waterman wrote on Jan 14
th, 2014 at 7:32pm:
What does "price realized" mean? Does it include the 20 % buyer's premium? And does the seller also pay a commission? Or is "price realized" the net amount going to the person who gets paid after all the commissions & premiums & taxes have been paid?
The price realized is the price at knockdown, not what the seller receives; and doesn't include any sales tax or registration/transfer fees.I do not know if it reflects a 20% buyer premium or not.It depends on the auction house.Best to ask them directly.
And yes, the seller pays a commission on the sale.And that could be as much as 20%.
As I understand it, the "buyer's premium" started showing up about 15-20 years ago, to the tune of around 5%. It was stated by auctioneers that it was a way of spreading out their cost of doing business so that the seller wasn't hit with ever increasing commissions.
But like everything else, the commissions went up, the buyer premiums went up, and then they added 3% for credit cards.Or a discount for cash or checks whichever way you want to take it.
The auctioneer is not in business to lose money; and if he has what you want, you will pay for it one way or another.