I have been looking through heritage and it seems to me like there isn't a decent buy. It basically looks like you must really really really want the coin to justify what you pay for it. A lot of people praise it but how is it different from buying plastic deceivingly photographed? Any success stories?
Like most every auction, some yes and some no. As for one of the yes's, see http://www.cointalk.com/t50949/
How's this - bought IHC for 105 and Rick Snow sold it for 1500. Does that qualify? I have had several decent buys for less than what I see coins at dealers and on ebay - so yes they are there. Plus for the really quality coins - they are worth the premium.
Here is one that I purchased earlier this year. The auctioneer actually stopped to make a comment about how good a deal the buyer of this coin got. http://coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=1122&Lot_No=814 If you are trying to figure out why it is a good deal, check out this link which is the same exact coin a four years earlier. http://coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=372&Lot_No=6265 I think my photos are better are better than Heritage's. At least you can see the full steps in mine. Oh, and don't hate!
I've made several purchases from Heritage which I consider great buys. Some of them were because there were several examples of the coin/grade available so there wasn't as much attention directed on the coin I won as the bids were able to be spread amongst the other examples, resulting in a much lower price that I would have thought possible. Other great buys actually resulted from Heritage taking poor photos. I've been to the lot viewing pre-auction a couple of times when the auction is in southern california and when I'm able to find a great lookin coin that was just imaged poorly by Heritage it just won't get the internet bids that it would otherwise get if imaged better and I can get it for a relatively good price. I've also accomplished the same thing at auctions outside of California by having a dealer check on certain coins in hand.
Can you really get a good buy on Heritage ? These kind of questions always puzzle me. And it doesn't matter if it's Heritage or anyplace else. I guess that's because I never know what a person means when they use a phrase like get a good buy, or get a good deal. It can mean such a variety of things to so many different people. To me, it means can you get a coin for a fair price. To others, it may mean can you get a coin for less than it's worth. To still others it may mean can you get a coin for a lot less than it's worth. But in the end I gues it doesn't really matter because the answer is always yes - regardless of what it means or what venue is in question. The reason the answer is always yes is because if you know enough, you can always find a coin that is worth what you pay for it, worth more than you pay for it, or worth a lot more than you pay for it. The only thing that is really in question is how much you know.
Doug said it best. I've always gotten great buys at Heritage. But to me a great buy is a coin I wanted at the going rate, or a fair price. You're not going to find anything half off there, but you will pay what a piece is worth. To me, thats great. Guy~
How does the OP define "good buy"? Remember, in auctions it's the one who bids the most (i.e. wants it the most) that wins. Just the nature of the game. Play at your own risk...Mike
I know a guy who bought the finest graded 1959 Prooflike Franklin (NGC MS-65 PL) for less than a hundred bucks on Heritage. I would willingly pay ten times that tomorrow if he would sell it.
I would imagine you can get a good deal because many of the coins sold in their auctions go to dealers who then turnaround and resell the coins for even more. There must have been a good deal in there somewhere. The collector could have bought the coin cheaper himself in the auction so the dealer apparently got a good deal.
well with auctions whatever it sells for it sells at a shop it is mostly a fixed price and you don't have to worry about loosing your shirt (or coin).
