Rare Book Monthly
Articles - December - 2010 Issue
Auctions Going Postal
Ed Postal - building an auction based community
By Bruce McKinney
Antiquarian Auctions of Laguna Beach, California will be posting its first sale for bidding beginning on December 9th and concluding its first sale on the 16th. Ed Postal, of Barnaby Rudge Booksellers, is developing the business. The model is designed to enable those with books to sell to be able to offer material at auction in a direct and simple way. The structure and timing of the sales are controlled by Antiquarian Auctions, the items, descriptions, estimates and reserves controlled by consignors.
For this first sale there are no listing fees and for buyers no buyer's premiums ever. The bid is the final price.
Think of this as an auction commune. Mr. Postal, an ABAA member for many years, is presiding over a fresh approach, adapted from www.AntiquarianAuctions.co.za based in South Africa, that permits individual consignors to post listings - everything including images, description, estimates and reserves. Once the system is established, an 8% success fee will be charged if, and only if, a listed item sells.
For the first sale nine dealers have posted what is expected to be about 200 items when the starting gun is fired. Mr. Postal emphasizes that collectors, who can establish their bona fides, can also sell on the site. They can sell random items or complete collections.
Because shipments are made directly from the seller their reliability and expertise will be particularly important.
Here is a link to the site and to some of the material already posted.
www.antiquarianauctions.com/auctions/preview
To contact Mr. Postal about consigning or bidding by phone:
866-840-5900 toll free in the United States and Canada
By Spype: Ed.Postal
By local phone: 949-497-4079
By email: info@antiquarianauctions.com
