"THERIAULTS NEW AUCTION SITE" > Page 1, 2
Theriault.com's New Auction Site
Revamped Auction Site To Include NEW Person-To-Person Doll Auctions and Dealer Auctions and Searchable Archives
Theriault's, the largest auction house in the world that specializes in antique and collectible dolls, launches its new, revamped doll auction and information site today, March 20, 2000, at 4pm eastern time. Here is your first look at all the new features of the site, including a new person-to-person doll auction which differs markedly from eBay, Amazon.com, Boxlot and other well-known auction sites currently on the Internet.
Ten2go Auctions
The major feature of the revamped Theriault's web site is the "Ten2go" auctions. These are person-to-person auctions where doll collectors can list their dolls for sale for an opening bid of $10, with NO RESERVE. All listings will be for a flat fee of $2.95, with no additional commissions charged.
If this auction becomes popular (with a critical mass of doll buyers and sellers) it could become formidable competition to the eBay auctions for serious doll collectors. One of the major problems with eBay and similar auction sites in the doll categories are the huge number of auctions that are run with reserves. In the beginning of the eBay site, there were far fewer auctions, and almost NO reserves since almost all dolls would tend to sell at a decent market price. Now on eBay, there is a glut of doll auctions, most with reserves. This takes the fun and suspense out of the auctions, since most reserves on doll auctions tend to be at or near market price, which inhibits bidding (bad for buyers AND sellers). Large opening bids ALSO inhibit bidding.
The $10 opening bid AND the $2.95 listing fee may work hand--in-hand to limit the number of lower-quality dolls that are offered at this auction. Additionally, the NO RESERVE requirement may bring back the initial fun of the beginning eBay days, when the dolls listed were truly up for AUCTION (any bid can win!). As a frequent seller on eBay in its beginning days, I found that the "free market" aspect also helped me get a good price for my dolls.
There are two big unknowns--
First, will collectors be willing to pay a flat fee of $2.95 to list their dolls? On eBay, a doll selling for $25 will cost a seller $1.75 in fees (a .50 listing fee and a 1.25 commission). A doll selling for $100 on eBay costs the seller $2.69 in fees and commissions. If the doll doesn't sell, there are no commissions at all on eBay--just the listing fee. But, for dolls selling for OVER $120, the Theriault's fee will be less expensive than the eBay fee plus commission. It will be interesting to see how collectors react to this, and if this fee structure will help skew the auctions towards higher-end dolls.
The second unknown is the auction interface itself. Will it be easy to use? Will listings and photos be easy to post? Can bids be placed with a standing maximum bid? More on this after the site is operational next week!
Next page > Read about the new Avant Auctions, and more new features of the new Theriault's site > Page 1, 2
What do you think of the new Theriault's Ten2Go Doll Auctions? Discuss in the Theriault Ten2Go Discussion in the Dolls Forum!
Back to the Doll Collecting Main Page
©Denise Van Patten 2000
All Rights Reserved.
