Naturally, we're prejudiced when it comes to tickets from the World's Columbian Exposition. Last December we sold our personal collection through Heritage Auctions.

The results were mixed. Buyers were able to acquire some of the rarest tickets from the fair, and institutions and individuals alike were able to add to their collections common, scarce and unparalleled tickets, passes and invitations that may never again be on the market.

Our only complaint about the auction was how it affected us as sellers and you as buyers. Because Heritage is one of the world's largest and fastest growing auction houses, it has to focus on the bottom line. Lower-priced lots were not accepted.

Consequently, Heritage lumped together many tickets that should have been sold individually. It was a simple choice: Lump them together or don't include them in the auction. We made the decision to sell through a major house and consequently had tradeoffs, this being the major one.

In some cases five to ten $200+/- tickets were lumped into a single lot that, much to our chagrin, brought, say, $500. While the buyer of that lot did well, it also deprived individual buyers of purchasing just one or two items at a modest price each. But outside a few cases of this type of lotting, the prices were quite strong and logical.

The 120 lots included approximately 350 tickets, and 114 of the 120 lots sold. The tickets in the other six will be included in our own first-ever hosted auction scheduled for spring 2010, in which there will be NO BUYER'S FEES. We will provide updates on the auction on this site between now and when it goes live.

As sellers we're certainly cognizant of the need to generate income, and hopefully profit. But we feel the disregard that Heritage and other major houses show for smaller collectors, regardless of the state of the economy, is counterproductive to the hobby. Sellers' fees are often negotiated between the consignor and the auction house, but are generally 15 percent of the hammer price unless the consignment is a major multi-million collection; buyers pay a whopping 19.5 percent premium, a relatively new upward adjustment from the former longstanding 15 percent. That old figure of 10 percent is fading from memory, unfortunately.

When looking at it in actual dollars, there's only more angst generated among buyers and consignors to major houses. If you consign $5,000 and it costs you $750 the rationale is you'll make more with a big house. In reality that's not always the case. Worse, if you're a buyer and you spend $5,000, you're looking at a commission of almost $1,000 more just for the right to spend your money!

In Heritage's case (they far outstrip other hobby houses such as Legendary Auctions—formerly Mastro—Superior, Bowers & Merena, and many others), they now generate more than $700 million in annual gross revenue. That approximate figure is from both 2007 and 2008, and we have no indication that '09 was anything but at least steady compared to the previous year.

Heritage has joined the Sotheby's and Christie's of the world in the big leagues; they'll hit a billion dollars in annual auction sales very soon. And they still compete with many smaller houses selling in other collectibles markets. It's inevitable with growth, success and profitability that a lot of small customers fall off the wagon as it grows and rolls faster. In the simplest terms, if an auction house offers few lots below $500 (or even $300), many sellers are forced to buy elsewhere. Remember, too, that we're not talking about $500 hammer prices, but rather $500 minimum opening prices or reserves.

If spending $1,000 can only get you one or two lots, and costs you $195 in commissions and another $25–$50 in shipping, there are issues. And, in this market we are hearing from buyers who spend more. Dealers and collectors who used to be able to purchase, say, 40 lots for $5,000 with $600 in fees at the now-defunct Heritage Long Beach token and medal sale now say that buying TEN lots for $5,000 plus $975 in fees and perhaps a $75 shipping bill (in a larger Heritage auction) is just too much. They discontinued the less-than-million-dollar auctions, which had become a Long Beach institution alongside major ($10–$20 million) Heritage coin auctions.

We shouldn't be complaining: This spring The History Bank will offer our first self-hosted auction with NO buyer's fees and in the price range that Heritage doesn't want. But we participate in dozens of auction annually and our clients and readers even more. It's all about financial survival and hopefully profitability, of course. It may sound naive and an outdated philosophy, but providing service and building customers creates a rapport and relationship that makes profitability possible.

Below are examples of WCE ticket prices realized.

Interestingly, Heritage felt that the sagging economy impacted our sales in their auction in late 2008. But when looking at a very narrow market, with a limited number of buyers, it's clear that specialty markets are influenced by many factors. A bad economy MAY be one of them. If there are only 50 ... 100 ... 500 active collectors in a field (say, WCE tickets) and 80 of these are people who have limited funds, they may be forced not to participate in a given auction. Thus, with fewer bidders on a given lot—say, 6 not 8—prices realized MAY be affected dramatically. Remember these three basic realities of an auction:

Of course, a single auction, even with three or more bidders, provides only limited and possibly misleading information. Repeating the auction a few months down the road can provide valuable perspective.

So, in a relatively small field such as the WCE tickets, have prices edged down because of economic factors? Not likely and certainly not visibly.

Following these actual prices realized, we have added estimates of current retail market value. While 2009 prices were stagnant, the flat market was due mainly to the limited number of specimens offered. Current estimates are prices we would expect to see realized if more than a few specimens are sold.