Anyone buy from Heritage Auctions?

Has anyone here bought from Heritage using Internet bidding? Your experiences? Comments?

Can you get decent prices, given the 15% buyers premium?

 

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I used to buy there more but lately I can't get any decent deals there. They are totally honest though, bid with total confidence, they will go out of their way to make things right. They are most professional outfit in numismatics in my opinion. Also just look at what they offer, it is amazing.

 

There is not a whole bunch I can add to what Danr said except to say that it echoes my findings.

 

I have done both internet pre-bidding and Internet live auction. I have never had one issue with Heritage and would recomend them to anyone.

The only thing I don't recomend espcially to someone new to collecting is buying coins from photo's, you should try to check them out before hand or have someone you trust visit the lot viewings. Heritage photo's are notorious for hiding issues.

The reason I say this is Heritage does charge a restocking fee if you decide to return the coin.

 

Heritage is a top notch auction company!
The only recent change to a min of 15$ BP does not settle to well with me but the notes and service they have are exceptional.

Regards,

RickieB

 

Heritage is the best in the business hands down. Don't worry about the 15% buyers premium. Most bidders figure the premium into their bid just as you should.

My only problem with Heritage is that they will send your coins without any type of signature confirmation and the mailman will just leave them in the mailbox. Last time however, I had to sign. I don't know whether it is based upon a certain dollar amount or whether you have to request certain shipping options.

They have an outstanding website that includes permanent auction archives, my collection feature, coin tracking & bid tracking, personal auction archives, and a want list feature that is a little hard to use.

Their photos used to be kinda suspect but have gotten much better over the last two years. However, they still don't take very good slab photos of toned coins because they don't tilt the slab.

 

For gold coins they got better for a little while but the last year they have gone down hill fast.

Here is Heritage's photo of my last purchase:


Here is my photo which is pretty close to the in hand look:

 

Have bought from them also without any issues. As mentioned just keep in mind the buyers fee when bidding.

 

I usually download the photos to my computer and then play with brightness & contrast in photoshop to get a better idea of what the coin looks like. They really blast the coins with light and many of the photos look over exposed.

 

Lehigh..

in most cases it is $$$ value...all the notes I have purchased from them $800 and over come registered.....the person to ask in this case is The Cave Troll...he works there.

Regards,

RickieB

 

I think this was my point, you really need to learn how to read their photo's before knowing approximately what you will get without seeing it in hand first.

 

Oh, I agree completely, but IMO, that is a skill you must employ with anyone's online photos. Heritage's are about the easiest to figure out IMO, mostly because of the size and quality.

 

That is the most extreme example of a coin being different than the photo I have seen from Heritage. I have never had one that far off (but I have not purchased gold from them).

 

How about this one then??? 1892 PCGS MS64 Barber Dime:

My photos:


Cropped photos from Heritage auction:



I really like Heritage and have had 100% positive experiences so far... but as Crusty said, much much better to see the coins in hand (or hire someone to do so for you) before you bid. I'll bid based on the pics up to a certain point, but if it's something I really want and it's expensive, I need to know for sure what it looks like before committing the bid.

 

I'd say this is par for the course on gold. To be fair I have not purchased many non gold coins from Heritage.

 

I got that beat by a mile. Checkout this beautifully gold toned gem Peace Dollar from Heritage.



Here is what it really looks like:



Not even a hint of gold. Just a little white balance problem I think.

 

Make sure what you purchase from them is the right coin, meaning the label and the coin matches. I was sent a coin I bid on and won, but the label to the coin I won and the coin they sent were not the same, therefore what I thought I was buying was not the coin I got and I was told, they have 3 people that check for this stuff and they NEVER make a mistake ... I laughed and said I'm sorry, but they made a mistake. I am now banned from Heritage because I said I wanted to meet these three perfect people, that I have only read of one perfect person, I feel no love loss.
The 15% I can deal with, the shipping cost makes me mad. I used to tell them not to ship until I was done buying, so I would wait two weeks see what I won and then have them ship them all at once.
They are the biggest game, but to me not the most professional and I don't mean the workers bees, they are GREAT, it's the upper management that are unprofessional. My personal opinion only.

 

a little nervous about the bid button

 

Many of my best coins came from Heritage. I give them a 100% positive endorsement. :thumb: Totally professional and friendly all the time. :hug:

Pictures cannot possibly tell the complete story of a coin. If there is a way to view the lots personally, please do.