Recycled Auction Lots

I have read that many lots from auction houses are recycled. Can someone please comment how does one get a hint that a lot has been recycled?

Is it really true that most lots are picked clean and then recycled. How many lots are like this do you think as a percentage of the auction lots?

Which auction house has the least amount of recycled lots? And by auction houses, I do not mean ebay which is the end of the food chain.

I think that you are going to get wide ranging opinions on this because your question lacks a 'recycle' time frame.

In my opinion, it is uncommon that a collection comes up for sale that has not previously been in the marketplace in a 'generation'. 'Generation' is typically defined as 25 years. I would say that the majority have either been 'recycled' or at least certainly have been 'eyeballed and better material removed/swapped'.

If including ebay, I would say the overwhelming majority of the collections are 'remainders'. And then there are also 'salted' and/or assembled specifically for re-sale collections too.
Don

ebay isn't necessarily the end of the food chain. Some accounts like Noble spirit or My stamps legitimately get consignments and straight up purchase collections that come to them, totally skirting the traditional auctions houses. If I was at a show and someone came in with a gorgeous gorgeous collection that I managed to buy, I'd be putting it on ebay, not sending to auction house.

There are also ebay sellers who buy bulk or collection remainder auction lots and sell the material individually. As such there is nothing to recycle any more as the individual items no longer are part of a group. Other will purchase them and over time put them into a group or collection. As that is a new assemblage it is not a recycle group.

Additionally, what is good to one person is not necessarily good to another. Thus "recycled collection" does not mean no material of use for everyone.

Did not mean to insult ebay, I use it all the time. I just meant that they are usually the last in the chain. It is true that the are not alway the end of the chain. Noble Spirit is great. That is
why they have thousands of followers with competitive bids.

stop worrying about that. look at a lot, see what is in it, judge it's value and place your bid.

if you know your stuff then it doesn't matter how many times it's been recycled.

In reality, everything has been "recycled" at this point, except for new issues. Anything issued more than a few years ago has been in someone else's collection(s) or some dealer's stock(s) before, unless the current owner purchased it when new. As stated above, if one likes it and needs it than it's really not "recycled" anyway.

My personal perspective that what revcollector posted above.

My personal reaction is due to the preying upon wishful thinking of collectors that some sellers use in their marketing puffery. 'Fresh to marketplace' puffery is obviously going to get noticed by buyers, but short of buying a collection directly from a trusted original owner how can the real provenance be known? Do folks really trust a collection has not been picked through without knowing the chain of ownership? If so, then others must have a lot more faith than I do about human nature.
Don

I agree with Sorsh, and with most (no offense) of what 51studebaker says. Bid on what you see, based on what you know; buy stamps, not stories. I don't bid a dime on what I don't see.

Fear of missing out is pointless. New(ish) material comes to market daily. Just because a lot has passed through a few owners doesn't mean it is stripped of interesting material.

I am less cynical than some. Many collectors and dealers who flip are smart enough to keep only what they must, and leave meat on the bone for a future buyer.

There are of course collections that are fabricated to look valuable when they are not. I don't wish to compile a list of red flags or offer free advice on these.

I just thought I would pick everyone's brain. Thanks for all your replies. Part of being an informed or skilled bidder is recognizing when a lot has been picked clean or recycled.

no, I don't agree with that at all.

a skilled and informed bidder (in terms of resale/profit) looks at what's on display and know exactly what's offered and how much it's worth and will place a bid based on desired profit margin <> time investment needed.

a skilled and informed bidder (in terms of buying for a collection) looks at what's on display and know exactly what's offered and how much it's worth, and know how to translate into, how much do I want this, and how often is it for sale.

a skilled bidder knows it doesn't matter how many greedy fingers and eyes has travelled over the pages, all that matters is what's present for your eyes and fingers.

so why does most good collections/bulk lots go to professional dealers?

is it because they can determine what's original and has potential?

sure partly, but mainly because collectors as a bunch are cheap and lack knowledge.

The term "recycled" means different things to different people. Collection lots, bulk boxes, etc. that you buy from dealers are by definition "recycled"... that doesn't mean you can't find nice material in them.

Why? Different people are looking for different things. General collectors vs. topical collectors vs. cancel collectors vs. plate variety specialists, etc. One dealer or collector who cherrypicks items out and then flips it may leave items in there that person 2, 3, or 47 might be looking for.

I've bought "recycled" collections and bulk lots from some very knowledgeable and prolific dealers and have found great material in them. Everyone's perspective is different, and not everyone has the time to give it the same level of scrutiny.

Just examine each lot on its merits at the time you view it, regardless of where you may have seen it before or who else may have seen it before you.

Not sure what you mean by recycling.

I know of a collector who buys auction lots, gets what he needs, then combines commons etc and resells them to other collectors. I bought from his Facebook auction to add to my collection. I will pass it off to my kids and others. Also in an auction, you can put a guess value, and bid based on that.

The way I've always understood "recycled auction lots" was like this:

Auction Company A tried to sell a lot and received no bids at their minimum bid. So they placed it in Company B's auction to see if it would sell there, perhaps at a lower price. The goal was to make it look like auction Company A did not have many/any left over lots and that all their lots got the minimum bid.

Interesting... I've always considered "recycled" with respect to lots or collections to be a euphemism for flipped quickly or cherrypicked and flipped basically intact.

How can passed lots look like they have sold, when sold elsewhere, later?

Also, where is the economic sense in having to pay commission, rather than receiving it?

And last, unless they own the lot, how do they account for this?