Auction house V Ebay

[Carmo]

Hi All
Just wondering readers views in regard to selling via an auction house or Ebay. Her in oz the Auction houses charge approx. 15%, then hit the punters at auction for another 11% buyers premium. So you are giving them a 1/4 of your collection if you go that way. There was recently a collector from Victoria who sold his collection via ebay, I would love to know the pros and cons of doing so. You would save a lot on commission, but only expose your items to collectors online.
Love to here your views
carmo

 

[bearswede]

Hey Carmo...

I would think your exposure on ebay would be terrific... the problems are associated with bad-faith bidders and fussy collectors who want to return bottles that aren't perfect even if you already pointed out all the flaws when you put them up for auction...

There certainly is potential for decent profits, especially with attic-mint pieces and highly desireable specimens...Otherwise, you can protect your investment with a reasonable reserve...

Ron

 

[kumtow]

Hi Mark,
I have found eBay buyers a bit fickle. Bottles that you would expect to do well, don't, and many Australian collectors are not on the internet so they never see eBay. I recently sent some pictorial gins and dutch onion bottles to Graham Lancasters auctions. I thought these bottles would do very well. One gin I bought for $US34.00 sold for $AU325.00. I was stunned. Another gin sold for what I bought it for, so by the time Graham took his cut I was really out of pocket. The other gins didn't even get a bid. The dutch onions were won by an absentee bidder from WA. One went for $AU320 and the other for $AU275. Then the buyer would not reply to any of Grahams emails or letters asking for payment. Graham ended up sending them back to me. I put them on eBay Australia with no reserve and lost money. The onion that pulled $AU325 at Lancasters, sold on eBay for $AU180 to a bloke in WA. Graham assured me it was not the same bloke. That was about $45 less than what I paid for it.
I suppose it all depends on what the bottle is. Rare Australian bottles ie codds and torps would probably do better at local auction. Generic stuff found worldwide may do better on eBay. You also seem to have to pick your time of the year to sell on eBay. Better prices seem to be obtained over the Xmas holidays. Maybe it is because Brits and yanks are snowed in and they have nothing better to do than play on eBay.