Valerie Putman:  Selling games at auction

This will be a short one….  Friends are in town for Buckeye Game Fest and there’s gaming to do.  I just wanted to share my first experience with selling games at an auction.  The auctioneer is Bruce Reiff and he is hilarious.  He could sell you sand in the desert and I am quite happy with the $115 he generated for the 22 games I sold.  A few things went for just $1 or less than I expected, but others went for quite a bit more.  There were a few sales (not necessarily mine) that stood out.

Survivor $40
Heroquest (base game) $29
Puerto Rico $15
Command & Colors Ancients $35
Goldbrau $20
Tongiaki $8
Elasund $25
Risk (wooden) $40
Blokus $16

I want to make one other important observation.  When owners put a minimum bid close to what the game was worth, the game often didn’t sell at all.  In fact, any minimum bid requirement seemed to slow down the bidders.  Good games with a $3 - $5 minimum bid sold for just $3 - $5, but when 3 bidders jumped at once for a $1 bid, they often outbid each other up to $8 - $10 for similar quality games.

Auctions can be found at Origins, GenCon, WBC, Prezcon, Buckeye Game Fest and many other events.  It can be fun to watch, but frustrating if you are waiting for a specific game.  Selling can be risky, but it was a great way to clear out some used games that I wouldn’t want to put on a prize table, but that someone else might enjoy for a few dollars.  And think of all the new games I can fit on my shelf!

I’d rather be gaming!
Valerie Putman

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