Hi Clinton: I'm glad you raised the issue of Buyer's Premiums, as this is a concern that many bidders have, especially in auctions outside of eBay. As someone who has worked in the auction industry, in several different areas, since 2001, let me see if I can provide a certain amount of insight. First, please understand that I am only speaking for Heritage Auction Galleries, not for Christie's, Sotheby's, or anyone else. They all have their own policies, and I would never presume to speak for them. As I'm sure you know, Heritage charges a 19.5% Buyer's Premium in their Signature Vintage Movie Poster auctions. We also charge a Seller's Fee, which is typically 15%. Please bear in mind that Heritage has never charged for things like photography, insurance, catalog writing, publicity, etc., unlike many auction houses. Our fees are stated right up front to both buyers and sellers. We've never charged any kind of "hidden" fees to either buyers or sellers. Granted, a 19.5% Buyer's Premium and a 15% Seller's Fee can add up to quite a bit of money in a $2 million+ poster auction, but there are a number of expenses and issues related to these fees that many people may not be aware of. By the way, different auctioneers handle the necessity of fees in different ways. Some charge massive Sellers fees, with sliding scales on those fees, and charge nothing to the buyer, and vice versa. We've always felt that it's better to spread the expense among both parties, thereby reducing the impact on either side. The most visible byproduct of these fees are the full-color catalogs we produce for each Signature auction. In these catalogs, each and every poster is pictured, and each features a complete description that expertly describes its condition. Every poster is professionally photographed and researched, and Heritage has a full-time staff of photographers, image specialists, and writers to make sure these representations are as accurate as possible. Because of all this effort, our return rate is relatively low. These catalogs are not only sent to previous buyers and bidders in the Movie Poster field - free of charge - but to buyers in other categories as well, as Heritage is committed to aggressive cross-marketing in an attempt to expand this hobby, to everyone's benefit. I'm aware that many collectors keep these catalogs after the auction to use as reference works, so they have lasting value to many people. Heritage also employs a number of full-time people in their Marketing department. These are the people that not only design and lay out the catalogs, but also prepare our extensive advertising. For the Movie Poster department, Heritage not only advertises in Big Reel, Classic Images, Films of the Golden Age, and Movie Collectors World, but also in The Comics Buyer's Guide, Antique Trader, Antique Week, Coin World, Forbes Collector, Maine Antiques Digest, Paper and Advertising Collectors Marketplace and more. We advertise aggressively, both to attract new bidders and to attract new consignors, both of which, we feel, benefits the hobby as a whole. This department also handles Heritage's PR campaigns, further spreading the word about movie poster collecting to major media worldwide. I'm not aware of any auction house or poster dealer that has done more than Heritage over the past six years to promote the movie poster collecting hobby in a consistently positive way to such a wide audience. We also have a full-time eMarketing department that focuses on Internet and electronic marketing. This includes banner advertising on a number of sites, regularly published e-newsletters, and many other functions that both promote our auctions and attract new people to the hobby. We consider eBay another marketing venue, and we list all our auctions there in order to attract new clients. eBay is a fine marketplace for many things, populated by many fine sellers, but we don't see it as the be-all-and-end-all of auctions. eBay has found a comfortable niche for itself that accommodates a large number of buyers and sellers, but we feel that auction houses, like Heritage, occupy a niche with exposure to a busier and more selective clientele. It's for this reason that many of the most amazing one-of-a-kind discoveries, like the Style D Bride of Frankenstein one sheet in our current auction, are brought to us rather than offered on eBay. The consignor wants to feel relatively assured that the piece he is offering will be seen by the largest number of qualified buyers, both in this hobby and other well promoted hobbies. Personally, my feeling is that the hobby is far stronger for the fact that all of these various venues exist, as it means that collectors are able to become involved with movie poster collecting at whatever price level they're comfortable with. (I should say at this point that the extra BP charged for clients that bid through eBay Live is retained by eBay. That is not a charge that we levy, nor do we receive any portion of it.) In addition to the Signature auctions that we hold in March, July, and November of each year, we also hold weekly Internet auctions with hundreds of lots of more affordable posters in genres from horror to sci-fi to Western and more, all in an effort to introduce more people to this exciting hobby. Heritage also employs a full-time IT staff of several dozen people to provide all the Internet and computer services our clients have come to expect. Visit www.HA.com<http://www.ha.com/> and browse our website if you're not familiar with it. By registering on our site - a process that takes just a few minutes and is absolutely free - you'll have access to our Permanent Auction Archives, a wonderful resource of every lot we've sold at auction for more than the past decade. Every single poster we've ever sold is here, complete with full-color, enlargeable images, complete catalog descriptions, plus complete sales history. For anyone interested in researching movie poster pricing trends, this is an invaluable resource, and one that, to my knowledge, no other auction house, or poster dealer, offers. Additionally, Heritage also offers live bidding for all their Signature auctions through www.HA.com/Live<http://www.ha.com/Live>. With this free service - there is no extra Buyer's Premium charged for bidding through HALive - bidders can participate live, in real time, during an auction, competing with bidders on the floor. Of course, Heritage also offers phone bidding at no extra cost for those that prefer to participate in that fashion. You'll understand when I say that all these things - maintaining an extensive web site, server space for hundreds of thousands of images, administering live bidding, operators for phone bidding, etc. - cost money, all of which is paid for through Buyer's premiums and seller's fees. In addition Heritage has a full-time Accounting department that makes sure all the numbers crunch correctly and that billing and collections are handled efficiently, the Customer Service department that ensures client concerns are handled in a reasonable and timely fashion, and the large support staff that Heritage employs, and you can clearly see how the expenses a major auction house incurs stack up quickly. We've always encouraged bidders to factor the BP into their bids when determining how to participate. For example, if the maximum amount you're willing to spend on a poster is $2,200, your maximum bid should be about $1850. That way, you end up paying no more than you're comfortable with, and everybody's happy. Clinton, I hope this addresses your concerns abut Buyer's Premiums, and gives you some insight from the other side of the podium. If I can ever be of further assistance to you, please don't hesitate to contact me. Best regards, John E. Petty
________________________________ From: MoPo List [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of clinton crews Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2007 6:20 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [MOPO] Auction Houses Buyer's premium is it outdated How do you feel about the Buyer's premium put on auctions. Ranging from 15-23 % For me that is a deal breaker if any one of us added to the auctions we have Oh by the way you are bidding 2000 but you need to add 20 percent to your total. We would be kicked off ebay. I feel that with the ability to use a source like ebay auction houses. Have a lot more exposure then the did in years past. But they still add these high Buyer's premiums. Bruce at emovieposter most likely sells more posters then any group on the planet but he does not ding the buyers 15-20 percent when they win. I think if a auction house uses ebay or any other online service the Buyer's premium should be less maybe 3-10 % and less when the price goes above so many thousands lets say 5,000 they bring it down 4 percent. It just seems to me that you can only milk buyers for so much that is why the value of any poster can swing in price. Also I wonder do the auction houses charge the seller as well if so wow. They must make more then O.P.E.C. I understand there is some overhead but there must be a limit on that overhead. I am not trying to single out any group just the concept as a whole. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
