Auction fees: Christie's vs. eBay

Your great aunt passes away and as the sole beneficiary in her will, you decide to auction off the estate at Christie's. Your aunt had impeccable taste, so the collection is filled with works by the Old Masters (none of that post-modern nonsense) and is worth about $100MM. What's the auction house's cut?

• 25 percent of the first $50,000
• 20 percent of the next $50,000 to $1 million
• 12 percent of the rest

At roughly $12.1MM in commission, that seems a little steep to me. Maybe you can work a better deal at a competitor - what kind of final value fees would eBay charge?

• 12 percent of the first $50.00
• 6 percent of $50.01 to $1000.00
• 2 percent of the rest

Ignoring the listing fees and some other small charges, eBay only wants $2MM - quite a bargain. Of course, you'll have to have positive feedback, and there is some question whether the hordes on eBay will appreciate your collection enough to pay top dollar.