HERITAGE SEES RECORD-BREAKING SALES FOR ONLINE PLATFORM
Heritage Auctions rang up more than $438 million in online sales last year, shattering industry records.
AUCTION UPDATE
2017 HERITAGE HIGHLIGHTS
►Heritage’s Sports Collectibles cleared $100 million in total annual sales, setting a world record for the trade.
►Annual sales of comic books, comic art and animation art surpassed $48.2 million, a new ceiling for the trade and outselling all other auction competitors combined.
►Heritage’s Fine and Rare Wine category recorded its best year to date, surpassing $14.1 million in sales.
►Auctions of vintage posters and movie posters exceeded $10 million in 2017. A world record for most valuable movie poster was set when a 1931 one sheet for Dracula sold for $525,800.
Web sales made up more than half of Heritage’s $815 million in total sales for 2017, with the remainder from live auctions and direct sales. The $438 million figure is about $100 million more than the auction industry’s previous high of $348.12 million, achieved by Heritage in 2016.
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Heritage is America’s biggest auction house, adding roughly 5,000 new clients per month, thanks to its easily accessible website, reports the Dallas Business Journal.
“Obviously, as time progresses, people are becoming more comfortable buying things over the Internet,” says Heritage CEO Steve Ivy. “Our site and system are designed to make it easy to bid and buy, more than other auction companies.”
Last year “was a tremendous year for expansion, profitability and growth across almost every other category we serve,” adds Heritage Co-Chairman James Halperin. “We’ve become the world’s market leader in several fast-growing collectibles categories, strengthening our plans for global expansion.”
Rare ‘Mummy’ Poster Highlights Auction
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The only-remaining Belgian poster for The Mummy (Universal, 1933) is expected to realize at least $60,000 when it goes to auction this spring.
The stunning 24½-by-33½-inch stone lithograph poster for The Mummy depicts the haunting visage of Boris Karloff as the shrouded Egyptian priest Imhotep, the mummy who escapes thousands of years after being buried alive. The well-preserved piece comes from Universal’s original European distribution.
“Our spring auctions traditionally offer posters with stunning images from some of the most iconic movies ever made,” Heritage Auctions Vintage Posters Director Grey Smith says. “We believe there are rare posters in this wonderful group for every taste.”
Movie Posters Signature® Auction 7178 is scheduled for April 7-8, 2018, in Dallas and online at HA.com/7178a.
App Increases Access to Coin Data
Numismatists can now access data on more than 38.2 million coins graded by Professional Coin Grading Service after a barcode scanning update to Heritage Auctions’ mobile app.
The barcode scan also offers instant access to 2.2 million items in Heritage’s coins pricing database, giving collectors a price guide to auction results for comparable coins.
“This update complements Heritage’s barcode scan access to coins graded by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation and professionally graded comic books from the hobby’s leading services,” says Jim Halperin, co-founder of Heritage Auctions. “Collectors can be confident we will continue to seek practical additions to our app whenever possible.”
The smartphone application – which also offers free appraisals using your device’s camera, instant lot tracking and one-touch mobile bidding – is available free at HA.com/App.
This story appears in the Spring/Summer 2018 edition of The Intelligent Collector magazine. Click here to subscribe to the print edition.