What's the best way to sell a very rare badge?

[Bill A]

Link to Marway / Bosley Auctions re Yukon MMG badges. http://www.britishbadgeforum.com/for...ghlight=boyles

[Neil Pearce]

Can we possibly have a preview?? They would be nice to see, and might raise some interest!

[8thHussar]

Yes, a badge sold recently for around 5400 pounds.

[8thHussar]

Sorry about the poor picture quality!

[Neil Pearce]

With the price of gold as it is, I can see a new record coming on.

Thanks for sharing!
Regards, Neil

[DavidS]

So here's my thoughts on disposing of very rare badges. You have three options (four if you count giving them to me, but I don't collect CEF badges, so thanks for the offer, but ... ): 1) auction house, 2) eBay & 3) private sale.

The first thing I'd have to decide is how quickly/badly I need to move the item? If there is no urgency, I'd opt for either a Canadian auction house or just holding out for a private sale.

Two Canadian auction alternatives in Marway's and J.A. Hoare -- more if you look to Fred Corring and maybe one or two others (I never have much luck getting his catalogues or even finding out about his sales). I think Marway's maybe has a broader buyer pool than does Hoare, but that's a guess. Hoare definitely has a higher end catalogue. Both are well-respected & very decent folks. I'd contact both houses to get sales estimates as well as their respective fees to you on the potential listing so you know what your percentage on the gross sale would be. There is a lot of negativity from the British members about using auction houses, but I think that's because they really get taken to the cleaners with the fees over there.

If the badges are rare, either house would probably make them their cover feature for a sale.

Of course, there is no guarantee the market won't be soft come sales day, but at least there will be a lot of lead time for promotion so that interest could build. You'd have a reserve on these anyway.

Alternatively, you could simply get the badges valued by a trusted source or sources, decide on what you are willing to settle for and listing them for sale through various places: CSMMI journal, this forum, other collector forums and publications, etc..

Finally, eBay: My issue with eBay is that, in an odd way, you might eliminate possible buyers. Not all collectors, esp. older ones, use it, and while the pool of tire kickers may increase, there is a chance you will not see some serious, albeit ludite, interest. I don't think any serious collector who haunts eBay does not also subscribe to both Marway's and Hoare's auctions, but I know it doesn't go the other way round.

Again, you have the vagaries of the market to deal with. Of late I've seen some fairly rare badges not get anywhere near what they should, or even not sell at all, depending on who does or doesn't have money and how much other stuff -- especially good stuff -- is listed at the same time. Chris Brooker has tried moving some nice badges the past few months and not had much luck. While he may over-value some badges in my opinion, when he can't get $750 for a mint Birks marked Prince Rupert Regiment, that's a very bad day.

Timing I think, on eBay is a very big factor. If you were going that route, I'd wait until late Sept. at the earliest before listing so I had the best chance of the whole audience being back from vacations and with a bit of post-holiday/pre-Christmas discretionary money in their wallets again, esp. when it's going to need to be serious discretionary money. Even at that, as unlikely as it may be you never know when someone will list a second Boyle's Yukon or a nice 9th CEF Bn. cap the very next day, diluting the money pool.

Keep in mind that by the time you tot up all the eBay fees, you may not be any less 'out of pocket' on the final sale than you would have been with an auction house, what with the listing fees, extra fees for gallery options, final sale fee, final shipping fee, currency conversions, Paypal fees, pay-to-get-your-own-money fees, etc., etc.

[whizzbang]

Hi David - good summary, fully agree. I think the ebay route, all in, costs the seller about 10% or so, only marginally less than most auction house seller fees and, as you say, possibility for much more variable results. Cheers, Ian.

[2747andy]

Originally Posted by whizzbang

Hi David - good summary, fully agree. I think the ebay route, all in, costs the seller about 10% or so, only marginally less than most auction house seller fees and, as you say, possibility for much more variable results. Cheers, Ian.

Only an idiot would sell a badge like this at an auction house... sorry if anyone viewing this thread falls into that category, but if the cap fits!!!

I would not line the pockets of the auction houses, who many members still come in their pants over every time a list is produced!!! Have some Boll*** and sell it yourself on Ebay, with the coverage you've had here you are certain to get good money! Don't accept an offer off this site as those making offers will not make their best price and would go a few extra bucks on ebay!! Why people still line the auctions houses pockets beats me!

Andy
Ebay seller!

[DavidS]

Originally Posted by whizzbang

Hi David - good summary, fully agree. I think the ebay route, all in, costs the seller about 10% or so, only marginally less than most auction house seller fees and, as you say, possibility for much more variable results. Cheers, Ian.

Ian:

By my calculation, eBay can cost 14%+ in fees. As an example, an item I recently listed sold for $209.50 CDN. Ebay's insertion and final fees totaled $20.33, and the Paypal payment fee another $8.70. All that works out to a hair under14% total on that sale, and I stilI have to pay another Paypal fee to transfer the money to my bank account.

