buyer to pay top dollar for the purchase. More buyers you attract, higher the sale price due to competition... However I think there should be a lower fee for the seller if the sale price is very hight. ( ie negotiated commission rate.. if a coin sells for $30,000, 5% is still a fair amount of money.

For simplicities sake sellers commission is far easier and doesn't discourage buyers from their maximum bid by having to factor in buyers premium. I think buyers premium was made by some smart arse in the auction sector 'hey we already charge the person we sell for why don't we charge the person who buys it as well' or around those lines

ausjack · August 02, 2015, 04:23:20 PM

yes sounds like double dipping to me :dodgy:

ausproofs · August 02, 2015, 05:20:53 PM

Here is an article from Walter.

http://www.numismatics.com.au/Blog/Buyer's_Premium_-_Why_we_will_never_charge_it

This explains it well...

ausjack · August 02, 2015, 05:53:38 PM

postage is another killer as well so that's why I like getting coins at coin shows, you know what your paying there and then and can always haggle them down a bit where you can't buying at auction and also buying off places like Eric's is good as I can pay them off and that is a HUGE help when on the DSP other wise I'd never be able to afford nice coins.

autocoupler · August 03, 2015, 12:37:31 AM

Quote from: 'ausjack' pid='76871' dateline='1438503818'I like getting coins at coin shows, you know what your paying there and then and can always haggle them down a bit

Asked an interstate dealer for his best price on a coin at the Brissy ANDA a couple of years ago. He got a bit peeved and went all defensive on me so he did. Anyhow this year we were both back there and he had something I was really after, but so did another dealer around the isle. Guess who got the sale :whistle2:

ausjack · August 03, 2015, 06:48:31 AM

:scratch_one-s_head: where the bloody hell were you, I was there

Maybe it's the beanie that scares them :laugh2: I don't really buy anything the first day, that's just for lookin and leave it as long as I can on the second and then ask as a lot don't want to be dragging coins all the way back home so they tend to play the game a bit more

Mister T · August 03, 2015, 01:43:25 PM

I've never bought from an auction house auction, partly because every time I look a catalogue and see something I want, I do the sums and work out that with the buyer's premium it's just too much to pay. The very existence of buyer's premium does seem like double-dipping to me too.
I think I saw some information about Status International's seller's premium recently - as I recall it decreased as the final hammer price rose (or something like that) which seemed like a pretty reasonable thing.

autocoupler · August 03, 2015, 03:12:35 PM

Quote from: 'ausjack' pid='76909' dateline='1438550311':scratch_one-s_head: where the bloody hell were you,

Yeah I know we did speak of meeting up AJ, but I had been out of sorts a bit as my Sister had passed away in Sydney a few days before and was having trouble finding out info on the details. Anyhow I just slipped in for a short while a left. We can do it next time. :good:

ausjack · August 03, 2015, 06:26:13 PM

Yeah all good mate I understand so see how we go next year, and even though it's a bit late you and your family have my most sincere condolences for your loss :heart: :friends:

Basil · August 03, 2015, 09:10:04 PM

Barry Cooper in Ballina held a Coin/Stamp Auction every 3 Months or so for nearly 20 years,no Buyers premium or charges of any kind,hammer price was it.
Whilst Stamps were probaly 70% of the catalogue he used to get some great Coins,he was a valuer for Insurance Co.'s,Police etc so had access to some large collections.
After his Wife died he closed the little shop and retired to SA to live with a daughter so hope he is still going OK.