auction houses, flea markets and malls 9/30/11
on this page:
- auction warnings: inflated feedback; bogus pieces; shill bidding; scams
- local & international of Matchbox auctions next auction date listed below as known
- "on-Line" Auctions
- on-line flea markets; & "malls"
[information on past auctions generally left until new information is available]
BEWARE inflated eBay feedback !!! the seller in an auction for which I was not high bidder offered to "trade" positive feedback, explaining "I am building a reputation as a honest and friendly seller. If you would like to exchange positive feedbacks I would be happy to return the favor. Don't put in the item number though, it sometimes won't take." 1/15/00
AUCTION WARNING: two very reliable sources told me a significant number of questionable & verified outright "bogus" pieces have & are passing through one of the "major" auction houses conducting regular scheduled in-person auctions, & the house failed to stand behind one bogus piece when the buyer sought to return it. 11/26/98
AUCTION WARNING: several sources told me a seller on one of the "largest" on-line web auction sites is shill bidding (using another ID to bid up prices on his own auctions). Reportedly he contacted the losing bidder to try & sell him the identical rare piece which his brother-in-law just happened to also have after the seller pushed it too far & ended up "buying" his own piece. 11/26/98
CAVEAT 1/1/99 A.I.M. newsletter, Vol. XXIX No. 8, January 1999, page 1, reports on a number of "scams" to be aware of on the internet [these apply to all dealings other than in person as well]:
- buy a terrific mint piece, get it, return a "sandbox" model, complain & demand a refund
- order something & claim you never got it
- tell the seller only part of your order was in the box & demand they send the rest
- put a reserve high enough to insure really high bids
[and, "pad" the shipping charge for extra profit. FCC]
Locally known & international auctioneers of Matchbox
Diecast Toy Exchange 7/18/98
- <toys@diecasttoys.com> 1/21/00
- 405 Carlisle Ave.
York Pennsylvania 17404 - Phone: (717) 854-8026
- FAX: (717) 845-2640
- http://www.diecasttoys.com [store & auction info] 1/21/00
- preview photos http://www.diecasttoys.com/Preview.html 1/21/00 link appears broken 11/29/01
- Manager: Wayne Laughman
- Owner: Ron Slyder
- Auctioneer: Steve Dance
- Full color catalog $10.00/US; $15/overseas. Canada, etc.
has intermittent auctions [about once every 3 months] of an average 600-800 lots [1-20 pieces] of Matchbox, Dinky, etc., including "rare & unusual" items.
Vectis Auctions Ltd <admin@vectis.co.uk> 5/9/98
- Fleck Way
Thornaby, Stockton-on Tees, TS17 9JS
England - Tel: 44 1642 750616
- FAX: 44 1642 769478
"founded by Roger Mazillius [1989] & was originally based on The Isle of Wight, bought by Bryan Goodall, owner of The Hambleton Group, in 1996 & its head office relocated to the north east of England." - home http://www.vectis.co.uk
- Vectis Auctions Ltd auctioned the Ron Slyder collection on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, April 11, 12 & 13, 2007. Location: Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees, England. "Probably the best Matchbox collection ever to come onto the market… . with many rare models." For information contact Andrew Reed, +44 (0)1642 750616 or admin@vectis.co.uk. Being held the same week as the 22nd MICA Convention. 3/3/07
- Roy Slyder Vectis Auction set records (including 22% fees): [MB USA nwsletter April 2007] 4/25/07
- PS-3 Presentation set containing boxed versions of regular wheels 17A through 24A, the rare part being the PS-3 outer box, at £6200 / $12,293.98
- 20C Taxi with gray wheels £6200 / $12,293.98
- 45A Vauxall Victor, red body at £3800 / $7,535.02
- 22C Pontiac Gran Prix, preproduction in green at £2800 / $5,552.12
- 72A Fordson Tractor, yellow hubs with gray tires at £2600 / $4,155.54
- M-5 Combine Harvester, silver hubs and gray tires at £2100 / $4,164.09
- 43C Pony trailer, preproduction in white at £2000 / $3,965.80
Lloyd Ralston Galleries, Inc.
- 400 Long Beach Blvd.
Stratford, CT 06615 11/8/98 - Tel: (203) 386-9399
- FAX: (203) 386-9519
- e-mail: Irgallery@aol.com 5/23/99
- http://www.lloydralstontoys.com 2/13/00
- (several auctions a year with good Matchbox & many other vintage die cast. Purchase of auction catalog for $12 to $18 required to bid. Most items sold in lots rather than individually. List of winning bids supplied on request.)
Special Auction Services, based near Reading, Berkshire, UK 4/2/09
- holds four regular auctions of Toys for the Collector each year since 2002.The next auction is on Saturday 4th April and includes 415 diecast lots (120 Dinky toys lots, 111 Corgi Toys lots, 120 Matchbox lots and 61 various diecast lots).The auction catalogue brochures are available on request at £7.50.
- http://www.specialauctionservices.com
- The sale is also listed and illustrated on http://www.the-saleroom.com/sas
- Reasonable postage charges worldwide and bids can be submitted by e-mail mail@specialauctionservices.com together with full name, address and telephone number.
