bought a few coins from teleatrade but after paying commissions and shipping dosen't seem like a great deal, is this the best place to find slabbed coins? ebay dosen't have much to offer in nice slabs and I heard the chinese are making PCGS fake slabs, coins shows seem to be priced to high, thoughts?? do sellers on teleatrade alwsy have reserves?
Ebay is a great place to buy, if you know what you are looking for and know about what you are looking for. It is also a very dangerous place if you don't know what you are doing. I like Teletrade, I have gotten several good coins at fair prices there. Like any auction, the price is determined by demand. If the prices seem too high, perhaps there is more demand than you thought?
I personally both buy and sell with teletrade. I have gotten some good deals and then have gotten some kind of doggy coins... but they do have a return policy so there isn't much to loose.
Teletrade is where I buy the majority of my online buy's been a member of TT of close to 18 years or more b4 pc's were common just a catalog and a phone. As for the "sellers" TT is the seller but the people that submit they're coins don't put a reserve on them they have to buy them back which cost them a small fee. When bidding on anything you should take into account of the buyers premium and S&h into the cost. All major auction house's carry a buyers premium with them up to as high as 20% I've seen in the past Pro's of TT: better quailty of product, excellant costumer service, usually very accurate pics. Con's buyers premium (although same as most others) and I personlly dont like the point of the buy back policy. I would rather see a reserve
Teletrade is a tricky place, it's leaps and bounds better than e-bay but it would seem to be a dumping ground for dealers old inventory that is not selling for one reason or another. That said, it takes practice learning how coins look in hand vs. how they look in the Teletrade photos and you can usually pick out some really nice stuff. Here is my last TT purchase.
I have heard that before but have no evidence to confirm it. I have bought a handful of coins through Teletrade and have been happy with them. Like Grilledporkchop said, you should always figure in the 15% juice and S/H every time you bid. If your budget for a particular coin is $350 your maximum bid should be: ($350 - $10.75) / 1.15 = $295 (with S/H being $10.75). Bid $295 and your total cost will be $350. It's as simple as that.
The answer may depend on what kind of coins a person is interested in. Overall, I would not recommend Teletrade for novice collectors as a good place to buy. There are often hidden reserves and house owned coins (coins owned by Teletrade). The fees, shipping and taxes can also be high. There is a return privilege, but it is not cheap. After paying for shipping both ways, a return can cost a significant percentage (like 15% to 20% on a $250 coin). That said, there are some kinds of coins, such as top pop moderns, and ultra moderns, which tend to be much more commonly available on Teletrade than anywhere else. I used to buy on Teletrade, many moons ago. When they raised their fees, my buying slowed. After they started charging tax in California, my bids were for the most part are no longer competitive, and I haven't bought anything since and rarely bid.
eBay is just fine, if you purchase a coin with a RETURN POLICY of money back, and there are clear pictures! All coins I've ever bought, have been off of ebay... My whole collection is ebay bought! And I have to say, all my coins are nice coins, and I've never had a problem. I've always bought with clear pics, and that return policy, so if I'm not satisfied, I can simply return the coin I've never dealt with David Lawrence, Teletrade, or Heritage, as I have never needed to, as I've gotten everything for a good price on ebay Another key to all of this is learning to grade coins, and knowing how to do it correctly. You can't just think a coin is a MS65 because the slab says so, make sure you know what separates a 64 from a 65 in any series you buy! Which is why it is great to know what you are doing, buy the book before the coin, and look at some examples before you do anything in the buying market
I absolutely agree, and especially with toned coins. I will say I have never really been disappointed with TT, and there are deals to be had with the right searches, even with the buyer's premium and shipping.
I have bought off and on and have been happy with most of my purchases. That being said, you still have to watch out for the hidden reserves. I'm seen many a $60 to $70 coin creep up to $140 with the hidden computer bidding, then not sell, then show up in another auction, and the same story all over again. If you want to watch for fun, take a look at any MS-67 1943-S Jefferson nickels that come up for auction. You'll see what I mean.
