Every so often I buy something from one of the traditional auction houses (e.g. Heritage, Sothebys, etc). Most of the time I have a solid strategy, but on occasion I get too excited about an item and the potential to get it for a good price that I forget... THE FEES!

Happened last night. Was tracking a grail of mine, and found one at auction that nobody seemed to be bidding on. Thought it was my time to finally grab it, and for a decent price.

And guess what?! I won!!! And my winning bid was slightly lower than comps.

And then the final bill came. 22% buyers premium. Shipping and handling. Taxes.

And what ended up being a smart buy turned into an overpay by a healthy margin.

I'd say 'lesson learned' but I've learned the same lesson a few times and it never sticks.

Sharing here in case I can help someone else be slightly smarter about it!

Will post my (too expensive) card when it comes in!!!