Thoughts on Heritage

Just curious what people think about Heritage out there. It seems they have a lot of high end coins along with some much more reasonable coins. The process seems a little confusing where I guess the online bid closes before live auction. My biggest heartache is the Buyer's Premium which I guess I should just subtract from my max allowable price.

If you have used it before, I would love to hear your feedback, especially when compared to Ebay.

 

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I have bought from them before. The BP is definitely something to watch because it adds a significant cost to the coin. HA and other big houses seen to be a necessary evil, unfortunately, when it comes to the exchange of a lot of the most expensive items in numismatics.

Hugh may have some additional words about them...

 

And don't forget S&H.

 

I have been lucky enough with Heritage to buy some nice coins at decent prices -- even swiping a couple -- even with the BP. But a collector on a budget has to be willing to say "enough" at the right time. The BP certainly cuts into my firepower.

David Lawrence has weekly auctions with no BP. And Great Collections does the same with a 10 percent BP. I have had plenty of good buys with Lawrence.

 

I've tried to explore consigning some of my more valuable coins to Heritage...and have been completely blown off on multiple occasions. Didn't even want to try them. Yeah, I got the "advertising" auto reply, with lots of stats about how big they are...but no human seemed interested in even hearing out what I was trying to sell. So I'm not sure what exactly is going on over there on that side of things. Maybe they only want million dollar coins.

I do enjoy their sales archive, though.

 

Haha, a lot of people have opinions. That's awesome. I like the idea and the quality of coins is better (I'm so, so tired of "Details" coins on Ebay).

In response to GDJMSP, it might just be a matter of perspective. I totally understand that BP is included in any other purchase but if I want to spend $500 on a coin and that's what I pay on Ebay or a LCS then that's what I've paid. If I spend $500 on Heritage and then pay a BP I have now spent more than $500. Its no biggie, I like the price points on most coins on there. A lot of them float around Greysheet value and its difficult to buy a coin at that price at either a LCS or Ebay.

Like anywhere else, I probably just need to be comfortable spending what I spend and getting a coin I want. I was only curious how many other folks have used it. Seems like there are some positive experiences.

I will check out the places that Santinidollar recommended too.

 

I adjust my bids to include the BP, some times I win sometimes I loose. Such is life.

 

dwhiz, that's kind of what I was saying. I would include the BP into my max allowable bid.

 

I've generally had good experiences buying coins from Heritage auctions. My bids always take into consideration the buyers fee and shipping charges. One thing to always consider is buy the coin and not the slab. I've paid a little more at times than the average price for a particular grade because of superior eye appeal. The big auction houses tend to sell the cream of the crop and you are going to pay for it.

In one particular instance I won a nice coin in one their auctions and a few months later I received an email from Heritage indicating that they had someone who was interested in purchasing the coin at a considerable markup. In this particular instance I sold the coin. So in this case it worked out well for me.

 

I have purchased coins from Heritage and DLRC...I prefer Heritage for their quality...DLRC has some very nice coins, but you will pay a premium for them. They both provide excellent service with prompt shipping.

 

I've sold coins with Great Collections and was happy with the results. They have a low consignment fee as well.

 

If you want to buy a coin from DLRC stock, use the "make an offer." They are serious. I've always gotten a nice price from them for some very nice coins. I wouldn't expect too much leeway the first time, but as you return, the deals get nicer. Just don't do an idiotic lowball.

 

Correctamundo on that.

 

I've only bought from eBay and Heritage. At my price range (250 and below) it has been a toss up who has better deals, but I would probably lean toward Heritage. As for dreck, Heritage has some but eBay seems to have more. There have been a couple of times when I've bought the same coin on eBay at a discount to what it just sold for on Heritage. Sometimes flipping doesn't work out which results in a good deal for the rest of us.

I am in total agreement with GDJMSP that BP's are irrelevant. The price the market is willing to pay takes all of that into account when setting the final sales price. I do think that 10 dollars for shipping at Heritage is a bit high. Just be sure to account for that when bidding.

 

I trust Heritage implicitly, but you do have to factor in the BP, shipping, and tax in determining what is a decent price for your purchase. I've been bitten a few times by BP but I've also come away with a good deal too. And I've also walked away with some most excellent coins.

 

Actually, it is simple. If you want to pay $500 for an item and the buyer's premium is 17.5%, you simply bid $425.53. I didn't factor in shipping, but you can figure that out ahead of time from the Heritage site.

-Edited to correct original calculation to use 17.5% instead of the old 15% buyer's premium.

 

I've bought many coins from Heritage, mostly through their Exclusively Internet auctions. I've also sold coins at auction through Heritage, about $40,000 worth in 2015. I also use their inventory program. All that said, they're completely reputable. I wasn't totally pleased with what I got for the coins I sold at auction, but most of the problem was selling into a falling market. The main reason I sold the coins last year is that I had a coupon from Heritage allowing me to sell up to $100K without a seller's premium. And, no, that isn't a mistake; they have both a buyer's premium and a seller's premium. I suspect the latter is negotiable.