Not counting any listing fees or the 'final value shipping fee', eBay & Paypal together dinged me 13% of the hammer price. Wouldn't be so bad if there were alternative payments allowed, but basically you're stuck with Paypal if you list on eBay, and that extra 4% cut on the transaction.

Considering this is a more realistic way of seeing how eBay stacks up to an auction house 'usury', methinks.

Cheers, David

As a PS, anyone now selling on eBay or thinking about it should remember that hidden 9% 'final value fee on shipping' eBay charges when calculating their mailing & handling fee, as should any eBay buyer tempted to complain about shipping and handling being 'too high' when someone charges $3 CDN to send a badge within Canada, instead of the $1.20 printed on the stamp. (Heck, usually they don't even consider that the stamp cost $1.26 with GST before they bitched & moaned.)

[GregN]

I buy from ebay and auction houses and face the fees as part of collecting. I believe eBay owns Sothebys so the business model is similar for both. Add in PayPal fees which I believe is also owned by eBay and they and the government are going to get you no matter what. Which is why I would try to do a private deal, hoping that the seller is aware of the above facts. If the buyer offers a decent price and the seller realizes he's not getting nickle and dime'd to death in fees, taxes etc. every-body's happy.

The key is the decent price and there it's a crap shoot. If you look at auctions, the high prices are inevitably 2 guys (informed or ignorant) going head-to-head to see who has the biggest.....wallet and distorting the market value. Armed with the combined knowledge of the Forum, you should now know what a decent price is, the buyer knows this as well.

Whatever, you have nice badges, set a realistic price, find a private buyer or take your chances in a auction. Better yet, keep them and build your collection or trade with another collector.

Greg

[whizzbang]

Originally Posted by 2747andy

Only an idiot would sell a badge like this at an auction house... sorry if anyone viewing this thread falls into that category, but if the cap fits!!!

I would not line the pockets of the auction houses, who many members still come in their pants over every time a list is produced!!! Have some Boll*** and sell it yourself on Ebay, with the coverage you've had here you are certain to get good money! Don't accept an offer off this site as those making offers will not make their best price and would go a few extra bucks on ebay!! Why people still line the auctions houses pockets beats me!

Andy
Ebay seller!

Well, I'm not an idiot Andy, and yet my advice to 8thHussar is to consider an auction house. You can line the pockets of a faceless cyber-entity like ebay or you can go through an auction house where you might actually deal with a real person - as David indicates, the fees to the seller are not all that different. Rare badges rarely get their full due on ebay. I know this because I have bought some of my rarest badges on ebay and they have all been great deals - for me! A few recent examples:

- 250th Bn CEF for $300 (realistic valuations for this badge $1000 plus)
- 10th Bn CEF uber-rare Reiche pattern for $600 (realistic valuation $1500 plus plus)
- 147th Bn CEF rare pattern for $60 (realistic valuation $250)

If the these badges had been sold via Marway or another good auction house they would have done much, much better.

A lot depends on the ebay vendor's reputation - a newbie with low feedback selling a rare badge tends not to attract the highest bidders. As an established ebay seller you may not face the same issue. I sell my extra badges on ebay, it's easy and fast. However, an auction house would be the safer bet for this particular badge.

Cheers, Ian.

[Bill A]

To add to Ian's point, I have seen badges sold by "certain" ebayer's who have a "reputation", sell for far more than market value.

[rhodesianmilitaria]

Originally Posted by whizzbang

Rare badges rarely get their full due on ebay. I know this because I have bought some of my rarest badges on ebay and they have all been great deals - for me! A few recent examples:

- 250th Bn CEF for $300 (realistic valuations for this badge $1000 plus)
- 10th Bn CEF uber-rare Reiche pattern for $600 (realistic valuation $1500 plus plus)
- 147th Bn CEF rare pattern for $60 (realistic valuation $250)

Cheers, Ian.

Well I have also bought some rare para wings and badges off eBay at very reasonable to cheap prices. However it's a two-edged sword as I have also sold items on eBay for very high prices and some of them never had reserves.

Originally Posted by whizzbang

A lot depends on the ebay vendor's reputation - a newbie with low feedback selling a rare badge tends not to attract the highest bidders. As an established ebay seller you may not face the same issue. An auction house would be the safer bet for this particular badge.

Cheers, Ian.

I agree.

Originally Posted by Bill A

To add to Ian's point, I have seen badges sold by "certain" ebayer's who have a "reputation", sell for far more than market value.

Absolutely.

People who collect Canadian badges or collect to this unit would probably have the best ideas on what's the best way to sell these badges.

Selling privately is also a good idea if you know someone who is in the market for them. I recently sold a rare uniform privately to a collector who specializes in Rhodesian uniforms. This uniform belonged to a significant person in Rhodesian military history. While I most definitely would have received a higher price for it if I had put it into the public arena I was happy to sell to a collector who was so passionate about his collection.

[8thHussar]

Thanks to all for the generous offerings of advice. This is an excellent forum!