Consignment Experiences with Auction Houses

[bucksdrummer]

Sorry if this is the wrong section but needed a place to tell my story so far. I'm wondering for those with consigning experience how they have felt most processes have gone. I've purchased from many of the auction houses before but have never consigned anything until now.

My friend and I have two Kobe items we are selling, but I have found this process to be extremely frustrating. One item is an autographed Panini Gold Standard card (jersey numbered serial # too) and the other is a Panini Authentic 8x10 signed photo serial numbered to 24. I had been keeping track of prices for the last few years and we decided it was time to look at selling.

I contacted a site to inquire about the process and detailed the items with photos. Got a quick reply asking a question about the photo's COA (which is obviously authenticated via Panini Authentic), replied, and waited 4 days until I reached back out to check in. I received another immediate reply simply stating there was a value floor of $2.5k for items and they couldn't find a comparable value. With using my simple saved ebay searches I replied with multiple screen shots of the exact same card set showing sale prices of $3.5k+ and photos were around the same. I also inquired about possibly grading the card prior to auction at that time. They simply replied that yes, they can help with grading and recommended BGS. Gave no information about consignment or next steps until I sent a follow up asking for that again. After sending more detailed photos of the card they approved the consignment, but never sent instructions until I followed up with them again a week later. They asked for basic info to start the e-sign forms and sent that, but left off the Panini photo under items to consign. I replied asking them to add that into the line items and they replied "which photo?"

That brings us to today, almost two weeks later from my initial reach out. I feel like I'm pulling teeth to get anything out of this person and they don't even seem to be putting any effort into knowing the items or researching their value. I've basically handed them all of the info and I'm still the one asking to be sent updates. Extremely frustrating and makes me question if I should just eat the ebay fees to sell there a lot easier.

As a buyer from them, it's always been easy and no hassle, but this has left me with a sour taste so far. I also realize this doesn't necessarily speak for the auction house itself but rather that specific employee. Anyone with similar experiences??

[Tilter]

Have you also considered ebay consigners? There are a couple big card consigners that won't require grading like PWCC, Probstein, Dc87sports etc. They take a commission on the final value. The higher the closing value, the lower the commission. High value items like this get listed quickly, especially when you want to have the item sold during the NBA Playoffs to coincide with the typical peak of the card marketplace (cools off in the offseason and winter). I don't have experience with any, but you'll find reviews on other major card forums.