New To Auction Catalogs

Got a St Louis Stamp Expo auction catalog in the mail. Came from Recency Superior. Neat. The prices confuse me a little however. I don't see published starting prices? It does have estimated close price. Any thoughts on the starting bids. I did notice that min bids are set at 50.00.

You can probably find the starting bids on their web site. In most cases, the price in their catalogue is an estimate of what they think the lot will sell for - I've been to a few of their auctions (I make regular trips to Chicagopex in November) and the final prices often don't match the estimates - sometimes higher, sometimes lower. The estimate is really a "best educated guess".

Since you're new to auction catalogues (and possibly auctions), there are a few things to watch for. The first is the buyers' premium. Regency's is particularly high, at 19%, so a lot that sells for $1000 will actually cost you $1190. Regency is up-front about the fee - it's clearly printed in the catalogue, and I you attend in person, you'll notice that they make a point of mentioning it at the beginning of the auction. The second thing to watch out for is taxes. If you attend the auction and take the lots with you, you will have to pay the local sales tax (based on the information I could find, around 8.4% in St. Louis). Whether you live in the area is irrelevant - it's the point of delivery that matters, not the final destination. And in most states, the 19% buyers' premium is taxable as well. The third thing to watch out for is shipping charges - if you bid by email or phone and have the lots shipped to you, you will have to pay the shipping charges. Regency (like most firms) uses trackable shipping methods. You won't have have to pay tax on your purchases if you have them shipped to you, unless the final delivery is in Missouri or California, since Regency has offices in those states. But because it's trackable, the shipping isn't cheap. When I was at their sale at Chicagopex, looked at having my purchases shipped to me. Shipping to Canada would have been too expensive, and since it was a trackable shipment, I'd also be looking at customs duties and possibly brokerage fees upon delivery. I then looked at having the stamps shipped to my cousin in Raleigh and having him bring them up when he visited a month later, but the cost of shipping was not much less than the tax, so I didn't bother. My purchases weren't large - they'd easily fit in a small FedEx envelope.

rxman, Greetings:

The opening bid at a public auction, on the day of the auction, is set by the auctioneer. The typical (YMMV) protocol is to take the *second* highest bid, add one increment, and open at that price.

Example: high bidder is $200, second highest bidder is $150, increment at that price level is $10 (see the rules printed in the catalog for the increments that will be in use at each auction) so the opening bid is $160.

If there are any new bids (eg, beginning at U$D 170, in this case), the auctioneer bids on behalf the high pre-bidder (using the same increments formula) until folks give up (the high pre-bidder is successful) or bids pass the high pre-bidder.

Best advice is to try & figure-out what a lot is worth to you *before* the auction (being mindful of any buyer's premium, sales tax, shipping, etc), and then stick to that bid limit once the blood starts pumping. Easier said than done, says the man with a few odd winning bids.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Thanks guys. Lots of great advice here. Been going over the catalog for days, hehe. Went online to catch the opening bids, but most were exspensive. Closer to what I might consider a final bid, and that doesn't include the premium or shipping. Guess I'm cheap. Lol. Might throw my hat in the ring and see what happens. Sorry it so long to respond. Gotta work to pay for my hobbies. Although my wife my see it differently. :)

Shop around! Compare auction house to auction house and then check out ebay costs. Great fun doing your stamping homework! You will end up being your own stamp cost catalogue. Even better and more accurate than a Scott's catalogue book.

All The Very Best!

I agree with your "expensive" assessment for the Regency auction. But then, they tend to have some pretty good material, too.

If you are interested in collections as opposed to single items, they often have some good ones available, based on the auctions that I've attended. Of course, you'd need to go to the auction and view the lots before the sale, so you have an idea of what you're getting. It's one thing to ask them to send you scans of a stamp or two, but a collection is asking too much.