W & H Peacock Auctioneers, Bedford England 7th March

[JerryVan]

Well the auctioneers have really helpfully decided to join the ranks of all the other deadbeat auctioneers by choosing not to publish the results of the auction, like somehow the hammer price was part of the Official Secrets Act!

I can only conclude they do this out of shame. If not, they should do.

But did anyone follow it live and make any notes?

It seems that many auction houses want you to subscribe to some stupid app/service/gizmo where all the details will be revealed to those who are worthy. Let them keep their precious secrets... life goes on.

Anyone is worthy if they are prepared to pay! It’s all about money.

Jerry, out of interest, the hammer price is around $335 USD. Do you think it would have done better in the States?

Jamie,

Even though auction prices remain somewhat depressed in the US, I would expect it would have done much better over here.

[Raphael]

Like most auction houses these days, their on-line bidder's premium is outrageous. 22.5% in this case. Most auction houses charge the consignor an equal amount. And forget about shipping, except for small items, they can't be bothered, despite their obnoxious fees. Now, I know we have beaten a dead horse about the evils of eBay, but their buyer's premium is 0%. This week I sold an item and my eBay seller fees amounted to 5.25% on a sale of $9750. Plus, their discounted shipping rates provide substantial savings on domestic U.S. shipping.

I still have a litany of issues with eBay, but the emergence of high-fee "auction houses" on line who are simply gouging the public is tempering my grievances with eBay.

Raphael

[Steve]

It seems that many auction houses want you to subscribe to some stupid app/service/gizmo where all the details will be revealed to those who are worthy. Let them keep their precious secrets... life goes on.

Anyone is worthy if they are prepared to pay! It’s all about money.

Jerry, out of interest, the hammer price is around $335 USD. Do you think it would have done better in the States?

Jamie,

Even though auction prices remain somewhat depressed in the US, I would expect it would have done much better over here.

Me too. I can see than making 2 to 3 times the UK price in the States, easily on a bad day.

[jamiegramo]

Steve, I share your irritation in this respect.

The Automatique sold for £260 hammer price, of course you have to add on the buyer’s premium.

Thanks for that, Jamie. I hope finding out such secret and revelatory information hasn't cost you too dearly!

Can you shine a light on anything else in this sale?

The Automatique wasn't the best but it was an absolute steal at that price. Where are the real buyers these days?

There was no official channel to glean the information without being arrested so I greased a few palms with some photocopied (Xeroxed) banknotes.

I only know the results of this lot and the Pathé type machine. It does seem incredibly cheap when I think what HH used to pay for them. Surely the horn was worth nearly this?

[Steve]

Like most auction houses these days, their on-line bidder's premium is outrageous. 22.5% in this case. Most auction houses charge the consignor an equal amount. And forget about shipping, except for small items, they can't be bothered, despite their obnoxious fees. Now, I know we have beaten a dead horse about the evils of eBay, but their buyer's premium is 0%. This week I sold an item and my eBay seller fees amounted to 5.25% on a sale of $9750. Plus, their discounted shipping rates provide substantial savings on domestic U.S. shipping.

I still have a litany of issues with eBay, but the emergence of high-fee "auction houses" on line who are simply gouging the public is tempering my grievances with eBay.

Raphael

22.5%? That's comparatively cheap these days. Over here most auction rooms charge around 25-30% to buyers with a further 5-6% on top for the privilege of online bidding.

[Steve]

Steve, I share your irritation in this respect.

The Automatique sold for £260 hammer price, of course you have to add on the buyer’s premium.

Thanks for that, Jamie. I hope finding out such secret and revelatory information hasn't cost you too dearly!

Can you shine a light on anything else in this sale?

The Automatique wasn't the best but it was an absolute steal at that price. Where are the real buyers these days?

There was no official channel to glean the information without being arrested so I greased a few palms with some photocopied (Xeroxed) banknotes.

I only know the results of this lot and the Pathé type machine. It does seem incredibly cheap when I think what HH used to pay for them. Surely the horn was worth nearly this?

Well done for your dirty work!

The Automatique I bought was originally listed on French Ebay and sold for 900 Euros (I discovered in retrospect sometime after buying it) to a dealer who got the horn polished and sold it to Howard (after bringing it across the Channel). Needless to say I had to pay considerably more from Howard, which was fair enough as he took a 511 in p/ex and to this day I've never seen another one quite as nice. This was also 2008 so prices were much higher then......apparently anyway, but only when I'm selling it seems and rarely when I'm buying!

[epigramophone]

Now, I know we have beaten a dead horse about the evils of eBay, but their buyer's premium is 0%.
Raphael

Not any more. UK eBay has recently introduced a "Buyer Protection Fee", Buyers Premium by any other name, on purchases from private sellers. The amount is included in the price shown in the listing and in any bids or offers. The fee is approximately 4% of the price up to GBP£300, and 2% on the remainder from GBP£300 up to a maximum of GBP£4000.

Buyer Protection is included at no cost when purchasing from business sellers.

[Raphael]

Interesting. I wasn't aware of that. Still a far cry from the 30% a lot of "auctioneers" here are charging on either end.

I say "auctioneers" facetiously because many of them now are one-man operations with grandiose names. They sit on their computer during the on-line auctions and tap-tap the competing bids up past the reserve price.

Also, if eBay has a buyer’s premium in the U.K., maybe they will introduce one here in the U.S. - How wonderful!

Raphael