The founder of Bastute Auctions, Doug Harman, is a life-long collector. Like most kids back in the day, he collected coins, rocks, and stamps. His mother give him a mechanical bank for his 16th birthday, starting him on the path of collecting mechanical banks, still banks, and early American toys. Later, he discovered Victorian advertising art. Add breweriana into the mix and you have the core of his collection today. American advertising art is still his passion.
So why did he found Bastute Auctions. Primarily out of frustration with exisiting auction houses and the industry's spiraling cost structure.
While most auction houses are honest, he's encountered more - particularly online - that are unethical, incompetent, or just plain dishonest. All auctioneers sell items "as-is". If the buyer inspects the item or has an opportunity to do so, they can't claim misrepresentation. (That why auctioneers all offer previews.) It's somewhat alarming that the major bidding platforms let auction houses offer 'condition reports' only upon request. The fact is, if you don't ask, many don't really what they're selling. Caveat emptor.
Many small, successful auction houses charge sellers a 15% commission and buyers a 15% buyer's premium, not 20%, 25%, or 30%+. It started with eBay, founded in the mid-1990s, with a DIY model and a 15% commission. That, in Doug's opinion, set a 'floor' and gave auction houses the green light to charge more for "full service". Admittedly the business also changed. Whereas local auctioneers could sell items spread out on tables for bidders to preview, the internet created a need for cataloging, marketing, and shipping. The combination of buyer's premium, sales tax, and shipping is becoming too much for many collectors. They're reducing what they're willing to pay, hurting consignors. The only winner here is the auction house; however, by pushing the cost of participation upwards, they're inviting competition and destroying the hobby supporting them.
Bottom-line, it's time for changes that make auctions successful for all participants and fun again.