Phillips International Auctioneers & Valuers
- <ealberta@pipeline.com>
- 406 East 79th Street
New York, NY 10021 - Tel: 800-825-2781
- FAX: 212-570-2207
- http://www.phillips-auctions.com/uk/ 1/10/99 link appears broken 11/29/01
- valuation service (Insurance, Probate, Overseas) free of charge if brought in for verbal estimates & advice, or preliminary estimate from photos. If a valuer calls at your home, usually no charge if subsequently sold through Phillips, otherwise a nominal fee. For Further Information contact +44-171 468 8348, or print out enquiry form from web page above & fax or post it.
On-Line Auctions
eBay on line auction 1/6/98 1/6/99
- Items often go for more than offered from known sources without the greater confidence of getting what you expect in the condition indicated. Some sellers are "padding" shipping/ handling charges for extra profit. [1/21/99]
- search http://pages.ebay.com/search/items/search.html 1/30/00
- Matchbox category: 1/30/00 http://listings.ebay.com/aw/listings/endtoday/category761/index.html
- Lesney category: 1/30/00
http://listings.ebay.com/aw/listings/list/all/category1175/index.html - announcements/information [e.g., planned outages or current problems] 1/30/00 http://www2.ebay.com/aw/announce.shtml
bidding period is approximately 5-7 days (set by the seller) - few offerings seem to be truly MIB, mint or NM.
- condition is hard to determine from a "good" digital photos & some images on eBay are pretty bad.
- "snipping" [last second bidding so you don't have time to outbid them & they are assured of winning]
Lesney auction site 2/22/10
Mobilia Toy And Model Supermarket 3/14/00
Up4sale On-line Auction 7/29/98 purchased by eBay in 1998, "closed" 4/17/00
Auction Universe [a Times Mirror Company] 7/18/98
- http://www.auctionuniverse.com
- "sponsored & supported by leading newspapers, antiques & collectibles trade papers & web sites"
- Michael E. Zucaro, Dealer Development
- <mzucaro@auctionuniverse.com>
- (203) 741-5138 [Only a handful of Matchbox hits on a search done 7/16/98, about 30 newer items on 4/18/99]
Antiques & Collectibles Online Auction
- http://www.liveauctiononline.com
- <dave@liveauctiononline.com> 11/5/98
- "Antiques, Beanies, Barbies, Art, Animation, Cells, Dolls,Trading Cards, Hotwheels, Antique Toys, Diecast, Glass, Porcelain, Pottery, Ceramics, Advertising, Disney, Books, Music, Sci-Fi, Audio Equipment,Videos, Computer Hardware/ Software" [No separate Matchbox category & I did not find any Matchbox for sale when checked 3/14/99 or 4/17/00]
Fainco Global internet Auction
- <webmaster@faincoauction.com> 12/15/98 [no Matchbox currently listed 12/15/98 or 3/14/99 or 4/17/00]
- http://www.faincoauction.com/
- Superfast listing Through our catalogue ToyPedia - takes just 20 seconds!
- Lots of free images Up to ten per listing. Free!
- Find stuff easily! Just use our patented browser to find what you're looking for by category, or use the keyword filter to narrow your findings!
- No listing fees, or any other upfront fees! You only pay when the item sells
- Low final value fees Just 8% final value fees on Buy-It-Now and Auction items, plus 8% buyer's premium on auctions - less than eBay's 20%!
- No payment fees Our Amazon-style integrated payment system means no PayPal and no PayPal fees, just quick, secure, free payments!
- Safe and fair for both Buyers and Sellers. Our checkout system provides maximum protection to both parties! "
The Toy Collector Market is open for business! 9/20/11 [email from MB Forum 9/20/11]
"Great news for collectors and modellers - Toy Collector's new Toy Market - the place to buy and sell collectable toys and models online - is now up and running! Grab a bargain to celebrate!
"To mark the launch, we've got a raft of vintage Corgi and Dinky toys - all in great shape - up on auction at a start price of less than 50 cents each! (That's £0.25 or 0.50 Euro Cents each for those in England or Europe!) The picture above shows just a few of them - click here to see them all!
"For our launch, we're focusing the market on Corgi & Dinky, but there's other diecast brands up for sale too and we're adding more all the time - Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Spot-On, some great 1/43 niche brands and more. (If there's a particular brand you'd like to see, just let us know on toypedia@toycollector.com!) … A few reasons why you should buy and sell on Toy Collector today … In case you haven't heard, here are just a few of the great advantages offered by the Toy Collector Market …
On-line flea markets & malls:
Matchbox classified 12/31/97
Toymart Pavilion 12/13/97
- toy shops, dealers, collectors, collecting Information etc.
- http://www.toymart.com/pavillion/pavillionhome.html link appears broken 11/29/01
CRAFT UNIQUE
- http://www.craft.co.uk 5/31/97
- Philip Ashley
- <pashley@netcentral.co.uk>
- models are under "Collectable Models". Generally seem to be a few MB here but not lots
Pretty Good Toys 12/13/97
International Model Collectors 9/2/97
- Dave Taylor
- extensive list of dealers & shops
- http://www.solnet.co.uk/modelcollector/ link appears broken 11/29/01
Joyce's General Store 6/21/97
Carter's Collectibles 8/10/97
- <gameday@game-day.com>
- toys & collectibles/cars/trucks; Hot Wheels Redlines '68-'77; Hot Wheels '77 to Present; original Johnny Lightning; Matchbox regular wheels & Superfast, with just a few regular wheels or Superfast
- http://www.game-day.com/toys/