Buyer's Premium Calculator
Know your true all-in cost before you raise the paddle. Flip between two modes — reverse-calc the maximum hammer you can bid given a budget, or compute the full landed cost after BP, sales tax, shipping, and grading for a won lot. Side-by-side across 11 major auction houses.
Side-by-side house comparison
Same $5,000 hammer across 11 houses — cheapest all-in at top.
| # | House | BP | Hammer | BP $ | All-in | Δ vs best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | eBay (auction) | 0.00% | $5,000 | $0 | $5,507.5 | — best |
| 2 | Whatnot (live) | 0.00% | $5,000 | $0 | $5,507.5 | +$0 |
| 3 | Fanatics Collect | 15.00% | $5,000 | $750 | $6,323.88 | +$816.38 |
| 4 | PWCC Marketplace Premier | 17.50% | $5,000 | $875 | $6,459.94 | +$952.44 |
| 5 | Goldin (Fanatics) | 20.00% | $5,000 | $1,000 | $6,596 | +$1,088.5 |
| 6 | Memory Lane Inc | 20.00% | $5,000 | $1,000 | $6,596 | +$1,088.5 |
| 7 | Robert Edward Auctions | 20.00% | $5,000 | $1,000 | $6,596 | +$1,088.5 |
| 8 | Love of the Game | 20.00% | $5,000 | $1,000 | $6,596 | +$1,088.5 |
| 9 | Lelands | 22.00% | $5,000 | $1,100 | $6,704.85 | +$1,197.35 |
| 10 | Huggins & Scott | 22.00% | $5,000 | $1,100 | $6,704.85 | +$1,197.35 |
| 11 | Heritage Auctions | 25.00% | $5,000 | $1,250 | $6,868.13 | +$1,360.63 |
Click any row to make that house the selected one. BP rates reflect 2026 published catalog terms; verify before bidding as houses adjust rates periodically and some apply tier-specific BP on ultra-high-end lots.
On a 20% BP auction, your hammer ceiling is ~83% of your total budget. On 25% BP, it drops to ~80%. Add 8% sales tax and the ratios become 77% / 74% respectively.
Bidders anchor on hammer. BP is invisible in the moment. Set your max-hammer number BEFORE the lot opens — then do not exceed it even if the room is hot. The calculator gives you that number.
Same card at two houses? The 15% BP venue can be $400+ cheaper on a $5K hammer than the 25% venue. Liquid cards travel. Thin-comp cards stay.
FAQ
What is a buyer's premium?▾
A buyer's premium (BP) is a percentage surcharge the auction house adds on top of the hammer price, paid by the winning bidder. On a $10,000 hammer with a 20% BP, the buyer writes a check for $12,000 — the extra $2,000 goes to the house as its revenue. BP rates in sports/TCG auctions typically range from 15% to 27%, though rates for super-high-end lots can be privately negotiated. BP is usually disclosed in the catalog terms but is missed by most new bidders, who anchor on the hammer price and forget the 20% add-on.
Why does BP matter for budgeting?▾
If you have a hard ceiling of $10,000 to spend on a card and you bid up to $10,000 hammer on a 20% BP auction, your actual cost is $12,000 plus sales tax and shipping — you will have blown your budget by $2,500 or more. The calculator reverses the math: tell it your total all-in budget, and it returns the maximum hammer you can bid to land at or under your budget. This is the single most useful pre-bid discipline tool we ship.
What BP rates do major card auction houses charge in 2026?▾
Heritage Auctions: 20% on lots below a tier threshold, typically 25% on sports/trading cards. Goldin (Fanatics-owned): 20% on most lots. PWCC Marketplace Premier: 17.5%. Lelands: 22%. Memory Lane Inc: 20%. Robert Edward Auctions (REA): 20%. Huggins & Scott: 22%. Fanatics Collect (buyer side): 15%. Love of the Game Auctions: 20%. eBay: no formal BP — fees embedded in listing side. Always verify on the current catalog terms page before bidding, as houses adjust rates periodically and some run promotional tiers.
How does sales tax factor in?▾
Since South Dakota v. Wayfair (2018), all major auction houses now collect state sales tax from the buyer based on the shipping-destination state. Rates vary widely — Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon charge zero; California 7.25-10.25% depending on county; Tennessee 7-9.75%; New York 4-8.875%; Texas 6.25-8.25%. Tax is applied to the HAMMER + BP combined total, NOT just the hammer. On a $10K hammer with 20% BP at 8% sales tax, you pay $12,960 total. The calculator includes a state dropdown with approximate state + typical-local combined rates; enter your exact local rate for precision.
What about shipping for a high-value card?▾
Insured shipping for graded cards scales with insured value. Rough tiers: $0-1K card = $10-20 USPS Priority with insurance; $1-5K = $20-40 USPS Priority + Registered; $5-20K = $40-100 UPS/FedEx signature-required with declared value; $20-100K = $100-400 armored courier or hand-delivery option; $100K+ = private armored transit. Most major houses offer flat shipping in the $15-50 range for standard lots and negotiate separately for grails. The tool estimates by value tier but always check the house's shipping quote before bidding on a six-figure lot.
Can I compare multiple auction houses side by side?▾
Yes — enter your target hammer and the tool fans out all 11 houses at once, showing all-in cost for each. Useful when you see the same card listed at two houses (say, a 1986 Fleer Jordan PSA 10 at Goldin and at Heritage) and want to pick the cheaper venue. Also useful when deciding where to consign the SELL side in exchange, because BP revenue at a house correlates with its ability to price-discover your lot — low-BP houses attract more bidders but capture less per-lot revenue, potentially leaving less marketing budget.
What about additional fees I might not see?▾
Beyond BP + sales tax + shipping, watch for: payment-method surcharges (credit cards often add 2-3% on top at some houses — check-wire fees zero), high-end lot service charges on lots above threshold values, currency conversion if bidding cross-border (1-3% spread), and optional third-party grading or authentication add-ons if you ask the house to ship to PSA/BGS/SGC before delivery. The tool lets you toggle a credit-card surcharge and a grading add-on to see the full picture.
Is a higher BP rate always worse for buyers?▾
Not always. High-BP houses (Heritage 25%, Lelands 22%) often run the biggest marketing machines, attracting more bidders — which in a liquid category can actually LOWER hammer prices because the market discovers a deeper bid stack. A 20% BP on a $8K hammer ($9,600 all-in) can beat a 15% BP on a $9K hammer ($10,350 all-in) from the same card at a less-trafficked house. The tool helps you reason about this by showing all-in cost rather than just BP rate. For liquid cards with 10+ public comps, pick the house with the most distribution. For thin-comp cards, lean toward lower BP because price discovery is weak either way.