Catawiki

[Stuntman]

Yes please too, if there are any left!

I've looked at the UK & Ire auction list for the last few weeks, but haven't placed a bid so far.

Hope it continues to go well, Declan.

[cathrine]

On Wednesday, June 22, 2016 at 4:02 PM, declanwmagee said:

If anyone wants £20 off their first purchase they have sent me a stack of vouchers...

 

[cathrine]

Hi Declan,

I'd like one of your vouchers if they're still available.

Thanks,

Cathrine

[Colin G.]

I would be interested as well Declan if there are any left

[declanwmagee]

Another quite good one this week, and it looks like there might be bargains to be had...

 

http://auction.catawiki.com/coin-auction-uk/sunday

 

 

[azda]

22 hours ago, declanwmagee said:

Another quite good one this week, and it looks like there might be bargains to be had...

 

http://auction.catawiki.com/coin-auction-uk/sunday

 

 

Just a curious question Declan, but if the auctions are being run in similar style to ebay then why do the auctioneers add auction estimates? I've just noticed 2 that the estimates were way higher that the eventual price realised. See pics

[Paulus]

Those lots will have been unsold

[azda]

So does that mean the estimates Are too high? Seems the bidding is way off the estimates. It might be that they Are trying to run 2 formats at the same time, one like an auction house and the other like ebay

Edited July 18, 2016 by azda

[Nonmortuus]

I would much rather the lots started within say 10% of the reserve than at £0.

[azda]

6 minutes ago, Nonmortuus said:

I would much rather the lots started within say 10% of the reserve than at £0.

Exactly, because if no one else is going to bid then it's time wasted sitting/waiting/watching and i assume most of these coins have reserves anyway. I also think catwiki needs to define what it actually is, if it's an auction house or is it running along similar lines as eBay, eBay don't tell you what the estimate of your coin is, perhaps the estimations are also putting people off, possibly the estimates are also too high, i looked at an George V sov in a graded holder as MS64 and the bottom estimate was over a recent similar sold lot through a British auction

Just thinking out loud Declan.....

Edited July 18, 2016 by azda

[declanwmagee]

it's all good chaps - all grist to my mill.  Comments are extremely welcome because they are all backing me up in my corporate battles  

 

[declanwmagee]

Well I am glad to announce that I am out the other side of the Catawiki nonsense.  Catawiki and I had to part company this week.  I am not sorry, frankly.  I told them what they needed to do to break into the UK coin market and they didn't want to do it.  I think they are giving up on the UK to be honest.  Last month they got rid of the UK marketing dept, then a couple of weeks ago they got rid of the UK country manager (who was a huge ally of mine in all the battles I fought with them).  I shan't miss it, it was a silly place!

I am very happy to be a free agent once more, running my little coin business from my little farm on a hillside in Portugal....That's better.  I was never suited to the corporate thing!

[1949threepence]

Sorry to hear that the venture didn't work out as planned, Declan.

I don't think I'd be suited to the corporate thing, either.

 

[declanwmagee]

15 minutes ago, 1949threepence said:

Sorry to hear that the venture didn't work out as planned, Declan.

I don't think I'd be suited to the corporate thing, either.

 

Once you have been self employed, Mike, it's intensely frustrating to be in an environment where no-one has the courage to actually do anything!  It served its purpose though - the extra few grand got us here - I am now sitting on a terrace on my fruit farm, sipping red wine from a 5 litre plastic bottle that one of the ridiculously friendly villagers gave us from his own vineyard, under a nearly full moon, living the kind of life most people fantasise about.

The coin business has suffered from neglect during the Catawiki months, and I shall thoroughly enjoy giving it the attention it deserves once more.  It is the future, and Catawiki never was, really...tudo bem, it's all good

[Paulus]

7 minutes ago, declanwmagee said:

Once you have been self employed, Mike, it's intensely frustrating to be in an environment where no-one has the courage to actually do anything!  It served its purpose though - the extra few grand got us here - I am now sitting on a terrace on my fruit farm, sipping red wine from a 5 litre plastic bottle that one of the ridiculously friendly villagers gave us from his own vineyard, under a nearly full moon, living the kind of life most people fantasise about.

The coin business has suffered from neglect during the Catawiki months, and I shall thoroughly enjoy giving it the attention it deserves once more.  It is the future, and Catawiki never was, really...tudo bem, it's all good

I have a strong feeling you have made the right decision Deccers!

