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Door prizes in the form of gift certificates: Stables/The BBQ joint in Guthrie (happens to be full of decorating signs) for the post auction meal and those frequently suggested beverages, Night Trips in OKC (for Jarvis), $10 Thunder tickets for those on this board who can't find enough to complain about.

There you have it Seth.....a solution for everything.

PS: Tara, I've got nothing on that other front, not sure where or how to obtain that fix.

In Guthrie, OK

$10.00 Thunder tickets?????? Shouldn't somebody have asked me????

I'm all for the scantily clad 25 year old women though.... Sorry Tara. I hope that you still respect me.....

BTW. Nun of that stuff for me Professor....

The Truth is since Online Bidding started, Attendance has fallen at EVERY auction that allows it, Not just Seth's. Go to most every auction that has decent items and NO online bidding, and you will find a full house every time.

If you have Good Stuff at auction and In-House bidding only, People will find a way to attend.

It is almost like you can't have it both ways, By allowing Online bidding, to get more money, You are making it too easy for people to stay at home and bid on their computer,

Seth,
I used to go to the Peotone auctions. I quit because of 2 reasons. 1) i had to spend at least $2000 to break even on motel, food versus the extra 5% BP. 2) I had to take a vacation day at work to go.
I guess if i was going to spend $5000 then it would be worth it. Like someone else said if there wasn't internet and i really wanted something i would come.

Seth, you are doing what you need to do to promote the sale but there is risk and reward. When you have consignors that promote the sale as if it is their own personal sale especially when the deep pocket issue is brought up that is a huge risk, also something that is hard to control. Many people have a hard time understanding a 10% sellers permium, a 12.5% CC premium and a 15% buyers premium plus the shipping costs associated, and I have found the shipping costs exceedingly high. You mentioned the $5,000,000 in sales for your 11 auctions and that averages $400,000+ per sale, a big number. If we do the math the $5,000,000 in sales would approximate $7,500,000 income for the 11 auctions, a number many can not relate to. Of course there are costs associated with these sales and you are indeed due money for your efforts. Many feel this is a sellers auction, 10% is a fair seller premium but hesitate to bid online or come to the sale for these reasons.

Let me say that I have done business with Seth and find him to be a bright young man with good business skillsets and with great moral charactor. This is not an attempt to rustle any feathers, it is how I think some people look not only at this auction but many of the internet auctions. Good luck with the sale, Seth.



Mick

I appreciate your post Mick, but I need to clarify a few of your figures....on the premium's, there's 10% BP, and it stays that way for me regardless of whether you pay by CC or if you shop online. The excess premium for a CC payment is absorbed by the CC company, the excess premium for online sales is absorbed by the online company. As far as shipping costs, I can assure you, that it has always been a losing proposition for me. I've always been able to pass along the shipping & packaging costs, but have really never been able to make up for paying people (if I did it all myself, it would take me 3 months) to help crate & wrap.

Also, I always thought I did at least a decent job of working for both buyer's & seller's, but what, specifically, could I do for you Mick to change your perception?? (Private Message if you'd like, it matters not to me)

Seth,
You take a great chance each year with your auctions being a individual. I come to get good deals and to visit with the other collectors from around the country. To me it's a bargain to come down as I am less than 100 miles.
Three years ago the giant ice storm hit, you would have lost alot of money if not for the internet bidders helping.
You always have alot to items from common to rare so there is something for everybody and all prices.
And what some people don't know sometimes checks bounce and sometimes internet bidders don't pay and you stuck holding the item.
As a business owner I understand the risk involved and I salute you for the great effort.
Maurice

collecting all Oklahoma Oil Companies items that Jim Patton (okoil) does not beat me to!!
He is everywhere

Seth, my comments were given from a buyers perspective, the buyer pays all of the premiums. You may not receive all the funds as there is a cost of doing business, however, the buyer still pays the numbers that I posted. Please re-read my previous post. Thank you.

Mick

That's pretty funny, best signature ever.

Mick...the buyers are REQUIRED to pay 10%, some chose to pay 12.5%, while others chose 15% & then some add a shipping charge on top of that. Like I've posted many, many times, without the buyer's premium my auction would cease to exist. I think this is the case with many an auction. The frequency & quality of consignment auctions increased dramatically when the buyer's premium became an accepted practice. Prior to charging the BP, we had to charge a much higher seller's rate and then also saddle the seller with the credit card fees....which in turn limited the quantity, but especially the quality of our consignments. Obviously, I have my own way of looking at things that jive with my beliefs, but my vision of this type of sale is that there is a sharing of the risk between the promotor, bidder & seller. Everyone's willing to risk a little portion of their capital in order for the event to take place in the first place. Like I said, most will have an opinion that supports their part of the equation, but that's how I view it.

anyone else still trying to figure out how 5,000,000 in sales equals 7,500,000 in income?????

John,
Tried three different calculators and never could get that answer either.
Some people just shoot from the hip with out thinking.

Well boys get new calculators. What he did(I think) was take $5,000,000x.1(10% sellers fee)= $500,000. Add to the $5,000,000 = $5,500,000. Take the 5,500,000x.125(12.5% c.c. fees)= 687,500. Add to the 5,500,000 = 6,187,500 Take the 6,187,500x.15(15% buyers fees)= 7,115,625. Plus, the incidentals equal approx $7.5 million dollars of income. This is an estimate of gross income not net.
Now an accountant would take the base $5 million multiply that by 10% get a total for sellers premium, then take the base 5 million multiply by 12.5% get the total for c.c. fees. The base times 15% for buyers fees. Add these totals, minus shipping and get $6.925 million. Then a total for shipping and incidentals would be added. Total would come to over $7 million easily. Ofcourse that income is spread among the Credit card companies, sellers, transportation(shippers) and Auctioneer (could be others added to list of those receiving monies before deductions). So yes gross income would be over $7 million+ on $5 million sales. (I never knew I would use my Accounting degree here on this site, LOL). The above figures ofcourse are estimates and are off. Not all $5 million in sales would be based on credit usage, but shipping cost placed on credit cards could bump the c.c. companies share of the gross. I think the idea was to show that Seth's show have been very profitable for a number of people. Of course the person who gets the least amount of the pie is Seth, as he puts out a "ton" of out of pocket money. By traveling, paying for items to sellers who want to sell outright, motel, food expenditures....etc. But he puts on great shows that people don't have a problem finding items to purchase at.

Bob you can have the numbers game. That's why we have a accountant do our taxes lol