Wow, auction prices!

[Matt8v]

Morning all,

I've just watched an auction selling sov's for £400 each. Not much to note there as that's the normal price...but there is 38.4% fees to add on! £553.60 for each sovereign!!!

[harrygill111]

Bonkers

 

[Mobius]

...and the seller only gets 300 quid!

[Pete]

Which auction and where was it held ?
So the winner pays a huge fee and the seller loses a chunk of change as well.
Trotters Independent Traders comes to mind.

[Upsidedown]

The universe, life itself and auctions.

The trinity of unknown phenomena, many scientists and philosophers alike have tried to explain these mysteries, but all have thus far failed.

[bluffer]

20 minutes ago, Upsidedown5318008 said:

The universe, life itself, women and auctions.

The quartet of unknown phenomena, many scientists and philosophers alike have tried to explain these mysteries, but all have thus far failed.

fixed that for you

[Matt8v]

2 hours ago, Pete said:

Which auction and where was it held ?
So the winner pays a huge fee and the seller loses a chunk of change as well.
Trotters Independent Traders comes to mind.

Hanson's Auctioneers in Derbyshire. 

[scotwasp]

I have almost totally stopped buying at auctions, you really struggle to get a bargain in any sector, not just gold and silver, whiskey and wine is mental and as for property gee whizz, it’s bonkers. 

[Matt8v]

8 minutes ago, scotwasp said:

I have almost totally stopped buying at auctions, you really struggle to get a bargain in any sector, not just gold and silver, whiskey and wine is mental and as for property gee whizz, it’s bonkers. 

Sounds like auctions are the last place to achieve best profits, rather than being able to pick up a bargain. Things have turned all upside down now.

[Petra]

Someone is happy to pay, go online and see, the auctions are full, every type of coin you desire. Trouble is… fees plus postage etc. been this way for some time. 
Doesn’t seem to stop the sales. God knows what some people think is a reasonable price for something like a sovereign?

[scotwasp]

Recent scottish auctions have seen very heavy buying of gold sovereigns from China,  I know the auctioneer and he said it had been a very strong trend.  I don’t know why but they are shipping them overseas. 

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, scotwasp said:

Recent scottish auctions have seen very heavy buying of gold sovereigns from China,  I know the auctioneer and he said it had been a very strong trend.  I don’t know why but they are shipping them overseas. 

Because people prefer solid money to social credit?

[scotwasp]

1 minute ago, SeverinDigsSovereigns said:

Because people prefer solid money to social credit?

Probably, also a chap who works with me is married to a Chinese girl, her family are frantically trying to get rid of the physical dollars they own, they literally gave them to his wife to change into anything the last time she visited a couple of months ago. 

[Guest]

1 minute ago, scotwasp said:

Probably, also a chap who works with me is married to a Chinese girl, her family are frantically trying to get rid of the physical dollars they own, they literally gave them to his wife to change into anything the last time she visited a couple of months ago. 

If they have the dollar they're doing better than most of their fellow countrymen. If FED was the original money printing gangster China is the top student in the class.

Still, gold is better than any paper money until the Worldwide Mad Deadly Communist Gangster Computer God decided to end exchange of gold simultaneously across the globe, a sneak move under the disguise of inclusivity and globalisation. 

In the case of a great war, which is unlikely but not impossible, gold is the go-to option unless war is followed by complete anarchy, another unlikely scenario. Sovereigns being some of the best options due to their global recognition thanks to the British Empire.

[refero]

Auction fever. Something very common and potentially very dangerous. Participating to an auction is like go to a casino. You should set your mind/wallet BEFORE and not change your initial plan, never ever!! 

i mean fees can be 5% 10% 18% 25%; if you are able to control yourself, the final price you are ready to pay for a specific lot shouldnt change, is just a matter of adjusting bids to the fees. 

that's the theory, i know. 

[Petra]

Worst thing at an auction is a collector! A dealer etc. obviously knows a limit that will enable them to sell on at a decent mark up. Unfortunately, if you have a collector bidding against you, then the sky could be the limit … need it to fill the collection, not needing to sell on…. 

[refero]

still, even a collector should behave with some limits. Collecting means studying too not just buying whatever at whatever price. If a (just inventing) AU58 1843 sov fetches (just inventing) 1000 gbp, what's the point in just bidding to get it even at 1500? or 1800?

to me is finding a good au58 (maybe not in slab) and paying what is worth. And what the auction house asks as fee it really doesnt matter on final price i m ready to pay

[Guest]

49 minutes ago, refero said:

still, even a collector should behave with some limits. Collecting means studying too not just buying whatever at whatever price. If a (just inventing) AU58 1843 sov fetches (just inventing) 1000 gbp, what's the point in just bidding to get it even at 1500? or 1800?

to me is finding a good au58 (maybe not in slab) and paying what is worth. And what the auction house asks as fee it really doesnt matter on final price i m ready to pay

Depends on what coins you're looking at. If it's a 1933 double Eagle or a 1953 pattern £5 then a couple millions would be a bargain.

[Bigmarc]

What sort of personal information do you need to hand over when bidding, and can you pay with cash? 

 

[scotwasp]

A lot and very difficult. 
I don’t know if that’s the case everywhere, but in scotland it is becoming very difficult to buy anything from an auction without having an mi5 interrogation.

of course there is simple ways round it if you want to go outside the norm and that doesn’t involve breaking any laws by the way.   I know that sound like a contradiction but ,,,, 🤷‍♀️ 

[dicker]

5 hours ago, Bigmarc said:

What sort of personal information do you need to hand over when bidding, and can you pay with cash? 

 

Depends on the auction type. 
 

Local auction - name and address only

International auction where lots are in the many millions - name and address but also proof of funds my be required if they don’t know you.  There are other things that come into play which might mean more checks - nationality, tax status, if you are an entity rather than an individuals etc etc 

[AppleZippoandMetronome]

I think with auctions people just get themselves caught out not being fully aware of the fees when bidding focusing solely on the hammer price. You see complaints all the time here on the forum about shipping costs associated with auction wins so you have to imagine if folks get caught out and surprised with shipping costs its likely the fees or the extent of the fees come as a surprise too and aren't factored into the winning bid.

Personally I've rarely found auctions to provide many good deals when it comes to things like coins or other items that are highly sought after. There are certainly exceptions to this - the early coin cabinet auctions come to mind as having been full of bargains and no fees back then - but by and large once shipping and fees are calculated it rarely makes sense to keep bidding.

[Jimmock]

I regularly bid in auctions,but never bid live,always just leave an absentee bid for maximum I'm happy to pay,with fees factored in. I maybe only win 1 in 20,but I'm happy with that. 😁

[refero]

Covid definitely ruined the market, best was is and will always be checking coins in hand and buying off seller directly

[FriedrichVonHayek]

Used get loads of bargains at auctions years ago but nowadays between Internet bidding and a bemused old codger in the auction room who seems to be unaware that you buy Sovereigns £30 cheaper from a Bullion dealer has put an end to the good deals.

Although I have noticed the last couple of coin auctions I've bid in the prices have been comparable with online Bullion dealers.