London Coins Auction ~ is 17% buyer premium reasonable ?

[1949threepence]

Just wondering. It seems a tad steep to me, and adds a fair slice onto an expensive coin.

What do others think ? I may be misguided on this one. Not sure.

[Rob]

It's less than Spink or DNW or St. James's or Baldwins, as all charge 20% + VAT - i.e.24%

[jaggy]

I just factor it in to what I am willing to pay for a coin.

[Paulus]

I just factor it in to what I am willing to pay for a coin.

Absolutely right, insured postage too!

[Coinery]

I just factor it in to what I am willing to pay for a coin.

Absolutely right, insured postage too!

Me too, though it's only 5% in Paulus's neck 'o' the woods!

[Paulus]

I just factor it in to what I am willing to pay for a coin.

Absolutely right, insured postage too!

Me too, though it's only 5% in Paulus's neck 'o' the woods!

Good old Croydon Auctions, their website is a bit rubbish though! When is the next auction??

[jaggy]

There are three factors I look at:

What the coin is worth (CCGB and usually at least one other source)

What the costs of acquiring it are (buyers premium, postage, etc.)

How badly I want the coin and how much over the odds I am willing to pay to get it (call it 'goodwill')

Based on that I work out the maximum I am willing to bid or pay.

Sometimes I will bid on a coin which I don't especially want but because it looks very cheap. I always tell myself that I can then sell it for a profit. But, to date, I have never sold a coin. I just enjoy having them.

[Coinery]

I just factor it in to what I am willing to pay for a coin.

Absolutely right, insured postage too!

Me too, though it's only 5% in Paulus's neck 'o' the woods!

Good old Croydon Auctions, their website is a bit rubbish though! When is the next auction??

Their site IS rubbish, they never update it, and auction dates are very last minute! I generally email them, much easier!

Very easy to get caught out with their ambitious grading, so I'd never buy on description from them. However, they're great for a few bargains if you're on the floor!

Edited March 14, 2013 by Coinery

[Nicholas]

My sense of is that consignors are being given improved (lower) commissions these days because of the competitive coin auction market fishing for quality stock. this is magnified becauset just about all auction houses are accessible from the touch of a screen. So to balance this, buyers are paying the penalty...

[TomGoodheart]

I think 17% is quite reasonable! Most I buy from seem to be in the 20%s and you have to add postage costs (and potential import fees from overseas).

I work on the principle that as a collector I can pay more than most dealers, because they need to be able to add their profit margin and still end up with a price people will pay. So I work out what I think a coin is 'worth' to me and work backwards from there.

Of course, some days people are willing to spend stupid money and there's no way to allow for that, unless you join them. Fortunately my budget doesn't allow me much scope to go crazy!

[1949threepence]

OK, thanks chaps. That's pretty much what I suspected anyway.

It's just that I was thumbing through the March 1969 Coin Monthly that Rob kindly sold to me a few weeks ago, and I came across an ad for the Erdington Coin Company's sale of the year, held on Saturday 8th March 1969, at the Acorn Hotel, Erdington, and including a 1933 penny !!!

Their commission was just 5% for the seller (10% London Coins), and no mention of a buyer premium. Those were the days.

[copper123]

THE ERDINGTON COIN COMPANY WENT BUST PROBABLY LOL

[1949threepence]

THE ERDINGTON COIN COMPANY WENT BUST PROBABLY LOL

Indeed. Who knows where London Coins will be in 2057 ~ or for that matter, the rest of us

[pies]

I think if they split the premium to 10% for both buyer and seller the seller would take home more as i feel hammer prices would rise

AIMHO

[Nick]

I think if they split the premium to 10% for both buyer and seller the seller would take home more as i feel hammer prices would rise

AIMHO

But that would reduce what they receive at the moment and they are not likely to do that. London Coins (or any auction house) don't really care what the seller takes home, they are only interested in what they take home.

[Peter]

Midland fair is £2 to get in and haggle away.

[Fubar]

The tradition was to sell in guineas and pay out in pounds.

I suppose that amounts to 5% on sales only.

Now the trend is towards lotting fees (not payable on unsold lots), commission paid by the seller and commission on the hammer price.

Our local auction house charges 15% +VAT and in this day and age is quite reasonable. That's for a rural auction house so 17% +VAT for a southern or London based operation is quite reasonable. I still think the big houses charge too much in order to cover their excessive lifestyles but they do also have big reputations.

The amount of work that goes into preparing an auction can be quite extensive. Research on items that may not even sell takes time and manpower. Sourcing items, unpacking, arranging into lots, researching, labelling with lot numbers, cataloguing (preparing a description for each lot), printing the catalogue, manpower for viewing, manpower for the sale and handing out sold and unsold lots are all costs plus all the overheads you can possibly think of.

[Gary1000]

The tradition was to sell in guineas and pay out in pounds.

I suppose that amounts to 5% on sales only.

Now the trend is towards lotting fees (not payable on unsold lots), commission paid by the seller and commission on the hammer price.

Our local auction house charges 15% +VAT and in this day and age is quite reasonable. That's for a rural auction house so 17% +VAT for a southern or London based operation is quite reasonable. I still think the big houses charge too much in order to cover their excessive lifestyles but they do also have big reputations.

The amount of work that goes into preparing an auction can be quite extensive. Research on items that may not even sell takes time and manpower. Sourcing items, unpacking, arranging into lots, researching, labelling with lot numbers, cataloguing (preparing a description for each lot), printing the catalogue, manpower for viewing, manpower for the sale and handing out sold and unsold lots are all costs plus all the overheads you can possibly think of.

That makes ebay's fees sound quite eye watering by comparison