Sender: Rare book and manuscripts <EXLIBRIS-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU>
In European auctions, a buyer's premium [agio] is charged. In addition, in
France, a bookseller is the expert who decides on the spot whether a bid is
sufficient. The auctioneer is a government agent and the expert is an agent
of the court.
I fear, in respect of fees charged, that my heart does not bleed for people
who have books worth selling at auction. Their best solution is to have a
bookseller who sells on consignment. Gordon Ray when he bought a book always
entered it on his insurance policy at half what he paid for it, reckoning
that a bookseller's price was double "the pure value", if there be such a
thing.
Gabriel Austin
-----Original Message-----
From: Rare book and manuscripts [mailto:EXLIBRIS-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU] On
Behalf Of Everett Wilkie
Sent: Tuesday, August 21, 2007 11:51 AM
To: EXLIBRIS-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU
Subject: Re: [EXLIBRIS-L] NY Auction Bidding Legislation
>
> The problem (immorality) is that mere "disclosure" of a "buyer's premium"
> does not fully disclose to the consignor how this second fee will directly
> and sometimes profoundly reduce the monies that the consignor will receive
> from the sale.
I assume that by this same reasoning when Kevin buys a book from a private
party for, say, $500, he immediately tells that person that he intends to
sell it for $2,000. Bookseller markups, some of which are huge, also
"profoundly reduce the monies that the consignor will receive from the
sale." At least in the auction world, the selling price is obvious and
known to all, no matter how it was arrived at.
I don't know of any auction house that could stay in business without making
a profit, anymore than a bookseller could. If buyer's premiums are not
charged, that money is going to come out of the consignor's pocket. So, the
$1,000 auction sale, instead of producing, say, $800 for the consignor
because the buyer is paying part of the freight, would suddenly be reduced
to something like $500. Don't strike me as much of a bargain for anybody
except the buyer.
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