Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Wisconsin Auction

Here is another Smith Sales auction.
http://midwestauctions.com/smithsales/_private/index.html

Chad,
Bob A. and I are going, anyone else???
See you there.

Ryan

HEY HUBBA!!!! DID YOU SEE THE METRO SIGN AT THIS SALE???? I WISH I COULD GO..... FRANK..

Looks like it will be a great auction. Too bad its on a Friday. That will keep the working guys away.
Bob

This auction is a two day auction. The Toy collection will be on Friday and the gas stuff on Saturday.

5% buyer's penalty for repop stuff?? OOOO-----KKKKKaaayyyy. Ford neon sign must be a reproduction also....be careful on this sale.......

The Ford neon is an original, I've been to 3 of these auctions and haven't seen a repro sign yet.

Where there's smoke there's fire!
The sale bill lists several repro globes. Chances are if the guy has repop globes, he probably has some repop signs. I did see a few fantasy items in the photo gallery. There's a place for repops. Don't stay away from the sale just because they have some repops.......just be careful. Just because the auctioneer hasn't sold repops at previous sales doesn't mean a thing. Hopefully he will mention the items that are repops or fantasy items before he sells them.
Bob

[This message has been edited by Lastgas15 (edited 09-12-2003).]

I agree Lastgas. I didn't think the comment about the 5% buyer's fee and the repop was fair. I have been to many sign auctions and this auction company is as credible as they come. My point is as you made the globes are listed as reproductions.

First of all, If you dont like the buyers fee then stay home and let those of us who enjoy a good auction enjoy a good auction. 2nd anything that is known to be a repop will be sold as that. There are many good pieces on this auction that are original that make it worth going to.

Just a question about buyer premiums, when you guys say 18% and are complaining; do you mean hammer price, plus 18% on top of that??
We are often paying a total of 25% over hammer price..that is 10% for the house and 14%tax. That makes 5% feel like a belly rub!!


<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<> >>>>>>>>>> Tired of the 25% penalty..dodogas

I don't like thew buyers penalty, but I attend auctions that have it. If its a common item I'll just deduct the amount of the penalty from what I would have bid at a traditional auction. If its something rare, or desirable then maybe I'll bid a little higher. I've found that for most collectors the desire to own a rare and desirable item often outweighs whatever the buyers penalty might be.....but everyone has their limit.

I've seen where the B.P. has hurt prices at some sales. For a B.P. auction to be successful they have to have some desirable items.

Most auctioneers that use the B.P. give a reduced commission rate to the seller to entice them to list their items with them. What they don't tell you is the reduced sellers commission and the B.P. add up to more than what they would charge at a non-B.P. auction. I live in the mid-west. If you mention the buyers penalty to auction goers around here their replies wouldn't be fit for this board.

The B.P. can be for any percentage. Its usually 5-10%, but I've seen ads for auctions with a 25% B.P!

Sales tax varies from state to state. In Illinois they only charge sales tax at consignment auctions. If you buy at an estate, or one owner auction you don't pay sales tax.

Most auctioneers will state if an item is a known repro. No auctioneer is knowledgable enough to know everything that has been repopped. Most take the sellers word that the items they are selling are originals. This is why you have to be careful. I saw a couple of fantasy items in the auction listing. Other than the repro globes, I didn't see any mention of repro/fantasy items in the listing. The auctioneer probably doesn't know these items are fake. Or maybe he does and he'll announce them for what they are at the sale.

From the collections I have seen ,if a guy has some repop globes, he is likely to have some repop signs too. No problem with that at all. Just another reason for the auction buyer to be careful.

If you don't mind the buyers penalty, go to the auction. Remember to look at the whole picture price wise though. Also remember that you can't depend on the auctioneer to tell you if someting is original or not. He probably doesn't know! Be careful out there!

[This message has been edited by Lastgas15 (edited 09-12-2003).]

Very well said Lastgas15. The B.P. S***S. When I look at my statement at the end of an auction and see the B.P., I feel cheated. A lot of $$$ have gone the auction companies way. What has gone our way? Catalogs used to be free and now we have to buy them. Part of the problem is the lack of competition between auction companies, plus, we accept standard service and call it great. O'well, what's next. Rex

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Why would you not know what you are going to pay after an auction, all Buyer's Fees are listed on the auction bill including if there is state tax charged, I guess the shock must come from not paying attention to what you paid.

Catalogs, brochures, ads in popular magazines all costs money and alot of it. Where else can a guy go and find that much good stuff all for sale. If you go to your local farm or estate auction, with no buyers fee, you usually find one or two pieces of gas related items and you spend all day waiting for it to sell. Dont get me wrong I dont like to pay any extra for anything either, and I generally dont because I calculate tax and buyers fees into what I want to pay. The important thing to remember is that most of us go to these auctions because we enjoy collecting. As far as feeling cheated, the only reason you should feel cheated would be if you didnt do you research before the auction and that would not be the auction companies fault. All fees at these auctions are clearly printed and everyone who reads the auction bill knows about them before they bid.

Bottom line is that I posted this auction to inform some of you that want to buy some good pieces about this auction and not to induce a bunch of whinning.