Don't need that sort of stress, I'll take a look at your latest offerings

[Nordle11]

Relax and enjoy, Declan, relax and enjoy..  

[Leo]

Congratulations on your decision Declan!

So what would you say is the problem with catawiki? Management? Business model, target?

The idea behind is good, it is essentially to fill the massive gap between the eBay jungle and the established, formal auction houses. However I think their fees are high compared to what they do - lot description, photography and postage all is still to be done by the seller. I don't know how they would act with fakes, fraud, litigation etc.
Considering the amount of publicity they are spending on, it looks like it is doing well however. Hammer prices are high.

[Peter]

Declan I'm sorry it didn't work out for you.I would love to see a few pictures of Chez Portugal and let me know when you have running water,WiFi and soft toilet paper(I don't mean king size Rizla).All the best buddy.

[azda]

Working for a boss who never wants to hear or implement ideas will always be frustrating, probably for the best that you left Declan. Chin up, you have a 5 litre bottle of wine at least 

[Peter]

Dave it seems strange why we all married.I suppose a load of loose cannons roaming the streets would be much worse

[declanwmagee]

On 19/09/2016 at 1:02 PM, Peter said:

 

Hi Leo, and thanks for your question.  I answered a similar question from another member so I hope you won't mind a copy and paste - there seems to be something awry with my Predecimal account that means I can only post with my phone and not my laptop - so typing is a bit laborious!  Any admins fancy having a look at that for me?  Some lock file or something maybe?

 
Unbiased: I wouldn't bother with them really - they do not have the bidder base to be able to provide the high hammer prices that they claim, with the possible exception of bulk junk lots - the Europeans seem to love those.  Also bullion seems to do OK - Chinese Pandas, that sort of thing.  Serious numismatics is a little beyond them at this stage, and they certainly don't have the expertise to be able to assess serious numismatic items.  The UK market is so different from the Continental market, and they don't really get it.
 
They have no intention of sorting out their images, and will haggle over reserves with a seller till you are sick of dealing with them.  They take 12.5% from sellers and 9% from buyers, and those sellers that I dealt with found that too expensive.  Buyers will factor the 9% into their bids, so that cost is effectively passed on to the seller anyway.  They won't deal in Sterling, and pay you in dribs and drabs, which attracts conversion charges for each transaction.  One of the things I was trying to set up for UK based sellers was an aggregated monthly payment, so that they'd only get hit for conversion once a month, but they weren't interested.
 
Their poor treatment of their sellers has meant that most of the regulars that they had a year ago, say, have got fed up and moved on, so there really are only a couple of UK based sellers left who still use them.  
 
hope that helps!
 
Declan

[Nordle11]

9 minutes ago, declanwmagee said:

There seems to be something awry with my Predecimal account that means I can only post with my phone and not my laptop - so typing is a bit laborious!  Any admins fancy having a look at that for me?  Some lock file or something maybe?

Send me a PM with any info you have (what shows or doesn't show, if you can/can't log in etc) and I'll have a gander  

[Leo]

That is very revealing, Declan. Thank you for disclosing it.

I did notice the love for bulk junk lots, and also the d*** Andorra Vatican and Monaco euro sets flooding the whole place. I don't know, it's a weird place. Most of the lots in the UK and Spain auctions are offered by the same sellers, every week. It looks like it has better penetration on the Dutch market though.
It was in catawiki where I saw once for auction a slabbed panda coin (weird!).

Just thinking, in terms of fees, LCA gets 27% (10% from seller and 17% from buyer). Catawiki gets 21.5% and eBay gets 13.5% including PayPal fee. But in my view, in terms of service and security for both buyers and sellers Catawiki is way closer to eBay than LCA.
Some sellers pass the fees into the P&P charges which explain some very high postage fees. Well, this happens in eBay too, and there is no way of controlling it.

[Nordle11]

Some good points there Leo, perhaps this will settle down as the euro coin hub of auctions.

- eBay eventually cracked down on the high postage fees by charging a percentage against your postage, too. 

[Leo]

4 minutes ago, Nordle11 said:

eBay eventually cracked down on the high postage fees by charging a percentage against your postage, too. 

That's a good one for catawiki! I've seen guys with P&P charges of £25, for one coin