MADAM – Re: your piece on card fee changes (News, ATG No 2316) and in particular to Greg Bateman’s (Batemans Auctioneers) and Simon Chislett’s (Mallams) comments about passing on the charges to buyers.
Enough already! Why is it that every time a new charge comes in to play, salerooms announce they’re passing it on? The trade, in all fields of collecting, is struggling to make a profit and achieving sales is tough. We are discounting like 1970s market traders and making every concession that our buyers demand.
The salerooms, on the other hand, have increased their charges. When I started out in 1984, seller’s premium was 6% for the trade and 10% for private buyers. Salerooms now charge anything from 15% (trade) with 25%+ for private buyers.