wholesale tsuba, menuki etc

[Aloof Pegasus]

Amazingly large collection of tsuba, menuki, fuchi & kashira on igavel just now

auction.igavel.com

Asian Ethnographic Art ends May 7

 

Philip

[Hermes]

Thanks Philip, lots of good pictures and the fee is added up front.

 

James

[Brian]

I think the lack of responses was due to many wanting to see what they went for and maybe put in a bid without too much publicity :D

This was a truly bizarre auction I think. Who would put large lots like that in one auction?

Wierd! 38 pairs of fuchi/kashira? 395 menuki? 70 tsuba???

I think there were some bargains there (where was my registration confirmation email? ) and some not-so-bargains.

Here are some highlights:

http://auction.igavel.com/Bidding.taf?_ ... F948236383

http://auction.igavel.com/Bidding.taf?_ ... F948236383

http://auction.igavel.com/Bidding.taf?_ ... F948236383

 

I think 70 tsuba for $2760 was a steal! You only need to find ONE really good one in there.

 

Ah well..expect to see some of that stuff on eBay or at the shows very soon. Who here scored a deal?

I think the swords went cheap too.

 

Brian

[Aloof Pegasus]

Hi Brian

 

This is the tip of the iceberg, if you can believe it. The seller is going to be auctioning "boxes" full of swords, just like those boxes of fittings, with igavel in an upcoming auction-(The swords sold in the May 7 auction were from another consignee).

 

It seems the seller's family lived in Japan in the '60's and his father was a collector of anything Japanese on a truely 19th c scale. (I rang him up and had a very informative & pleasant chat. He has a house full of Japanese antiques, it seems nihonto was just a sideline!).

 

btb do you have any thoughts on the "probably Goto school, probably 17th c" kozuka of the five boys that sold for $540 incl buyer's comm?

 

Philip

[Guest Lee]

Hi,Aloof

 

When is the next auction ? Each sword sold or all one price ? Kozuka looked like Goto to me !

 

Lee

[Aloof Pegasus]

Hi Lee

 

I'll find out for you tonite. One katana with matching fittings I hope to get some pix of which I'll then post.

 

Seems some are better than others, some Gunto some Shinshinto as I understand. A few listed individually- the others cash and wrap like the tsuba!

 

Philip

[Guest Lee]

Hi, Philip

 

Will watch for your post.

 

 

Lee

[Aloof Pegasus]

Hi Lee

 

According to the paper the auctioneer left the seller the blades are;

 

-Shinto ko katana

-Shinto Bushu ko katana

-Shinto Bizen Osafune ko wak

-Shinto Mino ko wak

-Shinto Echien ko wak

 

Some assorted other swords in bad polish, a few mounted tanto, plus assorted saya, shirasaya, tsuka (with M/F/K)

and one katana with all matching fittings incl kogai/kozuka.

 

That's all the info the seller has. He may not sell through the auction house after the tsuba/menuki sale so if they are available I'll try post more details

 

I hope to have some pixs next week or so which I'll post as they arrive. Sorry not to be able to give you more info til then.

 

Philip

[Bungo]

looking at the tsuba auction alone.................my personal opinion is you are better off buying just one NBTHK papered good tsuba from, say, the devastatingly handsome Cyrus and Miky Yamasaki.

p.s. the f/k collection, however, has a few possibilities .

 

p.s. samurai f/k BIG discount ?

milt

[John A Stuart]

I had looked through those items and there may have been a few gems in the f/k collection but the overall price ended quite high for speculation. The tsubas needed a lot of work, but may show a couple of keepers and the rest could be passed on to recoup the cost. Very tempting I must say. I am curious though, about the descriptions of the upcoming auction. I get the ko-wakizashi term, but is the Shinto ko katana, Shinto Bushu ko katana, meaning kogatana or what? John

[b.hennick]

Hi:

I bought a tsuba and pair of menuki at this auction. The price was reasonable. The 20% buyer's premium not far out of line for many auctions but when I after three email requests received my invoice they wanted $190 for shipping and handling the tsuba and menuki - cost $400 + $80. I flipped! I emailed and asked for an explanation. The reply was that the shipping charge was reduced to $145. I called and spoke to the shipper who gave me a long explanation that included

1. we do not make money on shipping

2. there are surcharges because of gas prices

3. I was also offerered to opportunity to pick up the items in New York or have an agent pick up for me. There would be no handling or shipping charge in that case.

I told her that just today I received a package from New York that was about 3'X6"X6" - the shipping was $45. Typical ebay shipping is $10-$20. I also asked for the name of the company president. While writing an email to the president I received a phone call from the shipper. She was appologetic and told me that the President said to charge me $35.

In the end my recommendation is to ask for shipping charges before bidding and if you have someone pick up for you remember that you will have to pay New York tax 8.375%

I will not be bidding at this auction house again.

[Brian]

Barry,

 

Ouch..that would certainly leave a bad taste. I don't get why these auction houses can't offer a decent post-sales service. I know that I wanted to place a few bids on the auction, and now I am glad I didn't.

