PRESS RELEASE: Heritage Auctions’ Make Offer to Owner Program Hits $10 Million Record

Collector-to-collector transactions yield six-figure resale prices

DALLAS, Texas—Heritage Auctions’ Make Offer to Owner (MOtO) service, a proprietary program in which clients make anonymous offers to purchase items previously sold at auction, enjoyed a record-breaking year in 2017 as sales surged to more than $10 million.

This program combines two of the features clients consider most important: quickness and security,” Heritage Auctions Co-Chairman Jim Halperin said. “It allows a quick way for a customer to continue pursuit of a missed auction item, and does so through a safe, efficient process that benefits both sides of each transaction.”

The top seven MOtO sales yielded a six-figure return; seven of the top 10 lots sold during 2017 were sports collectibles and memorabilia. The program spans 40 categories offered at Heritage.

Clients who enroll in Heritage’s MOtO program have the opportunity to bid on items in select auctions within 72 hours after the conclusion of the sale for all items that have been in inventory for more than 30 days. Those who make an anonymous offer will have their information transmitted by Heritage to the lot’s owner, who then has the option of accepting or rejecting the offer, or presenting a counteroffer for the MOtO client’s consideration. Heritage retains 10 percent of the total price as a commission and waives all credit card and/or PayPal fees. Transactions are managed through HA.com, which protects the privacy of all parties. Lots can be returned during a seven-day window, after which MOtO transactions are binding.

The top 10 MOtO lots from 2017 were:

• The 1964 American League Most Valuable Player award from the Brooks Robinson Collection, which sold for $202,000, marking a bump of nearly 24 percent over the original auction price
• Robert Crumb’s 1970 Complete Sketchbook Original Art, which sold through MOtO for $143,400, also representing a jump of nearly 24 percent over the original return
• A 1902-11 W600 Sporting Life Honus Wagner – Street Clothes SGC 60 EX 5 drew $135,000 – an increase of just over 38 percent
• A 1909-11 T206 Piedmont Walter Johnson Portrait PSA Mint 9, which sold for $125,000 (up 61 percent)
• The 1986 World Series Last-Out Baseball from The Gary Carter Collection realized $120,000, an increase of more than 67 percent
• A 1905-10 Honus Wagner Game Used Decal Bat, PSA/DNA GU 8, which went for $110,000, an increase of 119 percent
• A 1932 U.S. Caramel Babe Ruth #32 PSA NM-MT 8 brought $110,000, up from $83,650
• An 1881 $20 PR63 Ultra Cameo NGC that sold for $72,500, a jump of just over 80 percent from the original sale price
• A 1909-11 T206 Sweet Caporal Ty Cobb (Red Portrait) SGC 88 NM/MT 8 drew $65,000, an increase of more than 50 percent
• An 1895 $1 PR64 Cameo NGC went for $59,000, a jump of more than 18 percent

Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, Amsterdam and Hong Kong.

The Internet’s most popular auction-house website, HA.com, has over one million registered bidder-members, and searchable free archives of four million past auction records with prices realized, descriptions and enlargeable photos. Reproduction rights routinely granted to media for photo credit.

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