mrsillinois96
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posted on July 24, 2002 05:07:43 PM new
How do you sell a bronze that is worth $45,000 for top dollar at an auction? I have tried eBay for months now and NO LUCK? I am selling this for my uncle and I NEED SOME TIPS AND HELP! I am willing to PAY A REFERRAL FEE to anyone that helps me close a sale. Here are the photos.
I can't do the big auction houses because my uncle does not want to go that route. I wanted to list this using one on eBay P. Can I use another service and just pay a fee like I do with ebay where I can get my money for it right away?
Here is the URL for photos.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=893353951
I am also trying to sell this bone.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2121410101
SEND ME A BUYER THAT CLOSES THE SALE, I'LL PAY YOU A REFERRAL FEE.
[ edited by mrsillinois96 on Jul 24, 2002 05:09 PM ]
[ edited by mrsillinois96 on Jul 24, 2002 05:10 PM ]
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bidsbids
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posted on July 24, 2002 05:50:37 PM new
An item is only worth the amount of money that you can get for it at any given time. People may have paid $1,500 for a McGwire rookie but if the going price is only $150 then that card is only worth $150 no matter what was paid for the card.
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RichHillbilly
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posted on July 24, 2002 06:35:24 PM new
I would say that the current economy has affected all spending societies. My father bought a couple of Iranian Rugs for $10,000 & $15,000 last year. Now with the shaky economy and failing stock market he went to Walmart for his last rug at a cost of $99.00. I would personally hold the Bronze until the economy gets better, or your uncle could very well lose his @$$. JMHO!! Hillbilly
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barncards1
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posted on July 24, 2002 06:41:52 PM new
Man you guys are depresing even Me:{
Hey post it at TopNotchAuctions.com it is FREE till you spend your $300.00 I give you in TNA cash.
It may sell there one never knows.
JB:}
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bidsbids
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posted on July 24, 2002 07:29:13 PM new
eBay is an excellent barometer of the value of an item. If the final bid of the item comes out consistently in the $2,000 range then that's all you will currently get and that's its current value. Do what HillBilly said and keep it, it should go up in value rather than down.
Bob Parks may not be very well known as a sculpture because nothing on him comes up on him in Google search. ( other than your attempts to sell it )
Bronze statues do not seem to fetch that much.
http://www.tomcurtin.net/Products/prod_sculpture.htm
Back in the 1970's there was a lot of specualtion on items like yours but if the artist isn't very famous the works value is limited.
A couple of years ago an artist put a life-size bust of naturalist John Muir up for auction. Bronze, very limited edition, detailed, perfect likeness, etc. Could draw the start bid of $500 . Very sad.
[ edited by bidsbids on Jul 24, 2002 07:43 PM ]
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caffeitalia
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posted on July 24, 2002 09:12:24 PM new
I am guessing you had it listed over at the ebay and ran into a bunch of deadbeats. It has been my experience on items above the $1000.00 range, especially the auctions with reserves that those auctions tend to attrack the highest number of deadbeats. I think you maybe better off trying something like half.com. That way, you can simply get a buyer without the hassle of deadbeat bidders.
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mrsillinois96
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posted on July 25, 2002 04:27:21 AM new
I think also I am dealing with people who are afraid of spending that kind of money without any fraud protection. I wonder if it would be a good idea to offer an escrow service at my expense. I give a 2 day return policy on everything with NO REFUNDS ON SHIPPING.
Bob Parks like my uncle lives in the stone age. They just don't want to be bothered with learning about computers. WHERE TO THE MILLIONAIRES go and shop for items.
I also read that this particular bronze is in demand over in England. How do I market this bronze overseas?
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mrsillinois96
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posted on July 25, 2002 04:27:47 AM new
I think also I am dealing with people who are afraid of spending that kind of money without any fraud protection. I wonder if it would be a good idea to offer an escrow service at my expense. I give a 2 day return policy on everything with NO REFUNDS ON SHIPPING.
Bob Parks like my uncle lives in the stone age. They just don't want to be bothered with learning about computers. WHERE TO THE MILLIONAIRES go and shop for items.
I also read that this particular bronze is in demand over in England. How do I market this bronze overseas?
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mrsillinois96
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posted on July 25, 2002 04:27:51 AM new
I think also I am dealing with people who are afraid of spending that kind of money without any fraud protection. I wonder if it would be a good idea to offer an escrow service at my expense. I give a 2 day return policy on everything with NO REFUNDS ON SHIPPING.
Bob Parks like my uncle lives in the stone age. They just don't want to be bothered with learning about computers. WHERE TO THE MILLIONAIRES go and shop for items.
