Advice on modern auction houses?  

First thing to note is that you might approach them all but they might have zero interest in your items. I think Wright start at around 5000 dollar estimated value, Id say Phillips are similar or higher.

Its also worth..
Considering, what kind of exposure the auction house offers you for your sellers premium, whats their website like, is it easy to search / navigate etc. Some are deffinatley better than others. And always set a reserve, the auction house should be able to advise you on this.

Gene,
the first thing you must consider is where YOU are vs. where THEY are, because you will be responsible for getting the item to the auction house.
If you are in Chicago or NYC, then you can compare and contrast commissions, etc., but if you are in South Dakota, it is all about transport.

Wright is a great house. The...
Wright is a great house. They can be somewhat cold (HIGHLY curated). Friends testimonies and my own experience, great pieces get turn down. A little slow in responding. As a buyer, so far haven't been successful securing a coveted piece.
Only other house I've associated with is Rago. Was very happy with them.

Thanks very much for the...
Thanks very much for the responses! I was going to just contact Wright but then I thought maybe I should do some more research. I am indeed going to have to ship, even though (thankfully) I don't live in South Dakota. But I would want to go with one of the main modern auctions and none of those are near here.

I'm sure you're aware of...
I'm sure you're aware of Wright Now, Wright's consignment shop... but thought I'd mention it just in case. They may be able to take your item if it's not the right fit for upcoming auctions. I've purchased from Wright Now and was pretty pleased. Can't vouch as a consigner, though.
http://www.wright-now.com/

Don't forget that they...
Don't forget that they charge a 25% buyers fee and that the results they post include that fee, not the hammer price. So if they show a result of $2000 for something after you subtract the buyer's fee, the 15% sellers fee and the insurance fee, the seller nets like $1200. Subtract your shipping cost and you can end up with less than half of the final price.

Thanks, those are very good p...
Thanks, those are very good points. I knew about the buyer's fee and the seller's fee, but there is an insurance fee on top of that? Is it a significant amount?