LAIKO

One of the biggest things for Auction Houses is how do they handle competition? @GoldinCo will probably do $1 Billion in sales this year. A RECORD year by multiples. Sotheby’s Collectibles, in the midst of a Collectibles boom, had a terrible year. That will be the cause of change. As we are seeing.

The playing field for high end Sports Memorabilia consignments has widened and it is definitely going to cause a shift in how auction houses handle their future. The private market has gone bonkers. Joopiter has entered. The Realest has entered. Christie’s is coming. It is not the same landscape as it was just a few years ago, and that is definitely affecting the bottom line for Sotheby’s. We are seeing them place house guarantees to get consignments, which is a dramatic shift in behavior. In the art world, it is not shocking to see high level executives move around from Sotheby’s to Christies etc. If Brahm Wachter leaves Sotheby’s Collectibles that will cause a storm. Was Eric the first shoe to drop? The thing with Sotheby’s is that the market is developing in a way that is not conducive to internal growth. So if Brahm has a great Sports consignment, and someone from the Art department has a client who is interested in that Sports object, Brahm can’t speak to the Art employee’s client. So how does the Art employee, who knows nothing about Memorabilia, develop that client over time? So it would not shock me if Brahm left Sotheby’s. At the end of the day it is all about money. He has done a great job developing the Sports market at Sotheby’s, but ultimately internal structure at Sotheby’s can be holding the market back - and ultimately holding Brahm back from personal growth. They are no longer the only game in town for high end property, and have actually fallen behind other auction houses because of questionable behavior - which is likely the cause and reaction of internal pressure.

Eric’s departure from Sotheby’s represents a departure from the original concept behind the Streetwear and Modern Collectibles department. Eric is largely responsible for Sotheby’s entering the Sports world. What originally began as a department at Sotheby’s focused on rare sneakers connected to skateboard culture eventually morphed into a full blown Sports Memorabilia/Collectibles category. Eric was the engine behind the sneaker category at Sotheby’s. The most knowledgable employee. His presence allowed for the game worn sneaker consignments to become a thing at Sotheby’s, not because of the game worn part, but because of the PE sneaker connection, which ultimately developed into more memorabilia consignments as those sneaker consignments drew in bidders from the game worn world. The team at Sotheby’s are absent die hard Sports fans, especially from the Basketball world, and had absolutely zero clue about Sports Memorabilia just a few years ago - so Sneaker culture is what allowed for them to get connected - which is an interesting part of the Story of the growth of the Memorabilia market and how it developed over the past few years. Collectors can thank Eric for being a massive influence in allowing for the Sports Memorabilia market to penetrate Sotheby’s via his knowledge and Passion of Streetwear!

Congrats to the extremely talented, Eric LiBassi, on joining the @GoldinCo team from @Sothebys Looks like Goldin is making their move on Sotheby’s employees. @KenGoldin executing on a plan? A reality of the cut throat auction world. “To me, Goldin represents the future of the collectibles space” Looks like a farewell shot to his former employer. Goldin got a good one in Eric. Love his IG name: Cultural Property. 🎯