Is the public auction really convenient?
This question has always gripped collectors; in philately today there is an immense supply of material at public auctions. Just think of the rich and varied program of BidInside, the offer of Catawiki, the offers of the multipurpose platform of the multinational eBay and so on.
But even in traditional auctions there is certainly no shortage of offers. Two auctions a year organized by the Bolaffi company, different from other professionals in the sector: AP, Sammarinese, Ferrario, Ghiglione, Laser, and we are only talking about the national territory.
But in all this often cheap offer, does convenience really exist?
Let's analyze things in detail.
The offer.
Public auctions offer material found at home; contributions from third parties, which often dismantle inherited collections, or warehouse stocks if they are dealers who own a stock (increasingly rare). But exclusive material, what is truly missing from the most demanding collectors, can never be found at "Cheap". You can buy dozens of similar pieces from everyone, precisely because they are "common", obviously in different qualities. For this category of stamps at auction the first normal choice fetches prices that vary from 10 to 15% of the catalog value + rights; the second / third choice fetches much lower prices, which vary from 4 to 6% of the catalog value + rights, depending on how many interested parties there are in the object and how large the lot to be purchased is; better percentages can also be obtained, but on lots containing hundreds of stamps that are typologically similar, and therefore impossible to collect and very difficult to dispose of except in a very long time which therefore leads to inconvenience, because they block the money for too long, devaluing it.
On the other hand, "exclusive" material commands much higher prices, precisely because it is more sought after by the collector. Sometimes this exclusive material seems to be sold at relatively low prices, but it is usually the prerogative of traders, who stock or purchase it for specific customers to whom they then offer it at the current price and not at the bargain price. Of course, rarely can a collector succeed in the feat of making a splash, acquiring an important piece or one considered rare by him relatively cheaply, but it is an exception and not the rule, and must therefore be evaluated for what it is.
The question.
The demanding and advanced collector seeks particular material; for this reason the hunt for the object becomes increasingly tiring as the collection increases in importance and approaches completion. There are stamps that do not exist on the market, and that only large stocks can supply; the rare colors of Sardinia, those of Naples, the particular stamps, I am thinking of the green 3 cents of the Pontifical or the black 1/2 tornese of the Neapolitan Provinces, and so on. If these pieces are missing from a collection and you want to find them, there is no point in waiting for public auctions to try to get them for a penny, because no sane professional will put them on the track at vile prices. Of course, if an auction house received a piece from a collection abandoned by the heirs and put it up for sale at a low price, a deal could happen; but most of the time, in order to get hold of that piece, the collector will have to compete with the dealers, who will try to buy it up to the highest possible price that can be agreed upon, and therefore in order to get it the collector will still have to make a significant offer, which will no longer be a "bargain" but only a retail "purchase".
The quality
When buying at public auctions, you should always think about the quality you find. Normally a very low price corresponds to a very low quality; this is not necessarily a disadvantage: low quality but pleasant and/or rare stamps are particularly coveted because they allow you to collect particular and difficult-to-find pieces at "humane" prices and accessible to practically everyone's budget. So be careful what you buy; if you spend little you need to know that you are buying a piece of inferior quality; in the same way it must be understood that to purchase superior quality it is necessary to reach into the wallet, especially for rare pieces. Sometimes it is not necessarily the case that rare pieces can also be found "ugly", perhaps there aren't any! I am thinking of some color shades from the Kingdom of Naples which are extremely rare in their new state, and which are defective or ugly and cannot be found for various reasons: they usually come from small cut blocks, and are therefore perfect, or the defective one has lost color , it has oxidized, it has lost its rubber, it has taken on humidity, and therefore the color, although perhaps it could have been "right", has now altered and is no longer so. In the color category, the freshness of the stamp, especially in mint condition, is essential; for this reason the stamps in this category are easier to find "perfect" or "first choice" rather than defective! And you will never be able to find them at public auction prices, unless they come from very advanced collections and entrusted to third parties, who do not care about the value of the pieces but only about the realization and the commissions collected. But even in those cases, since the piece cannot be found, all the professionals who have it missing will try to get it for their clients and therefore the price will still rise to the maximum.
The description.
Pieces sold at public auctions often lack description; they are "told" in a hasty and superficial way, lacking in details and often incorrectly. For this reason, sometimes prices that seem "exceptional" then become, when you see the harsh reality, "normal" or even "inappropriate". I am thinking of descriptions of centerings on the period of the Infidel Kingdom of Italy, specimens presented with "excellent centering" while they are "fairly centered"; the catalog value triples, but it is not the real one; I am thinking of regummed specimens described as "intact rubber", which go from full catalog to 25% of the catalog or less, as there are stamps which in their state without rubber are very common while with original rubber they are extremely rare, for example c. 5 Modena olive of which the one without rubber or re-gummed is worth 5% of the catalog value of the new one with original rubber, therefore 2.5% of the specimen with intact rubber.
So be careful when buying based only on the descriptions of the auction houses; if you are in a position to evaluate the material you must always look at it directly, if you are not or if time and distance prevent it, you must rely on a competent professional who looks at them for us, or who following the purchase is able able and in a position to issue an appraisal that confirms or not the quality of what has been acquired. This procedure is called "appraisal extension" and is a practice accepted by almost all auction houses and a service that certain professionals in the sector can offer to their clients.
Well, at the end of this brief excursus the question from the beginning of the post returns. Or is the public auction really convenient? Or is it better to rely on a professional through a defect specialist for particular pieces? Of course the missing item will be more "expensive" than the "fish" at auction, but in the future the material you have at home will have a completely different value and weight, not to mention that the truly difficult to find pieces will never enter these collections if not supplied by the very few professionals who are able to provide them to their most demanding customers.
My advice is therefore to rely on those who consider themselves a trustworthy, reliable and competent person in the sector you collect, both with regards to supervision of your collection and with regards to the purchase of specimens of particular importance and which require great attention. And if you have purchased most of your stamps well, for the really "difficult" ones have the courage and foresight to spend a little more; invest the much you have saved by purchasing "common" or "second choice" stamps in these pieces that you will never find anyway, grant yourself this privilege, on average your collection will still have had a moderate cost, but it will be valorised to the maximum by those valuable pieces that you will have acquired to perfect it, and this return at the right time you will find it all, down to the last cent.
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