I also read that this particular bronze is in demand over in England. How do I market this bronze overseas?
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lovepotions
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posted on July 25, 2002 04:27:30 PM new
If you are asking for that much money why are you REQUIRING PAYMENT IN 5 DAYS OR I'LL REPORT YOU ON DAY 7?
NO EXCEPTIONS!!! appears more than once on the page.
That is a lot of money to simply send off in that short of a notice.
I personally would never accept billpoint or paypal for such a huge amount........those you can get screwed out on if the bidder is less than honest and pulls a chargeback or some other BS. I don't think Billpoint would even process a payment that large anyways......I thought the limit was in the 100's not 1,000's.....
In summary your add is not welcoming or inviting to bid. Even if I had that kind of money.
NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!! lol
http://www.lovepotions.com
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timetravelers
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posted on July 25, 2002 04:45:38 PM new
Hi you could contact some of the big auction houses there is one in san francisco BUTTERFIELD & BUTTERFIELD..it used to be Not sure if they still do this,you can mail them a photo & they will give you an idea of value..they will auction it for you for say 25% & that way you get the high rollers & they see it in person..you would have to get it to them though..(you need to call them & get the info on this i did this quite awhile ago)
Of course i would use an escrow (BE super CAREFUL THERE ARE ABOUT 4 NEW ONES THAT ARE FRAUD FRONTS FOR ROMANIAN SCAMMERS beleive iescrow.com is the only good one i have heard of SEE THE CHAT board at yahoo for the scam ones names)& offer to pay in this case,also the 2 day return policy is probably scaring a lot of people away,2 days is way too short,7 days would be better..or you could say..this is an auction sales final & take a little less..(i would advise this too much hassle to invite a return)
You could also take photos & go direct to antique shops & see if they are interested,interior decorators also..(remember they want a deal as they are reselling it)
Or put an ad in art or antique publications & deal direct..this could be the best betAsk around at art galleries you could get someone interested too.do you have documentation? an appraisal? these are very important too little auction sites probably will not get you enough views to get a good offer. JMHO good luck your ad needs to be inviting..there are also AUCTION ASSISTANTS AT EBAY..they will consign to sell it for you,could work they may have contacts to sell it..
[ edited by timetravelers on Jul 25, 2002 04:48 PM ]
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mrsillinois96
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posted on July 25, 2002 05:05:15 PM new
I can't afford to really wait more than a week to get payment from anyone. If someone bids on it they should have the money to pay for it.
I tried the auction houses. My uncle won't go that route. If I get an real auctioneer, I wonder if I could do eBay live?
I think it is not working because eBay only goes up to $500 for fraud protection.
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kodiheglin
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posted on July 25, 2002 05:07:41 PM new
"Only Hawaii, Alaska and like are excluded"
CHARMING darling, simply CHARMING
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timetravelers
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posted on July 25, 2002 05:59:49 PM new
Many times people asked me in the past to sell something for them,,they never ever get it,the fees,the problems..they think it's fun,easy & you get top dollar...well surprise..NOT
now i never do it, i would tell Uncle to email an ebay auction assistant look on the site map & see what they charge for all this work & aggravation..he will see the light really quick..
this probably will not be done the way he wants to go as he does not understand auctions,& this is probably the worst time of the year to try this.Hope he is giving you at least 25% of what he makes that is the going rate..
good luck,,i would give him this problem to deal with as people are never happy unless they get the imaginary amount they want for their item & then are mad at you for not getting it..if he had sold it 4 years ago on ebay he probably would have been dancing in the streets LOL good luck ps threatening to report them to ebay in an ad for this much money or any ad is not being a good salesperson, THE NO EXCEPTIONS! is not a help either JMHO i would not put that on a 10.00 item..wealthy people do not need to buy this at top dollar & would not put up with the NO EXCEPTIONS for a minute as i think you can see..if he wants the 45,000 he bought it for he is in for a huge surprise.Trying to help you by being honest here..
[ edited by timetravelers on Jul 25, 2002 06:07 PM ]
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bidsbids
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posted on July 25, 2002 08:03:19 PM new
The hardest part of trying to sell something for a friend or relative is sometimes having to tell them that their item isn't worth the bundles of money that they have always envisioned for years or even decades. Many well-meaning friends pepper them with words and phrases like "That is worth an absolute fortune and you'll always be able to easily sell it for a king's ransom". It's sorta of like an editor having to tell a hopeful writer that their first novel isn't really worth reading.
If there is a market for the item in England you'll have to pay a crating service and a lot in transportation fees. The isurance firm may demand the professional crating service.
