Auction companies often keep consignors waiting well over a month after the auction ends though they demand immediate payment from the buyers, is this fair? Even paypal doesn't hold your money very long on ebay auctions so why do major auction companies string consignors along like this? One of the more problematic practices I used to see a fair amount was how certain dealers would take coins on memo that they would pay for a month or so later once they found a customer for the coin(s). How fair is that?
I would venture that most auction lots, or at least most auction value, from companies such as Heritage are sold to dealers with resale licenses and those dealers are given terms to pay for their winnings. The terms can be a month or more, so the auction house may not have the funds for a while, either.
Still there are many examples where the auction company gets the full funds and keeps the money for the full waiting term, I don't know what the %s are.
What you are not considering is it takes time for things to happen. You buy a coin in an auction, you send in your money right away. But maybe you send a check, it takes 5 days to a week to get there. So the auction house then has to process the check in their system. That can take days or a week. Then they have to wait for the check to clear. That can take 10 days. Then they have to get their money from the bank and it has to go through their system. All told the process might tale a month. Then the auction house has to wait and make sure that the buyer is not going to complain about the coin and want his money back. If there is some dispute, it can take time to resolve it, regardless of what the outcome is. Bottom line, it takes time for things to happen and the auction house has to cover their bases so that every possible scenario is covered. That's why they have time limits. But it doesn't matter what those time limits are because you, as the bidder, agree to accept those time limits before you ever place a bid. Works the same way if you are a consignor. You agree to the terms up front before you do anything. And because of that you have no grounds for complaint.
Then how is Great Collections able to turn around payments to consignors usually within 2 weeks after the auction ends and none of the others do this? Some hold the money 40 days or more.
I had one guy take a month, on a BIN. What is it about NOW that people don't understand? I didn't file a complaint either - it got to be a game for me: just how long is this guy going to take? In the end, he did pay for the coin and give me a stellar review, so I just thought of it as a no-down-payment layaway.
I had a guy make an offer that was automatically accepted then he never paid. He had 75 feedbacks too. Guess he won and said "Uh oh." Gotta love those time-wasters.
Because they use a different system. I'm not saying the others couldn't change things if they wanted too. But it's their company, they can run it any way they want. And like I said, YOU agree up front to abide by how they have things set up. I just don't see how there is room for complaint when you agree to do something. If you don't like the way they do things, don't use them.
I thought I read on ebay that even if someone does a BIN on ebay, that it can still be bought by someone else until they pay for the item. I can't confirm this actually happens, but it would be nice. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
One time I consigned some coins to an auction and won some coins from the same auction. I figured they would credit my consignment towards my purchase. Nope, I had to pay my invoice in full (scrambling to get the money together), then wait a month for my check.
If someone doesn't pay within the recommended time on ebay, I would just cancel the transaction out and relist. Unless a customer contacts you before "buying" your numismatic item, they are really being rude if they take forever to pay. And no I am not speaking in behalf of any personal recent experience with the big auction companies that take their time to pay, but in behalf of others. There is quite a difference between patience and unwarranted frustration. And yes consignors should check before they list with major auction companies, but the fine print can be a little hard to fathom. Better yet get your answers addressed with an auction representative on the phone.
