Auction question

BeagleBoy

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I've never been to an arcade auction before. The blurb I just read says, "Sellers: $10 entry, 10.00% commission, $10 buy back."

Does "$10 buy back" mean that a seller can buy back their item if they're dissatisfied with the price?

-Jim
 
Pretty sure that means you are going to pay an additional $10.00 if you buy your own item back. The price is whatever the bid goes up to.
 
You're going to get different opinions on the practice of buying back items; but to answer your question, you'd need to be the high bidder during the live auction and then while settling up at the end of the sale, you'll be charged $10 as a "buy back fee".

To clarify, you can't let someone else win the auction, then decide later to buy it back, you've got to be the winning bidder.

I've been going to arcade auctions since the early 90's and my personal opinion is not to buy your items back. For starters, there is the cost and time involved that you'd have to make up the next time it's up for sale. Secondly, I'd only consider it if an emergency happened for example the Addams Family pin you brought, died before the preview and you're going to take a substantial loss.

Some professional sellers buy back half the games they bring to auction, and that usually upsets the collectors that bid on them. Right or wrong, it's the way they're run.
 
I'm pretty certain those big sellers aren't paying the buyback or much other fees. The auctioneers are pretty much at their mercy in order to have enough gear show up to even make an auction happen to begin with.
 
That makes much more sense.

Of course, that allows the seller to be their own shill, which is lousy.

-Jim
 
It's not a shill bid if you realize they own the machine.

View it as them 'working it' up to their reserve price.

The way they bill it around these parts is since they don't allow reserves, the sellers are allowed to bid on their own items.

I think they spell it out at the beginning of the auction, but without detail or clarification.
 
It's not a shill bid if you realize they own the machine.

View it as them 'working it' up to their reserve price.

The way they bill it around these parts is since they don't allow reserves, the sellers are allowed to bid on their own items.

I think they spell it out at the beginning of the auction, but without detail or clarification.

Problem is you rarely know if it is the owner or not during the bidding.
 
I'm going to do my best to make it there, but I'm not sure if SWMBO will allow it.

I haven't seen any details other than the time and place. Hopefully there will be a few decent games there.
 
That makes much more sense.

Of course, that allows the seller to be their own shill, which is lousy.

-Jim

That's the downside of live auctions but that is how things are. I've only been to one auction but it was pretty damn cool. Those of you that have been to a lot may not appreciate it but it was nice having 200 games to play for free before the start. Dead rows are always fun too, if you like to repair things or need a parts cabinet or MAME project. The Dig Dug I had was a dead row game. Had monitor and board problems but I got him up and running. Owned the thing for 5 years.
 
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