Price Realized Sheet from Last August RIA

Imperial Arms · 10-04-2004, 12:34 AM

Hello Ken,

Your estimate of 60% would be in the ballpark regarding the money which the seller received while I assume that the figure would be about 70% (15% on each side). I reckon that the seller will receive approximately market value or less for the majority of his items and, therefore, I would not be surprised if the seller was disappointed with the final results considering the rarity and fine condition of many items in the RIA.

At the end of day, it is the auction house who makes the most money from the sale, and I would avoid an auction house if I had to sell my collection. Selling through an auction house is only a method of convenience for a seller, and it is also a means to sell items which are questionable in originalty because many auction houses are not willing to guarantee the merchandise which they are offering for auction. Unfortunately, many auction houses are only acting as a 'middleman' without providing a high level of expertise to authenticate merchandise when they could easily recruit an expert(s) to inspect and evaluate a collection for a reasonable fee and still make a handsome profit based on the commission they make on both sides.

I guess that many collectors will continue to pay the price for misleading clauses stated in the catalogs regarding the conditions of sale. Many buyers are still at the mercy of 'buyer beware'.

Albert

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10-04-2004, 12:34 AM	#3
Imperial Arms Banned Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Malta, EU Posts: 579 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 9 Posts	Hello Ken, Your estimate of 60% would be in the ballpark regarding the money which the seller received while I assume that the figure would be about 70% (15% on each side). I reckon that the seller will receive approximately market value or less for the majority of his items and, therefore, I would not be surprised if the seller was disappointed with the final results considering the rarity and fine condition of many items in the RIA. At the end of day, it is the auction house who makes the most money from the sale, and I would avoid an auction house if I had to sell my collection. Selling through an auction house is only a method of convenience for a seller, and it is also a means to sell items which are questionable in originalty because many auction houses are not willing to guarantee the merchandise which they are offering for auction. Unfortunately, many auction houses are only acting as a 'middleman' without providing a high level of expertise to authenticate merchandise when they could easily recruit an expert(s) to inspect and evaluate a collection for a reasonable fee and still make a handsome profit based on the commission they make on both sides. I guess that many collectors will continue to pay the price for misleading clauses stated in the catalogs regarding the conditions of sale. Many buyers are still at the mercy of 'buyer beware'. Albert