Online auction for banknotes?

Does anyone know how easy it is to put notes up for auction on Katz or Heritage auctions and what charges they have for Union them? Any information would be appreciated.  Bren.

“Using”

It depends on what kind of banknotes you are selling, and on their value and rarity.

Some auction houses do not charge the vendor a fee for interesting items which are likely to do well.

If you are based in the EU and use an auction house outside the EU, then all of your lots would be subject to import tax to the country where they are being sold from, worth bearing in mind.

I would check each auction site for their “Terms & Conditions.”  Once you think you've understood what these entail, then contact a staff member & ask whether they would be interested in your items. (Have a PDF list available). Most auction houses charge commissions, require banknotes & coins to be certified by a house preferred TPG & require you to submit a minimal $ amount for your lot to be auctioned (they may also break up your lot & sell in 2 or more separate sales).   From forum chatter, I have come to understand that only big valuable collections (featuring big-ticket “Watermelon” like banknotes) give one the leverage to incur zero commissions. That is what @Hibernia is referring to (I believe).  But you may be able to negotiate if your collection consists of high grade, desirable items (& I would try if they're interested).  Also, expect 60 days after the auction is complete for your “cheque in the mail.”

Personally, I have not sold anything by auction (only bought from a few).  I had great experiences buying from certain eBay power sellers who no longer offer true auction style listings (& World Banknote Auction who has since been swallowed up by Stacks Bowers). You would probably find smaller commissions & friendlier service from smaller auction houses (but less exposure to your coins/notes).  My experience with Heritage (or HA) is described on my “Money Market” page.  I get yearly solicitations from them asking me to submit my collection so they're definitely looking for stuff.

If you scroll down that “Money Market” page you will find links to most of the big auction houses. 

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. I am thinking of buying some pre decimal Irish 5 and 10 pound notes and trying to make enough with an auction to buy more expensive Irish notes. Don't know if it's worthwhile but the Irish notes seem to be in demand. What do you think 🤔 

I would try a large national auction house nearby. 

Spinks has an upcoming June 26th auction so you may want to contact them asap. The items you wish to submit might miss their deadline & you may be forced to wait for their next auction, so there's that. I believe that now is definitely a good time to buy (while there is a US global trade war & the uncertainty that has created) but I doubt it is a good time to sell (even though I have letters asking for my stuff from HA, I believe the market is fairly soft).  Hopefully, @Hibernia can add his POV.

I think many of us collectors fund our collections by buying bulk lots and selling on the surplus.

With regard to Irish notes, I would avoid Northern Ireland notes, they are far too common, and Ploughman notes as they are too expensive. Lavery series are much better sellers, though I wouldn’t go for £5 notes - they sell quite badly compared to other denominations. 10/- and £10 notes are better to go for, and go for notes dated before 1950. If you can buy in bulk from a dealer, then that is better than buying them in ones and twos in auctions, though auction houses also have bulk lots. You would need to buy at half your target selling price, otherwise you are unlikely to make much of a return.

I also agree with @Serial_Number_8 when he advises local auction houses. Once you go out of Ireland, you will be incurring extra taxes and duties. These are lowest in the UK. I think Katz is unsuitable for Irish notes. There are no auction houses in Ireland which would fit your model. In the UK there are two specialist banknote auctioneers, Noonans and Spink.

They are the auction houses that I have dealt with most when buying and selling. I also bought a few notes for my collection in Spinks' last auction; and several from Noonans last year.

Selling at auction would cost you around 25-50% of the catalogue value of the note.
This 25% base is usually what the auctioneer will charge the buyer in fees including vat. If you sell in the UK, your lots will be subject to import duty of 5% in addition to the hammer price for UK buyers, if sold to an Irish buyer the 5% will not be added, though it will likely get hit for Irish VAT on import back to Ireland (21% currently, I think). You will also be charged a seller’s premium by the auction house (this varies from 0% to up to 20% or so). Some auction houses also charge a fee for unsold lots - read the small print in their conditions - though I have never been charged this by either of these auctioneers.

I think that you are unlikely to make any return if you rely on auction houses for both buying and selling. Every time the auctioneer sells a lot, it incurs their fee of 20% + VAT + postage (the guts of 25% there). This comes out of the value of your banknote whether you are buying it or selling it.
Unless you are lucky in selling and sharp in buying the auctioneer will make most of the return.

The core rule you ought to follow is to know what the banknote is worth and will sell for, and don't pay too much when buying it. Aim for a specific market and aim for a decent profit margin.
 

Thank you Hibernia. That's a lot to take In. I will do more research before I decide. Bren.

Some auction houses also charge a fee for unsold lots - read the small print in their conditions - though I have never been charged this by either of these auctioneers.

- I believe you are allowed to re-list once for free but they usually insist on a lower start bid. 

Selling at auction would cost you around 25-50% of the catalogue value of the note.
This 25% base is usually what the auctioneer will charge the buyer in fees including vat

Some US sellers have claimed that they negotiated this 25-30% commission down to a lower figure, like 10 to 15%, but I don't know the details. It is something I picked up on the PMF.  They claimed they did this b/c of the desirable notes they offered (like tougher large sized US notes). 

I am also just wondering if they also were allowed to “hold credit.” For example, they may have sold an item for $500 to $1000 and were allowed to use this amount (minus a smaller commission) to pay for another note.  If you intend to purchase a lot from the same auction house you are listing notes from- then you should really enquire whether you have the option to use the credit earned from a previous sale to apply to a future auction lot win. (This would also save you the fees they charge for using CC or whatever means you wish to pay for your notes).  I also found that the shipping + insurance was quite expensive.

Spink charged me a £20 flat fee for shipping to a UK address the last few times I bought something. Noonans charge a bit less (I'd have to look it up to put a figure on it).

I don't know if they'll accept notes coming from outside the US, but GreatCollections has a very low selling commission. 

https://www.greatcollections.com/main-sell