Latest Kelleher Auction - Unreal Competition!

Were the estimates positioned low for this sale to drum up interest? This seems to be a really competitive landscape. I just tuned in and am a bit surprised by the interest levels being so vibrant. Maybe there is a shortage of material priced for resale and people think there is real opportunity here.

A large number of the first 50 lots went to a few repeat buyers. Not sure what price impact that has had.

We must be looking at different auctions. With the exception of Lot 2 everything went under, slightly over or at estimate that I can see.

Lot 2 had the following "not a ringing endorsement" description:




Not sure why it the bidding went bananas unless two or more viewers saw something really special in it. Sounds more like emotions got the better of some folks.

It would not be the first time that something was missed by the house but spotted by the buyers.

That is for sure Rev.

I assume that the high bidders viewed that material in person. Not likely viewed from online images only?

The question about viewing , if a buyer has been to 4 or 5 previous stamp auctions and has had positive results on his purchases . Then I think they can be more aggressive in their bidding without viewing or traveling to the auction firm .

I found Kelleher fair with the way they price the Worldwide country collections ,it has been my experience at two different firms never to bid or buy without looking at the material because the write ups leaves too much up in the air .

But to find something in a large collection that the House missed you need to view it. No?

Not really a problem for a lot of dealers.

I arrived at Kelleher today at 5:05 PM from FL. I thought it was closed but after a more careful look I realized the auction was still in progress but only 2 floor bidders left.

They had no problem letting me view lots and I was the only one viewing but I had 2 staff helping me. I only looked at 3 lots but the one I thought I really wanted I probably won't even bid on and the one I thought might be OK was one of the best lots I've ever seen. To me seeing lots in person is extremely important, but that's just me!

WOW ------Sat thru today's auction on SAN , put in about 30 bids on 8 different lots , got nothing .On only two lots was I the underbidder. Prices just ran away from me .

Followed much of the auction today, and yes, the bidding was solid overall. In some areas, such as Italy collections, which often can be had for a small % of CV, the winning bids were surprisingly high. Only had a couple lots to bid on, didn't pick up anything.

I sat through most of it with only 1 other bidder in the room. I looked at a lot of items and based on what I saw I thought the prices were high. Usually I can buy a collection and make a profit by breaking it up but I am doubtful I will make much on the items I bought today.

The collection #636 was one of the nicest I've ever seen, very meticulous with lots of extras. I was underbidder but I was bidding way more than I wanted to. It contained only Europe but still sold for $37,500.

Ken ----I went for some of the French Colonies , try to get those better single country collections, as I said above those just took off leaving me behind .

I was surprised how well those sets of Internationals did ,this seens tp brought out the collectors because I can not see how a reseller could turn a profit at those high prices.

The ones that got me were the big Minkus collection that had been broken down into regional collections. I compared these to the big Minkus collection I bought at the last auction. I thought the one a bought was just a little stronger but the regional Minkus when added together sold for twice what I paid. IMO This is a smart way to sell a big collection but it is tough on my business plan.

I bought 2 of the regional Minkus lots and will soon know how I made out.

The many EFO lots that were presumably Langs' holdings went through the roof. I expect to see the buyers hitting 5-10x returns by breaking them up into individualblots, even at those prices. EFOs at wholesale prices dont come often. $30k for 3000 stamps is still cheap vs their retail capability. Dont know where they came up with 10-15k estimate, unlessn that was marketing gimick to draw prople in.