the dollars and cents of this industry

[kingjammy24]

i had a few thoughts regarding the money that flows through this industry and would appreciate anyone else's insights or comments.

auction house fees
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typically around 15% for buyers and another 15% for sellers?

1) why a percentage rather than a flat fee? if 1 jersey sells for $300 ($90 total auction house cut) and another for $3000 ($900 total cut), did the auction house somehow expend $810 more to acquire and sell that $3000 jersey than the $300 jersey?

2) what are these fees tied to? mears' authentication fees seem to be tied to the various levels of difficulty in authenticating an item. if it costs no more to acquire and sell a frank thomas jersey than a vernon wells jersey then why would an auction collect considerably more for one over the other? a dec/05 lelands auction broke $4mm. assuming a 30% take (15buyers/15 sellers), that's over $1mm in fees. i'm sure in my ignorance i'm overlooking some things here. i'd be appreciative if anyone could help educate me about the expenses. from my position, it seems like the overhead is almost non-existant. don't get me wrong, i love a free market. i'm simply wondering if these fees are reflective of anything other than simply maximizing profit.

authenticators
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1) if auction houses charge a percentage of the final price, then why not authenticators? why does one charge a percentage while the other charges a flat fee? if lelands auctions off a $100k jersey, they'd collect $30k (assuming 15buyer/15seller). according to their fee schedule, the highest amount mears charges to authenticate a jersey is $750 for a pre-war HOF'er. $750 to authenticate it, $30k to acquire and sell it?

rudy.

[aeneas01]

1) why a percentage rather than a flat fee? if 1 jersey sells for $300 ($90 total auction house cut) and another for $3000 ($900 total cut), did the auction house somehow expend $810 more to acquire and sell that $3000 jersey than the $300 jersey?

i've asked myself that very question every time i have bought and sold a home - gotta love the realty game!