I like the idea of sending the photos to major auction houses like Butterfield & Butterfield. They'll tell you the straight poop on the item and have the reference books handy to research the item thoroughly.
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timetravelers
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posted on July 27, 2002 03:41:38 AM new
exactly bids,& relatives don't want to be the bad guy telling the bad news..
another thought,,to get insurance for shipping they would probably require a written professional appraisal...& they can run a lot sometimes 10%..lottsa complications with this one..not sure how high billpoint etc goes as previously stated ..think of their commission too besides ebay & auctionwatch & whatever else getting a piece of the pie(think of trying to get all those fees back in case of a charge back yikes)could be cost effective to put it in the hands of the pros..again good luck
[ edited by timetravelers on Jul 27, 2002 03:43 AM ]
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bidsbids
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posted on July 28, 2002 01:17:46 AM new
I put his name ( Bob Parks ) in this site's search engine and got 1 hit & 1 image.
http://askart.com/
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Dejapooh
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posted on July 30, 2002 09:32:00 AM new
I would send the picture to sothaby's and Butterfield's and ask for an auction estimate (assuming the item is in good condition). Ebay is really wierd. More often then not, Items sell for a bit below their "Value." However, about 1 time in 100 an item will sell for several times it's value... you never know. I am curious about a few things. We all know that just because something cost $45000 in the 1970's does not mean it is worth anything today. My 2 questions are
1) Why do you think it is worth $45,000 now?
2) Why does your uncle not want to place the item with a major auction house? They are most accustomed to working with more expensive items, They have a list of paying customers for this kind of item, and they are most likely to get the highest price.
I deal with Olympic Items, and I found a few torches in eastern Europe. I sold them on Ebay for $1100 to $2000 and paid my 3% or whatever it was. I went to a major auction house for Sports stuff and placed 1 example of each year's torches I had up for sale. They sold for $2500 to $3500. Even though I had to pay 20%, it was well worth it.
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bidsbids
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posted on July 30, 2002 10:29:43 AM new
2) Why does your uncle not want to place the item with a major auction house? They are most accustomed to working with more expensive items, They have a list of paying customers for this kind of item, and they are most likely to get the highest price.
I'm curious about that too. I remember about 20 years ago that I got to know my elderly downstairs neighbor very well in an apartment complex that I lived in. One day we went and visited his son and he told the son to show me the "car". The son was hesitant but agreed to show mw the car after his father insisted that I was no threat to anyone. We all went to a very small garage that was all locked up and when the door was opened there set a very old ( 1920's? ) car in perfect condition. Very naively, I told him he should be proud of the vintage car and take it for a spin. The father informed me that the car was stolen about 20 years ago and they were waiting for it to cool off. If they were waiting for the previous owner to pass away it backfired as the son died of a heart attack a year later at age 47.
I'm not saying this item is stolen or anything but it is very odd that a major auction house would be avoided.
[ edited by bidsbids on Jul 30, 2002 07:21 PM ]
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mrsillinois96
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posted on July 30, 2002 02:06:29 PM new
QUESTION:
1) Why do you think it is worth $45,000 now?
Only 15 were made and it is a signed piece. His work can be found all over the US. Why Bob Parks never took advantage of the Net, I don't know.
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mrsillinois96
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posted on July 30, 2002 02:09:50 PM new
QUESTION
2) Why does your uncle not want to place the item with a major auction house? They are most accustomed to working with more expensive items, They have a list of paying customers for this kind of item, and they are most likely to get the highest price.
There was that big story in all the papers how some of these big auction houses were in some sort of scandle and suited. I don't know the full story but that is why he wants to stay clear of that.
I just found a great idea from a friend of mine. I'll write about it tomorrow.
[ edited by mrsillinois96 on Jul 30, 2002 02:10 PM ]
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clancey99
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posted on July 30, 2002 05:26:08 PM new
One of the things you have to watch out for with the major auction houses is the buyback fee- If your item does not sell there is a percentage of the asking price you are required to pay them-That can get expensive-
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clancey99
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posted on July 30, 2002 05:26:16 PM new
One of the things you have to watch out for with the major auction houses is the buyback fee- If your item does not sell there is a percentage of the asking price you are required to pay them-That can get expensive-
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bidsbids
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posted on July 30, 2002 07:25:27 PM new
Can't you use the auction house to get some pricing information or see if they are interested? They must get a lot of that but they must get many items for auction that way too.
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Dejapooh
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posted on August 1, 2002 09:54:17 AM new
The biggest scandles in the Auctions houses was the illegal importation of antiques from Egype and Italy. Not an issue here.
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mrsillinois96
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posted on August 1, 2002 11:30:37 AM new
Explain a bit more.
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