Auction Post Mortem for Thursday 6/13/2024 - Flops, Floats, and Flights
Its 10:15 pm on auction night, and I am already writing this post, which should indicate to you, if you weren't there, that it was a super short night.
I came into this auction in an incredibly bad mood, and I think that bad mood really came through in the tone of my voice, and what I was saying with it, when things weren't bringing the money I hoped they would. So for that, I am sorry.
I'm not sure if these blogs posts are really doing me any favors. I'm thinking that my transparency about how much I pay for things, and how much they sell for, and all the story behind it, might actually be hurting my bottom line. Or maybe there's an inherent smugness to these posts that's a turn off for people. But it definitely seems like, because of these posts or not, my auctions have lost a bit of oomph.
I didn't put any farts in my reels this week, so naturally none of them cracked 1000 views.
The reason I am so cranky today is because a hidden mother photo I bought in a Facebook auction turned out to be a fake. It was pretty obvious when I got it that it was a modern digital print pasted over a cabinet card, and when I peeled it back, sure enough, it was printed on Fuji photo paper, and the original image was beneath. I mean that's not really why I was in a bad mood - the real reason is that what should have been a quick "hey, look at this" and "oh my bad, here's a refund" with the dealer turned into a sort of bitter personal dispute, where I suddenly found myself having to defend my own integrity, and somehow being made out to be the bad guy. I eventually got my refund, and it was determined that the seller of this item knew it was fake, bought it and others as reprints, and has been passing them off as real in the hopes of duping buyers. So anyways, I spent the afternoon in my motorcycle jeans sitting on my couch refreshing my Facebook notifications instead of on the motorcycle ride I had planned to go on.
There are sellers out there selling you fake items. There are sellers out there writing you elaborate and fabricated stories to go along with their items, in the hope that the romance of it all will attract a higher price. There are sellers out there being intentionally vague with details, hoping you won't ask too many questions. There are sellers out there who are telling you that items that they bought last week are out of their personal collections. Buyer beware.
Float: Halloween Postcard with Flying Cats; Purchased $25, Sold $65
Flop: Post Mortem Cabinet Card of Baby with Flowers; Purchased $75, Sold $70
Float: 1/9th Plate Daguerreotype of Smiling Woman with Lock of Hair; Purchased $100, Sold $160
Flop: Daguerreotype of Two Girls in Case; Purchased $50, Sold $60
Flop: Daguerreotype of Two Siblings in Case; Purchased $50, Sold $50
Flop: Palmer Cox Illustrated Book; Purchased $40, Sold $50
Float: Rebecca Nurse 1930 Book; Purchased $40, Sold $100
Float: Boarded Photo of Group of Women; Purchased $40, Sold $60
Flop: Tintype of Men Playing Cards; Purchased $25, Sold $55
Flop: Ambrotype of Kid with Funny Finger Gesture; Purchased $20, Sold $24
Flop: 16th Plate Daguerreotype of Woman; Purchased $20, Sold $26
Float: Ella Sister Farewell Funeral Flowers Cabinet Card; Purchased $15, Sold $32
Float: Tintype of Black Woman; Purchased $40, Sold $75
Mega-Flop: Post Mortem Tintype of Young Man With Visible Cotton Nose Plugs; Purchased $40, Sold $35
Flop: Midsummer Fays Book; Purchased $50, Sold $50
Flop: 1797 A Token for Mourners Book; Purchased $60, Sold $65
