MEARS opens up auction house

[kingjammy24]

http://www.mearsonline.com/news/newsDetail.asp?id=565

rudy.

[lund6771]

I wonder what REA will do now?

Lampson?

[trsent]

I wonder what REA will do now?

Lampson?

Why would MEARS drop REA? Why would REA drop MEARS? I assume they work well together.

[mvandor]

Can't be good for GUU, seems two noob auction houses competing for the same more educated and discerning share of the market is likely to make it difficult on both - while the established hacks just keep on truckin'.

[harpt]

while the established hacks just keep on truckin'.

Hopefully the FBI will be having something more to say about that relatively soon.

[lund6771]

Why would MEARS drop REA? Why would REA drop MEARS? I assume they work well together.


because they are competitors now

[trsent]

because they are competitors now

Maybe you should direct your question to Dave Grob or Rob Lifston.

I would guess they will contine to work together. From what I can tell, MEARS Auctions will have a lot more vintage memorabilia than most auction houses.

[kingjammy24]

lund, i've spoken to lifson. he sees no issues or even competition. without putting words into anyones mouth, i believe REA and MEARS will continue their current relationship. MEARS has stated that the auction house entity will be "separate" from their authentication arm.

should be interesting to see how it all pans out, especially given the current economic climate which will only continue to deteriorate throughout 2009. more houses competing for fewer collecting dollars would seem to mean reduced profits all around.

seems the only way to make some coin in this industry anymore is to go the auction house route. even steiner runs its own auctions. i'm not under the impression that anyone's even really a pure auction house anymore, except for REA and maybe GUF. eventually, everyone will be a dealer/auction house/authenticator, like MEARS, GFC, Mastro. authenticating isn't really a cashcow unless you do it "lampson style".

rudy.

[trsent]

lund, i've spoken to lifson. he sees no issues or even competition. without putting words into anyones mouth, i believe REA and MEARS will continue their current relationship. MEARS has stated that the auction house entity will be "separate" from their authentication arm.

should be interesting to see how it all pans out, especially given the current economic climate which will only continue to deteriorate throughout 2009. more houses competing for fewer collecting dollars would seem to mean reduced profits all around.

seems the only way to make some coin in this industry anymore is to go the auction house route. even steiner runs its own auctions. i'm not under the impression that anyone's even really a pure auction house anymore, except for REA and maybe GUF. eventually, everyone will be a dealer/auction house/authenticator, like MEARS, GFC, Mastro. authenticating isn't really a cashcow unless you do it "lampson style".

rudy.

Rudy, are REA and GUU Auctions purley auction houses?

Does the staff of either auction house every buy items to list in their auctions?

Just curious - I would have no issues if either did.

[David]

Literally speaking, you're an auction house if you auction. Nowhere in the definition of auction does it give rules about ownership. If you own all lots in an auction, it's an auction. If you don't, it's an auction.

[kingjammy24]

joel: personally, i don't know. i assume if lifson or cavalier consigned into their own auctions, it would be fully disclosed. however, i have no knowledge of either of them engaging in the practice either way.

david: i never said "auction house". i said "pure auction house" as in pure play. if one offers dealer and/or authentication services in addition to auctions then by definition they aren't pure play. i'm sure you know what i meant. i simply made the comment that really there are no pure play auction houses.

here's a funny blurb from mastro's current site:
"We are not dealers. Mastro Auctions is a consignment auction house. Many auctions are run by dealers offering material they own. And in addition to offering an infinitely inferior service, these auctions expose consignors to numerous unreconcilable conflicts of interest."

and yet in their last auction mastro publically identified numerous consigned lots owned by staff members. how then are they not a dealer? are they not "offering material they own"?

it's clear they'd been doing it the entire time, contradictory to their publically stated official policies, and only relatively recently, in the dawn of "doug allen's new world", did they actually start disclosing it.

of course, all of it could be avoided, yet again, simply by consigning ones goods into another auction house. but seriously, there isn't a topic in the world that, at this point, i feel less like discussing.

good luck to mears in their new endeavor. hopefully their first auction will have bucketloads of fine 1989-1993 blue jays gamers and i'll be able to stock up.

rudy.

[trsent]

joel: personally, i don't know. i assume if lifson or cavalier consigned into their own auctions, it would be fully disclosed. however, i have no knowledge of either of them engaging in the practice either way.

david: i never said "auction house". i said "pure auction house" as in pure play. if one offers dealer and/or authentication services in addition to auctions then by definition they aren't pure play. i'm sure you know what i meant. i simply made the comment that really there are no pure play auction houses.

here's a funny blurb from mastro's current site:
"We are not dealers. Mastro Auctions is a consignment auction house. Many auctions are run by dealers offering material they own. And in addition to offering an infinitely inferior service, these auctions expose consignors to numerous unreconcilable conflicts of interest."

and yet in their last auction mastro publically identified numerous consigned lots owned by staff members. how then are they not a dealer? are they not "offering material they own"?

it's clear they'd been doing it the entire time, contradictory to their publically stated official policies, and only relatively recently, in the dawn of "doug allen's new world", did they actually start disclosing it.

of course, all of it could be avoided, yet again, simply by consigning ones goods into another auction house. but seriously, there isn't a topic in the world that, at this point, i feel less like discussing.

good luck to mears in their new endeavor. hopefully their first auction will have bucketloads of fine 1989-1993 blue jays gamers and i'll be able to stock up.

rudy.

Rudy, I believe most all auction houses and/or their staff own a lot in their auctions from time to time. Some much more than others, but I do not know why it would have to be disclosed if they choose not to.

I know our issues have been with owners-authenticators who do not (as far as I am concered) disclose such information to the buying public.

In all situations, I do not believe anyone has to disclose such.

[David]

Rudy, my recommendation is you never bid in an auction or use an authentication service, because none will ever match your standards for them.

[David]

I should add that every major auction house I have knowledge of, including REA, has had owner or employee owned lots in their auctions. So if you're offended by an auction house doing this, you are offended by every auction house I have knowledge of.

I know of an executive at one a known and respected sports auction houses who stated the auction house wouldn't make a profit if they relied only on consignments. Including their own lots was required for a viable business.

[kingjammy24]

Rudy, my recommendation is you never bid in an auction or use an authentication service, because none will ever match your standards for them.

the entire course of human history has been one of constant evolution and progress. i can only imagine all of the trouble the human race could've saved itself had your logic been applied early on. if you don't agree with something, don't try to improve it, just abandon it altogether.

don't like living a cave? live outside. don't like contracting dysentary every time you drink some water? don't drink water. don't like that it takes 4 months in a rickety wagon to get to the next principality? don't travel.

thanks david. where were you 1000 years ago before all of this progress took hold? to think i could instead be living in a mud hut, eating vermin, and sleeping inside a cow's carcass for warmth and telling anyone with an idea to improve my situation "hey, don't like sleeping in my cow-carcass? well don't suggest ways i can improve it because the only other option i can see is to not sleep at all".

i don't even know why eric stangel started this forum. after all, if he was sick and tired of folks getting ripped off buying memorabilia, then he just should've left the hobby.

rudy.

[David]

And what would Darwin have postulated about a tribe men who collected other mens' dirty shirts? :)