Best Auction House For Buying Large Collections

What are the best auction houses in the US and Europe for buying large lots of collections? My budget is $5k.

There are three firms that I actively buy from , Daniel Kelleher , Rasdale Stamps ,and Dutch Country . All of them have served me well for many years .

You'd need to be more specific in your question. Would you spend $5,000 on one lot? Are you interested in worldwide, or a specific country. If worldwide, do you want a collection that covers everything, or would you prefer, say, a Commonwealth collection with better stamps?

Geoff's questions are key to giving a good answer and I would add that shipping costs are also an important consideration along with taxes/fees.

I also agree with Floortrader's recommendations. The hands down best large lot (for surprise value) I ever purchased came from Rasdale. Kelleher can be good but I have had issues with undisclosed negatives (heavily hinged stamps in album - needed jackhammer to remove). Siegel is another option although you need to be prepared to pay multiples of estimate (they have very low starts). Siegel sales with large lots are also much less frequent that the others.

Your profile suggests you reside in Canada. Have you considered import duties if you buy from foreign auction houses?

Before you buy , it maybe good advice for you to take a few days and visit the auction firm two days before the auction and view the lots before you bid . Then stay for the auction.

You will learn a lot ......seeing what's in the lot , seeing active buyers, know the flow of the auctioneer , how prices move , make a friend or two , talk to the staff , understand their financial requirements . Don't worry about your travel cost what your doing is paying for a education .

The other cost to bear in mind us the buyer's premium, usually @20% - so your $5,000 starts to look more like $4,000.

If I were kicking off again, I'd go for something like this - printed albums covering 1840-1970 with a decent number of stamps (I'd expect this to go for rather more than £400).

https://www.warwickandwarwick.com/a...logue/362024

Also, as you are in Canada then the C$4,000 converts to less than US$2,800 at today's exchange rate!

Here in the U.S. we also have State Sales/Use tax (at least in some of the States) to add into the cost amount. Don't know if this would also apply in your case. When I'm bidding I consider the buyer's premium 10-20% depending on auction house and about 5% for my State sales tax, plus likely shipping costs, when arriving at my target bid of $xxx or lower. Some also charge a fee for using a credit card to pay the bill.

For buying large collections - whether worldwide or specific countries - in Canada and to avoid paying exchange fees and potential import duties - your options are several. Sparks (Ottawa), RM Maresch (Toronto area), Garden City (Victoria), Eastern (New Brunswick) are all reputable and typically have a good selection of WW material along with their Canadian lots. Vance & Weeda are also a good source for smaller country collections. I've bought from them all - typically classic period material - and had almost uniformly good experiences, although I do have my preferences.

Not sure about mainland Europe, but the UK houses I bid with don't take credit cards - payment by debit card or bank transfer.

Baldwins acceptscredit cards.
Not all European auction houses accept credit cards, but I think it depends on the auction house.
However, if they accept credit cards, not all are accepted. Of the big names, American Express is not always accepted.

What do you want for $5000? I know you can't transact here until you have 50 quality posts but just curious about what you are trying to discover.

I am surprised nobody said to start small and limit buying on the first few transactions to $200.00 to $300.00 per purchase . I believe my first auction was a $80.00 mixture box . Why because if I do it wrong it was under $100.00 . Start small and get into a comfort zone before you start any serious bidding , learn how the flow of information moves during a auction .

I would say get on Stamp Auction Network and sign up for two firms and when the auction begins sit thru and listen to the flow and keep your finger off the need to hit the bid button .

Although the OP refers to auctions, large collections can also be purchased directly at major stamps shows. Often you can thumb through these and make an offer.

GregAlex

Like the photo.

It shows a lot.