Recently, I was discussing with a dealer colleague the challenges of bidding through online auctions. Our concern was not necessarily the software for bidding but rather the add-ons that can drive up the final hammer price considerably. Let me offer an example. Suppose you buy that famed left-handed back-scratcher that you know you can resell for $200 easily. You paid $100 for it at a public sale run by the Acme Auction Company. But then they tack on a 35-percent buyers premium. You are now up to $135. Then the outsider shipper tacks $50 onto the tag to pick up and ship the item to you. Your little $100 back scratcher is now costing you $185, which considerably narrows how much profit you can make if the back-scratcher is to be resold for $200. Before venturing down this dangerous rabbit hole, let me say that I do agree with the old adage that auctioneers earn every cent of their money. They meet with clients, transport the merch to their warehouse, sort it and clean it and catalog and sell it. I do understand that. But, with auctions becoming totally virtual, the overhead of having a sales room, multiple runners, and other staff has disappeared. So is the high premium justifiable for those houses that are totally online? The shipping issue is another personal bugaboo. To me, the best houses are the ones that directly ship merchandise to the buyer. In those cases, one is at least dealing with a single entity based on one price from start to finish rather than outside and unknown shippers and transport companies. Postage has gone up, and frankly we all want our stuff yesterday. The latter comes from both a desire for instant gratification and that most of us do not trust the shippers. Recently, I had a dispute with a shipper affiliated with one of the large online auction platforms. A month of complaints were ignored until I filed a claim with the New York Better Business Bureau and put a stop payment on my credit card. Then it got shipped. I stray from my point, however. The question is that the packing and shipping fees can add a huge amount to a purchase price. I have no answer to the conundrum that I have just expounded upon. A pure capitalist would argue that the public will price shop and auctioneers with excessive commissions and fees will lose out. Yet, ironically, there are auctioneers who do not charge a buyers premium, and they have not succeeded in putting the other guys out of business. Overall, the antiques market has become very tight over the last two decades. The adage has been that the top and the bottom of the markets take care of themselves, but the middle has been stagnant. I would argue that at this point all levels of the market have stalled, so the narrowed gap between the cost of buying and the ability to resell is now gripping the entire market. There is no solution. Can auctions afford to drop the percent of their premiums? Can shipping costs be reduced? Or will we be returning to a time when auctions only cater to a local market who can attend and then pick up their items. Some would argue that prices just need to drop and so the shipping is a tool in keeping things cheaper. But that still does not solve the issue of whether the antiques marketplace can truly be part of a larger and more sustainable global economy. A heck-of-a predicament for the antiques trade. Born to collect should be the motto of Peter Seiberts family. Raised in Central Pennsylvania, Seibert has been collecting and writing about antiques for more than three decades. By day, he is a museum director and has worked in Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Virginia and New Mexico. In addition, he advises and consults with auction houses throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, particularly about American furniture and decorative arts. Seiberts writings include books on photography, American fraternal societies and paintings. He and his family are restoring a 1905 arts and crafts house filled with years worth of antique treasures found in shops, co-ops and at auctions.