There is no such thing as a good place for a newbie to buy. Newbies can and do make mistakes in all trading venues, and TeleTrade has a few unique traps that a newbie needs to be aware of including: o Owners of the coins can make a hidden reserve bid ("Buyback bid" is what they call them). Some allege that TeleTrade has a phantom bidder that bids up to this buyback bid giving the appearance of bidding action when no such bidding is really taking place. Shady. o Some of the coins are "owned by the house" (i.e. TeleTrade or their parent company, Spectrum), and the "hidden reserve" described in the point above is invoked and phantom bidding seems to occur. Shady. o In addition to not refunding postage either way, TeleTrade has restocking charge, as stated here: "A return handling fee will be deducted from any refund for a returned lot calculated as follows: Five Dollars ($5.00) plus five percent (5%) of winning bids equaling Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) or less; Ten Dollars ($10.00) plus five percent (5%) of winning bids in amounts in excess of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00)." Source: http://www.teletrade.com/coins/help/terms.asp NOTE: I understand from others that that some have gotten out of this restocking charge by speaking with customer service. Shady. o Small photos. The photos that TeleTrade uses are just small/poor enough to hide key details -- and it is these details (hairlines and luster, for instance) that make the difference in which coins are "good for the grade/price" and "mistakes". So just because a coin looks good in a TeleTrade photo, doesn't at all mean it will be good in-hand. Shady. No, eBay offers less in ways of fees for the buyer, and you can often find better deals there -- however there are greater pitfalls to. With TeleTrade, you can be confident you will get what you pay for, and they will stand up to their end of the bargain. While PayPal provides some protection, you really can't say that on eBay -- so that's an entire different kind of risk you need to be wary of. All in all, and provide you're buying "cheap" coins, then TeleTrade isn't that bad, all things considered. Oh yeah, did I say that there is no such thing as a good place for a newbie to buy? :hatch::hammer:
I'm not sure I would have used the word "usually", but otherwise I agree 100%, and this bears repeating. Well said.
I probably looked at many, many dozens of quarter eagles on TT before finally pulling the trigger on this one. I could tell from the photos based on other coins I have purchased what this would look like in hand.
I agree. Here's one of my favorite TT purchases: However, for each one of those, I had many more of these: The point being, it takes quite a bit of experience to play the TT game. Take care...Mike
I buy some coins at Teletrade, and I have generally been happy with them. I only rarely return coins from them. What I like: Good customer service, they scan every coin now, and they do sell coins hard to find anywhere else. The choice of coins is good, but as with any auction, you need to really look at the scan and description. The most choice is in the Morgan dollars (no surprise). I've gotten some super stunning coins for a modest price. But I do also see problem coins or low end coins being sold, and with experience, you learn to avoid these "bargains". What I don't like: High fees, but these are predictable. Plan your bid accordingly. But the fees can be worth it if you shop for exceptional pieces and leave the dogs on the table. Best Teletrade experience: About a decade ago, I bought a rainbow toned 1923 Peace dollar from a local dealer. It was originally in a PCGS MS62 older slab. He was charging $85 for it when the going rate for those at the time was $25. I thought it was a bit high, but I got it anyway because I never saw a Peace dollar with light rainbow toning on the rims. I broke it out of the slab and enjoyed that coin for 10 years. Then I had to sell some of my collection. I wondered if that Peace dollar was artificially toned. I tried to sell it raw to many local dealers and none would give me more than $75 for it. They also had different opinions on the toning. So I decided to send it to Teletrade and have NGC grade it for one of their auctions. To my delight, the coin listed in a NGC holder as MS63*, with the star designation, and apparently the toning was natural. So I was curious as to what it would bring. Since I bought the coin, toned coins had become more popular and Peace dollars especially seemed rare with rainbows. No one else but on Teletrade could I have gotten what I finally received: A final strike price of $675!!!!!!! For a common date Peace dollar with uncommon toning. I only got that because I put it on Teletrade for bidding to the widest possible audience. So that's my commercial for Teletrade. But you still need to be careful. Teletrade is a good place for unusual coins, but it can also be a dumping ground for low end coins. Study the scans and plan before you bid. Steve
I have bought and sold on Teletrade with no problems. :thumb: Here's the only catch : all you have is a picture. You can't inspect the coins in hand, nor can you hit the auction venue for viewing. That is fatal / checkmate for valuable coins. Teletrade style should be for moderate / low priced coins only.
