Live Auctions Are Back on eBay

by: Massachusets Howler

Yawn.
A few of ebays "preferred" buyers and any company with any sense is going to run for the hills.
MH
Note that Sothebys is in BIG trouble all on their own (perhaps Sothebys should also consider a "split"- LOL.

by: Philip Cohen

"Live Auctions Are Back on eBay"

To funny—ho, ho, ho ...

Actually, Invaluable is a great idea; it promotes traditional auctions live, online, and now poor old desperate eBay is going to try riding on the back of Invaluable’s online service; can eBay do nothing original themselves? Apparently not …

eBay may well be desperate enough to try to hook onto Invaluable, but I can assure you Invaluable does not need eBay and they needs to get involved with eBay like they needs a hole in the head—unless eBay is offering Invaluable lots of money to buy them out; and then you can presume eBay will spoil that platform also …

Still, can't you just picture all those desperate headless turkeys in the eBay executive suite, running around in ever decreasing circles, at ever increasing speed, until ...

The funny part about it is that they have been running around in the same circular track for the past seven years, and still they’ve leant nothing …

The eBay executive suite—where the incompetent mingle with the disingenuous, the malevolent and the outright criminal, and the just plain stupid ... http://bit.ly/11F2eas

by: AgendaSwallowsAll

I don't know, I'm so spun over these past few years of being pelted with simple of mind agenda based ignorance all I can do is ramble on the topic.

JD & Co. has spent these past 6 plus years creating a mindset in the buying public that they are to be held responsible for nothing. Now the Auction winner is to pay FVF or ''Buyer's Premium'' in Auction terms, I say good luck after the attempted Brain-Wash.

JD & Co's Mantra over these years has been ''Industry Standard'', Get this if you will JD & Co., ''Buyer's Premium'' has always been ''Industry Standard''.

I don't know, maybe it's just me but I look at Ina's displayed example with a ''Seller's Estimate'' of $1,000-$1,500, a starting bid of $750 and Buyer's Premium of up to 30 percent so even if this given item only were to get opening bid they're paying near a Grand. If Seller's Estimate means appraised value then near a Grand would be no deal at all for in this day & age of our economy only a fraction of all artist's works are worth any more than 1/3rd appraised value.

Closing out this ramble-rant, we just went the weekend w/o a single sale with the type of product that in past years would have done $1k per day give or take and we are the only ones currently offering some of it.

All seem to feel it's due to blackouts but we've had associates and friends from different parts of the U.S. run generic searches in our categories and to our surprise given the lack of sales, they have found a number of our listings in about the same order and on the same pages we see them to be on from here so I'm left to assume JD & Co. has either chased the buying public to a large degree or the security breach has had a far reaching effect far past that which most if not all have guessed so with this said, my thought is where are the Live Auction buyers going to come from?

It could also be that JD & Co. small to mid-level sellers, the type that made ebay what it was did the bulk of all non-large ticket buying on the site and without sales they no longer have the disposable income. Trinkets, Computers and internet-wireless associated product, Automotive and Big Ticket is about all that sells any longer but I stop to think about it and this is exactly the direction JD & Co. pointed all, I say bad move JD & Co.

Our sales are about 1/5th give or take what they were in 2007 and prior, less than 1/2 of what they were this time last year.

End of ramble other than to remind AgendaSwallowsAll

by: Ebay's Slow Death

Hmmmmm-

I just looked at the ''live auctions'' link, and the ''Collectibles'' being offered in one of the auctions.

I swear most of that stuff, the ducks, cast iron bookends, and primitive utensils, look like the stuff that has come out of the Philippines for years. Those types of things use to show up at live, so-called collectibles, auctions a lot.

But, what do I know? My husband and I have had an antiques and collectibles store for about 28 years, and we use to buy that stuff. We were always honest about it being decorator items and not old.

Actually, the page I was looking at didn't say anything about the things being old, just ''collectible''. The Ross department store sells many vintage appearing items, and they do a good job with them. But, this live auction sale appears to be implying oldness.

I too wonder where their Buyers will be coming from. They seem to be pretty rare these days on Ebay!  

by: Rexford

Agendaswallowsall, didn't you mean "Bainwash"?

by: LDS Brother

NOTHING is going to help now, John Donahoe destroyed eBay while personally enriching his own bank account

Forget it people, ebay has been destroyed ! Buyers hate sellers, sellers hate buyers !

