Chicago auction

Joss

Joss

Joined
Nov 20, 2001
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I'm looking at the results of the Chicago auction on proxybid:
http://www.proxibid.com/asp/Catalog.asp?aid=11242&vt=2

It's interesting. It looks like the early Emerson often didn't reach their estimate. Some of the Loveless completely missed the mark too (Jr Bear estimated at $18k to $25k with a max bid of $5k). Lots of lots :D show "Passed", which I am not sure what it means. There's one Walker Zipper that shows a bid of $45,000... Ouch.

Does anyone know if those are the actual realized prices or only the bids on proxybid?
 
Interesting in deed. Looks as if both Emerson and Loveless interest may have cooled a bit. The abundance of Emersons offered could have played a part in their lackluster bids.

I would assume "high bid" equals sales price on pieces listed as sold and "passed" means the owner passed on the bid, similar to "not meeting reserve".
 
Joss,

It looks like about 26 of 100 knives didn't sell. I know that there was an Internet buyer's premium of 12.5%. I don't know if there was a buyers premium for live bids. I doubt that it has yet been added to the prices shown. It looks like there were a few bargains.
 
jjtjr said:
Joss,

It looks like about 26 of 100 knives didn't sell. I know that there was an Internet buyer's premium of 12.5%. I don't know if there was a buyers premium for live bids. I doubt that it has yet been added to the prices shown. It looks like there were a few bargains.
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There was a buyers premium of 10% at the Show. Passed means that the reserve was not meant and therefore the knife was not sold or "passed" and the bidding moved on to the next knife

Several knives that did not meet reserve in the initial bidding had bids accepted below reserve by the Shows promoter and were therefore sold.

The Walker, knife number 100 in the catalog, was sold for $46,000 ( and I believe some change) and a buyers premium of 10%. I suspect that the proxy bid number of $45,000 represents the high internet bid and not the actual sales price.

Paul
 
I don't know anything about this auction. Does the price shown on the website include live bids, or just the bids made on line?
 
Joss said:
I'm looking at the results of the Chicago auction on proxybid:
http://www.proxibid.com/asp/Catalog.asp?aid=11242&vt=2

It's interesting. It looks like the early Emerson often didn't reach their estimate. Some of the Loveless completely missed the mark too (Jr Bear estimated at $18k to $25k with a max bid of $5k). Lots of lots :D show "Passed", which I am not sure what it means. There's one Walker Zipper that shows a bid of $45,000... Ouch.

Does anyone know if those are the actual realized prices or only the bids on proxybid?
Click to expand...

Agree Joss, It's interesting .. I was there (chicago knife show) but I had to go somewhere.... some were decent prices ... oh man .. I really wish did come to the auction. My opinion (by judging the prices)... either low attendance or the knife market got soften .... So, anybody who attended the auction cares to share some insights?
 
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Thanks for posting this link, Joss. Those results are very interesting, unless there were issues with some of the knives the prices look average to low. Of course, there were some home runs hit, too. Steinau knives are incredible.


Win
 
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wow, some smoking good deals were had. I can't believe some of the knives that didn't get picked up.
 
The Emerson "After-Market" went "Soft" three year ago.

The Pre-Tac's topped out several years ago.

One knife at the auction by Emerson was called the Stealth (one of the coolest of Ernie's designs) sold for $1,500. I sold one of those 6 years ago for several times that money. BTW, that is only the second Stealth I have ever seen.

Perhaps the most enlightening aspect of the auction (and what collectors should take away) is that there are only so many people who can and will pay ever rising premiums.

I equate it to playing musical chairs. In the game we played as kids the idea was the last person to be sitting in the chair is the winner.

In this game, the last person sitting in the chair now has to wait for others to join the game....and at the highest price level of the game.

The market is not "soft". It is as Severed Thumbs put it...coming back to reality.

The average cost of an Emerson Tactical directly from the maker is $575.00. Even the current knives will sell routinely for a 50% premium. I guess when it comes down from a 100% premium...the market can appear "soft".

Exceptional Michale Walker knives. That market is being driven by one collector right now. The same one who with the help of another collector drove the Onion market way up, then he moved to the Boguszewski market. Both of those have settled down...Ken's knives in the after market have seen to have taken the bigger hit.

