Auction Companies

I want to sell some of the better stamps in my Canadian collection which includes some classics...any opinions on the better auction company based on experience re: Eastern, Vance, Maresch etc...and what to expect for sales commissions?
Much appreciated SG

Where are you located, Stampguy? There may be some near where you live.

Smauggie, I'm in Toronto

I would use Eastern (Gary Lyon)

Or Vance

No idea of commission, but I think their website has this.

Both Eastern and Vance charge no buyer's commission, so you bear it. On the plus side, bidders (like me) prefer this.

Maresch is good too--but they charge the buyer not the seller--so you would prefer that, but in my experience it puts off bidders somewhat.

For example, I have a bunch of lots that I am considering bidding on for Eastern, Vance and Maresch. The latter firm's lots, I will low ball my bid because of the charge. And in fact, I see almost the same item in Eastern as in Maresch--so I would only bid on Eastern for the market price

Hope this helps, but is just my subjective POV

Thanks Tommy.
I was thinking Eastern too but did not see specific commission info on their site. I'll check again or call them.
Thanks, SG

Tommy already gave the recommendations I might have.

I am not completely sure but I think Vance does not sell on consignment. Rather they buy the material and sell it as their own. That way they can sell the collection as a single item or bundle it into lots as they see fit. Does anyone know for sure (outside of Vance that is.)??

Everything in a mail bid auction is owned by the house. Vance and Eastern buy collections. They both cherry pick out the collection for the better items. Vance puts them in his mail auction. Eastern has more avenues to move the items. They have 4 different price lists that they issue on a regular basis. It is dependant on the clientele. All of these forums for Vance and Eastern have a reserve bid on them. The Eastern mail auctions, when you look at there set-up, hold the items, that they can't move through there other price lists. In these mail bid auctions, you never see a prices realized report. Why? Because everything has a reserve, and not everything sells. You maybe top bidder, but if you don't meet the reserve, it does not sell. That is why they put the disclaimer in about having the ability to regulate the bidding, if it does get to the appropriate levels. Hence forth no buyer's premium.

Eastern also holds Public Auctions, where they sell, there BEST and RAREST material. These are usually held at The Lord Nelson Hotel in Halifax. They just had one in connection with the Royal Philatelic Annual Show on the last weekend of May, where a Canada # 3 went under the hammer. They will be auctioning off a Canada # 32 in the fall. Only three known copies.

Maresch also deals in this market, except that everything they sell is without reserve, they put an estimate on everything, and they are pretty darn close to they think it will sell for. The guys at Maresch, know there market. At these auctions, you get the true value of what dictates the market. When you items end up as single lot entities at these sales, it is like making the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.. They handle only the best in there public auctions. They both charge a 15% buyer's fee, and 15-20% sellers fee! depending on the size of the collection. If the items are really rare, these fees are negotiable, as they just want to be able to say, the sold it, or the new record price was established in there house. When you buy single items at these auctions, there is a very good chance, when it comes to the day that you have to dispose of the stamps, you will recoup most if not all of your outlay for the stamps. Like with everything else in life, you get what you pay for.

Good post fantail.

For anyone with a Unitrade catalog they usually quote prices realized on their intro pages to try to help prove and justify the catalog pricing. My latest copy is 2012. On page 18 and 19 they show realized auction prices for stamps deemed as gems.

The point of my post is that all these prices are from Eastern auction sales with Unitrade catalog price then the sold for price and then the added 15% buyer premium to total the out the door cost to the buyer minus shipping and taxes if you live in Canada.

I am sure these same costs are incurred by the consignment seller. Some good money made by Eastern on these. I wonder if someone from Eastern has a say with Unitrades pricing.

I would also hope that our very knowledgeable and valued member Watermark would chime in on this conversation.

I am sure that he has been involved with these auctions as both a buyer and seller.

Thanks for the feedback everyone..SG

stampguy : I am looking for the Canada Pence issues

I've also heard the Vance buys a lot of their stuff at Maresch auctions. They know what they paid and what it needs to sell for to make a profit (again auction with reserve sales only).

I don't know for sure, but I would assume they would prefer good bulk lots over single items, as the single items may be harder to profit on in the short term. Though they have the money to bid on those as well and hold them if need be.

It would be good to know if you asked Vance or Eastern directly "Is there a reserve on lot #xyz" if they would be forthcoming about it.

Having just a vague disclaimer seems somewhat misleading. Most people that bid probably don't know about a reserve.

Is Vance not more of a mail sale with a hidden reserve rather than a straight auction since it's all their own material? They sell it to the person who is willing to buy it from them for the most over their hidden reserve.

Vance does auctions by mail or phone or email. They take bids up to a pre set time. They also take them on the SAN network. They don't put current bids on the SAN.

When I bid with them I must stay in touch with them right up to closing(usually by phone) either too up my bid or to see if I am the high bidder.

I am sure they would email me if I requested it.

I have heard that he visits many auctions all over the place to get his material.

The fact that there is no buyer premium is a huge selling point with me.