The Chinese continue to list their counterfeit items and do well

Don't care now if Devin Wenig gets rid of Cassini, restores time ending soonest, featured first, and 2 way feedback eBay is HISTORY ! And believe me these 4 things should of never been taken away in the first place

Johnny Ho ruined it and milked it and the sellers for all they were worth for his own coffers

Live Auctions are not going to save eBay, or help it regrow eBay is DONE ! Thanks to John Donahoe's reign of terror and greed !

by: ignatz

So if you pay with PayPal, will you get 180 days to return something to Sotheby's?

DON'T BET ON IT!!!!

by: Basset

Too bad some of the rural or farm auction companies aren't running the live auctions!


The midwest auctioneers I grew up around do not tolerate buyers remorse, cluelessness, mind-changing,  or even the faint of heart. I've seen auctioneers come down on  clueless buyers like a ton of bricks before everyone in the arena.

Then (before I'd ever heard of Gordon Ramsey) the auctioneer would say: ''Get the HE11 out!'' and then a  ''Don't let me see you at one of my auctions AGAIN!''.

Sothebys must be downright boring in comparison.  

It would be interesting to watch! eBay could probably charge admission! Get some income flowing in. Pay down that debt 'n all.  

by: Leesantiques

I wonder if this means that GoAntiques and their fake "live" auctions (which weren't live at all) is coming back.

I sure hope not!  Talk about fraud on Ebay!!

Lee

by: PattyR

Never used live auctions on the internet. A Delaware County Auctioneer I know did not like buyers that wanted their money back and I do not like Auctions that you pay a buyers premium.

by: comet

@PATTYR--

Yes exactly!  I grew up in a real actual LIVE auction house (Yonderhill in Alpine NY) and I have NEVER liked the whiners--there are a few sayings::

Don't bid more than you can afford to lose

Don't buy anything you have not personally inspected

There are no friends at auctions

You bid--you bought

I have just ONCE seen an auctioneer actually "forgive"  a bid--on a beautiful and truely antique set of unique tables and chairs--the table made into two seperate and stand alone tables that could seat something like 24 people altogether. From the Pre-Civil War period.   This was at a "Rural"  tent auction but the auctioneer has a vast following and an excellent reputation.  The bidding was pretty brisk and several of us "regulars"  noticed some one we had not seen before bidding heavily.  I am not sure if the bidder did not realize that the item had started high--the later claim was that they THOUGHT the bidding was in HUNDREDS but alas--it was in THOUSANDS.  

The hammer came down at $12,000---and a few minutes later there was a commotion at the front pay desk--the buyer had about keeled over when they went to pay and saw this amount.  NO premium on this one either!

I won't say the auctioneer "Gave it to them"  because he is about the nicest guy around but-he let them know in a nice way that this was a ONE TIME ONLY "pass".  And made a plea to the crowd to ASK what the bid was BEFORE bidding if they weren't absolutley positively SURE on that.

He had the item put up again and it brought a slightly higer bid--which was a NICE bid after all---to an actual reliable known buyer.  

But--if this had been say a $120 table?  I really do not think things would have ended the same way.  

I have also seen people buy a "box lot"  and pick out what they want and then do a little auction of their very own with the REST of the stuff--or at a charity function pass the box back up to be re-sold.  Heck---I've done it myself! Sometimes I have made back more than I have spent this way.

But in larger houses--Sothebys;  Christies; and the like--this does NOT go over big.  And FEW items get "returned"  and if they DO it is generally because for one reason or another they were mis-attributed or had hidden damage that would not have been discovered pre-sale.  And some Houses have preferred clients who bid and take home and are allowed a "grace period"  to see if they love the item--BUT these are (as far as I kow)  few and they have an arrangement TO do this---not just some random guy on the other end of the Internet. They also pay for the chance to do this.

And as sopmeone up-post mentioned--I can't see Sothebys etc "Honoring"  that 180 DAY rental period EITHER.  

As to appraisals--there are way too many fingers in that pie.  And it depends on WHO is doing the appraisel--and WHY.  An "Insurance appraisal"  will be very different than a "Pre-sale"  estimate. Is it the OWNER who is declaring "value"?  Past market history?

We have not seen the vast prices paid for artists like Van Gogh etc recently--even the Japanese have no money to be spending in PUBLIC on this stuff.  Privately?  Who knows and I would bet some of the Saudis are buying and stashing. It is a shame when this happens as the art is removed from the public--sometimes for decades---and locked away.

Oh--are they going to waft the art thru one of these Museums to take the "Tax Sting"  off?  If you send your newly purchased item to a museum BEFORE you accept delivery--the TAX VANISHES. Some smaller museums have been able to display items well beyond their pay grade this way.  Well known loop-hole in tax law.