Market manipulation can occur at the hands of one or two collectors.

So if you are going to play them game, get in when the prices are going up...get out before the prices hit the top. The most difficult part, or so it seems, is for sellers to figure out what the top is going to be.
 
indicates that many of the prices currently posted are not the final bids/sale-prices....For example, the Loveless stag Jr. Bear(lot number 21)....that was alarming at $5,000...that is like a MAJOR market indicator....no, LIVE bidding went up to $15,000...which is definitely on the lowish side ($20,000 might be expected) but for $5,000, the market would be saying "this is a crappy Loveless, of unverified provenanace" or something like that...Mr. K. says prices are GENERALLY down 10-15% from last year.

Isn't there sales tax on these bad boys as well?


Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Hi Lorien,

All you needed to do was get a bidder number and you could have joined the "on line" part of the auction. :D

In the near term you will find out if those deals were "smoking hot" or not.
 
Les Robertson said:
So if you are going to play them game, get in when the prices are going up...get out before the prices hit the top. The most difficult part, or so it seems, is for sellers to figure out what the top is going to be.
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this is true in any market, any collectable, anytime and especially true in the Gun/knife arena.
 
Prices getting back to reality? Who defines what are realistic prices?
Reality IMO, is what an individual is willing to pay at a given time.
 
Kevin Jones said:
Prices getting back to reality? Who defines what are realistic prices?
Reality IMO, is what an individual is willing to pay at a given time.
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Aristotle Jones why do u want knife prices through the stratosphere? To much inflation isnt good for the custom knife market. I hope the ckca does not promote this philosophy. A handful of wealthy collectors do not define reality.

Its odd that the stealth sold for $1500, just a few months ago someone paid $4500 for one on eBay.
 
I have seen innumerable instances when two bidders got an Ebay auction going and drove the price on an item up, beyond all reason. I have also seen steals on Ebay. And I am talking about name makers. So Ebay is not always a good comp to measure knife values. It is, as Kevin is intimating, what a buyer is willing to pay at a given time.
 
severedthumbs wrote:

Aristotle Jones why do u want knife prices through the stratosphere? To much inflation isnt good for the custom knife market. I hope the ckca does not promote this philosophy. A handful of wealthy collectors do not define reality.

Its odd that the stealth sold for $1500, just a few months ago someone paid $4500 for one on eBay.
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According to the proxibid webpage the stealth knife high bid #30 was $3,600. If you add buyer's premium of 10-12.5%, the sale price would be close to $4,000.00.

In my opinion both Kevin and Bob are correct all the results of this auction show is what people were willing to pay for those knives on the day of the auction. If someone wants to bid too much at any auction that is their business. When they try to sell it the price will be determined by what the buyers are willing to payat that time.
 
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severedthumbs said:
Aristotle Jones why do u want knife prices through the stratosphere? To much inflation isnt good for the custom knife market. I hope the ckca does not promote this philosophy. A handful of wealthy collectors do not define reality.

Its odd that the stealth sold for $1500, just a few months ago someone paid $4500 for one on eBay.
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You are very misinformed if you think I want knife prices to go threw the stratosphere.

Have you tried to sell a custom knife on the secondary market lately?

Do you think knives depreciating in value is a good thing?

I and the CKCA support what's good for the overall custom knife industry. Steady and moderate appreciation of custom knife values is good for maker's, dealer's, collector's and will help bring in new collectors/new money to help grow the industry.
 
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This thread has brought about an interesting juxtaposition.

On the one hand the majority of collectors will tell you:

"I buy what I like without regard to future potential"

As well, numerous times, while suggesting that custom knives could be used/viewed as an "investment" was told by most of you that I was wrong.

On the other hand, we now see posts referring to the prices from this last auction not meeting "market expectations". That the market may have gone "soft".

You guys sound like Wall Street analysts talking about a market sector.

If as most of you say you buy the knives you like with now concern as to potential "profit".

Then why the concern that certain knives didn't live up to expectations.

On the other hand if you are viewing your custom knives as a commodity with the potential to turn a profit. Then perhaps there should be a little concern.

Then again as the fiscal pundits so often opine in slow times....this is merely a "Market Correction".

Is it possible that among you, there are those who are now viewing your custom knife purchases as "investments?".

Wow...who would have thunk it!

:D
 
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