My First Auction Selling Experience

I have been buying stamps since around 2010 in every way except e-bay. Live auctions, flea markets, antique shops, internet auctions, etc. I recently decided to sell through a general household type auction on the Hibid platform. I am in Ontario and all of these auction houses seem to charge 30% commission plus a few other expenses. Bottom line is I dropped off four bankers boxes full of low value stock in binders, albums etc. on March 15. Almost two months later I have a cheque in hand. There were 19 Lots and they all sold. I have no desire to get involved with e-bay. I don't mind shipping things but I don't want the hassle. The combined sale price was $614 but my take home is $382.30. These are items that I won't miss but it still was a lot of stuff. If I was selling something worth $5000 the hit would be pretty hard. I'm thinking of selling some higher end stuff but I guess if you want the convenience that's the way the ball bounces. Any comments? I would use a stamp only auction for big dollar items.

Maybe think again about ebay. I've sold thousands of lots there, with minimal problems. If I sell large lots, I can get a courier to collect - others I can put in a postbox or take to the post office. You get your money in a couple of days, with lower commission rates than an auction house and a much bigger audience. Where's the hassle?

Agree!!

What you don't mention is what the "$614" stuff should have sold for in a well attended auction. A single $5000 item would go closer to its top value in a "real" stamp only, public auction if in fact it was worth $5000 at auction, not at catalog. Additionally for the buyer, shipping on a single item is far less than bulks box shipping.

Additionally for those of us who do not know HiBid, what is the buyers percentage if any?

Lastly there is something to be said about taking material to a large stamp show to consign to a large auction firm. They take the material and you eventually get the check.

With 19 Lots selling, I took home 20 bucks each. Some of these items where 3 ring binders with 1000s of dealer stock penny stamps. Might have been worth over $100 to the right person but these were world stamps with no US or Commonwealth. Hibid is a broad network of auctions all across North America. The buyers premium varies but maybe 15 - 18%. I still have lots of material, this was just stuff that gives me shelf space back. Twenty bucks each isn't great but it was one stop without a lot of leg work.

37.7% seller fees and other costs?

Mentioning since you're in Ontario - both Sparks (Ottawa) and Maresch (Aurora) charge around 20% to consignors. Worth talking to them next time you're consigning. They do plenty of assorted collection & bulk lots, not just high end stuff.

"I took home $20.00 each " not something the stamp auction houses wants to deal with . Most firms want over $1,000 lots don't want to set up a account for cheaper low value stamps . They do it for their long term regular customers as a favor but you can't walk in off the street as a first time client ..

This really was just an experiment. I won't be reckless with good quality stamps. I've already taken advantage of the space I've gained. I'm still buying 'good' stamps but usually one at a time. Thanks for your comments.