Can you imagine what they are going to try and charge for shipping some of the larger lots?

Insane.

 

Brian

[b.hennick]

Hi:

I got the following reply from the President of IGavel.

"Dear Mr. Hennick:

 

After reading your email I immedidately spoke with Claudia to find out why the charges were so high. First, I am glad the charges were dropped to $35, although it would have been preferable if we had provided a more accurate quote with our initial invoice. Claudia actually did not speak with me about dropping the charge to this level, dropping the charge was her initiative and I believe was a result of speaking with you and better understanding that the packing needed to get the Tsuba to you safely did not require the type of packing that is needed by most items.

 

Unlike sales on ebay, IGavel offers auctions that occur in large groups more like a traditional auction company. This means that hundreds of items close within a few hours of each other on the same day. Because we do not know where these are to be shipped nor the final sales price, we cannot produce an estimate in advance of shipping charges. A good case in point was this auction where a number of items far exceeded our pre-sale estimates with buyers in many different countries. Because a typical sale of 400-600 lots has about 200-300 buyers, we must get invoices sent out as quickly as possible and have a standard formula for packing and shipping that will ensure the items arrive safely. Most buyers are eager to receive their invoices, want to pay immediately, and want their items sent immediately.

 

When the sale ends and the buyer's name and location are available, we have 48 hours to create invoices and add shipping charges to each invoice based on the price sold and the buyer's location. Shipping quotes are generally based upon the price of the item and the size and weight of the item. All packages are packed with the assumption that the item to be sent is extremely fragile and must be packed to the highest possible standard to avoid breakage. We choose boxes rather than packing envelopes and we use our boxes vs those supplied by the postal service because the grade of cardboard we use is of double thickness and those supplied by USPS or UPS is not. Again, the emphasis in on using the best quality material to ensure that items arrive safely.

 

This process mostly works well and our incidence of breakage is extremely low. However, the downside is that some items, such as your Tsuba, that are not likely to break and do not require as much packing material and care, are packed just as carefully as a similarly sized item in ceramic, glass, or other fragile material.

 

You'll find the same type of procedure is used by Sotheby's or Christie's in their shipping departments. The result is overall higher costs, but much lower rates of damage. In the most recent sale the average lot sold for approximately $5,500 and of these, a large percentage were items that were extremely fragile. Rather than err on the side of offering a lesser service and risk breakage, we expect that buyers of the 10% of items that do not require such a high standard will call or email us as you did after they receive their quote and ask for a different approach. All buyers are of course able to request any type of packing, although in instances where this will compromise the safe arrival of the item, we will ask that a waiver be signed absolving IGavel of responsibility should the item arrived broken.

 

With all that said, however, your intial bill was too high. I asked Claudia about it and in her calculations she had not pro-rated some of the fees. We are always glad to provide an individualized service for packing and shipping, and while we do not try to make a profit on shipping, we do try to cover our costs. In the instance of your shipment, there were two other individuals who had property sent by USPS, and the time required just to stand in line for these three shipments was approximately 2 hours, costing us $40. Even with this consideration, your iniial and subsequent quote was too high and I believe Claudia erred in her calculations.

 

As best as I can determine, the correct fees should have been a figure close to the following: $40 for the fuel surcharge and shipping, $20 for packing, and $13 for handling. This would not have included insurance. The $35 charge you received reflects the saving from using a standard USPS box. Shipping using this type of box is not as secure, but in the instance of your Tsuba, will probably not make a difference. Were someone wanting to ship any item that might possibly break, I would not do so using a USPS or UPS container.

 

Regarding the buyer's premium, I wish this covered our shipping and other expenses, but as is the case with most auctioneers, the buyer's premium is increasingly the larger part of our commission. There is a longterm trend shifting commissions from the seller to the purchaser. Like most auctioneers, after all is said and done, we typically operate with a 5-7% profit margin. This is not a factor for ebay seller's simply because most own their objects, while auctioneers are agents and only receive a commission. Our actual costs to process a lot are around $80, which is very low for the industry. This means that we break even on lots that sell for around $200. At Sotheby's, where I worked for 25 years and where I still consult, costs are closer to $700 per lot and they rely upon unsold fees, minimums, and photography fees to cover their expenses in addition to the buyer's premium. On IGavel, we do not have any of those fees and derive almost all of our income directly from consignment commissions and the buyer's premium. We differ from traditional auctioneers in our approach, and typically do not charge clients a commission, unsold fee, nor photography fees on lots that fail to sell. This approach only gives us a profit if we are successful in marketing and selling the objects that have been entrusted to us. We only succeed when our clients succeed.

 

Again, I apologize for the high initial bill and am glad you requested a restatement. While it did cause an inconvenience to you, the process did work and I am glad Claudia called you back once she better understood the nature of the item and your desire to save on shipping costs. I have spoken with Claudia and instructed her to make sure that in the future she prorates all charges among buyers.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Lark Mason

IGavel, Inc."

Interesting take on things. I still can not see $190 for shipping! At least you get to read their side of the story.