I LOVE auctions---however ebay has given them a BAD NAME.  How they can RUIN something that has been successful for hundreds of years---mind blowing.  

by: iheartjacksparrow

"Shop with confidence. Live auction items are covered by the eBay Money Back Guarantee."

I hope all these auction houses have been versed in the culture of buyers that eBay has spawned. And I checked out several of the auctions, and they all say the seller does not accept returns, so is eBay going to warehouse all these items that scamming buyers send back? All the listings also state to see the sellers' payment instructions for how to pay, but there aren't any. Also conspicuously absent is the PayPal logo. I wonder if these live auctions have anything to do with PayPal splitting off.    

by: Anonymous Annie

----- ''Forget it people, ebay has been destroyed ! Buyers hate sellers, sellers hate buyers!''

Indeed, this is correct.

It is much easier to DESTROY trust/credibility/loyalty than it is to BUILD those things.

Worse yet... it's much more difficult to RESTORE trust/credibility/loyalty after it's been DESTROYED.

It's doubtful that eBay will go the way of Enron. I think comparing it to AOL is more apt. eBay will likely continue to exist. But only as a mere shadow of its previous greatness... just like AOL. (Or maybe it will be absorbed into another company... like MCI.)

Oh sure, the die-hard sellers and a lucky few will manage to prosper (or scratch-out a sustenance living) at eBay.

I do believe that there's room for eBay to improve and try to heal its self-inflected wounds... however things like this are just window-dressing. It's not a serious attempt to change or restore the company... it's just a temporary facade that will not last. Most people are smart enough to be able to see through such gimmicks and won't be fooled.

We've seen it all before. The ''game-changer'' ideas that eBay gets so hyped-up about... only to abandon them a few months later.

I think that the damage to eBay is so extensive, that nothing can ever bring it back.

by: shabbychick

It sounds like Southebys is taking a typical 15% premium and Ebay is just riding along to tack an additional 15% premium.

I recently went to a large ''important'' auction here in NC and when I won an item, was surprised to find there was only a 10% premium added on for the auction house.  They explained that the extra 5% was for online bidding. So on very high dollar items it would almost pay to fly to the auction and bid in person rather than pay a 30% premium!

Also, when bidding online folks know there can be a lot of snafus if its something one is really intent on purchasing.  I lost a beautiful little shed that I bid $10,000 on to a buyer in the audience that bid 8000.00. (it was actually a ''tiny house''.) Whoops, it was just a snafu with the auctioneer and folks on the phone and internet.  I was hopping mad and wished I had stayed at the auction and bid!  

by: The End

These auction houses charge a FORTUNE for packing and shipping. I don't believe they can compete with Ebay auctions at all.

by: Puamelia

IME, 99% of live auctions charge a bidder's premium. Even at small auction houses I've seen as much as 18% years ago. More like 20% these days. I have to say, though, that even the small auctions I go to are in expensive areas. The farm auctions aren't as bad.

by: nsc

Yet another about-face to reverse an imbecilic Donahoe decision. Ah, schadenfreude.

Does anybody else remember that Live Auctions on eBay was the market leader when Donahoe killed it at the end of 2008 because eBay wasn't going to be 'just about auctions' anymore?

Liveauctioneers and Invaluable couldn't exist at all if Donahoe hadn't given away the business. Now he thinks he can waltz back in to reclaim what he threw away? I doubt it. I don't think he understands this market.

For example, Skinners Auctions recently left Liveauctioneers, after a number of years on it, to rely on their own website and their new Bidsquare consortium. Their reasons for leaving were the added costs and the number of problem bidders (=deadbeats) acquired via Liveauctioneers. Does anybody think these problems won't be doubled on eBay, with its culture of ''we deserve high fees'' & ''buyers can do no wrong''?

But looking on the bright side, the presence of high-end auctions on eBay (however temporary) should be a mild positive for antiques sellers. It provides a price umbrella.

by: nsc

Sotheby's buyer's premium is current 25%. Their seller's premium is about 10%, though they may waive the seller's premium if they really want the lot.

Skinners buyer's premium is currently 23%.

by: AgendaSwallowsAll

@Rexford

Way back when as the JD & Co. application of thought just began to unfold, I at first began jokingly but not so jokingly telling CSR's they sounded as though they belonged to a cult that went far past this once I began to realize there was no joke and in fact they had been Brainwashed or as you state, Bainwashed.

I'm unsure as to whether the term Brainwashed or Bainwashed would be applicable in relation to what buyers have been conditioned to but I did get a laugh out of ''Bainwashed'', thanks for that laugh.  

by: shabbychick

I signed up for the perfume auction just to ''sit back with some popcorn and watch the show'' as some of you have suggested.