So, I've heard or read about people buying coins off of their internet auctions, and I was wondering how it works. Is it like an ebay auction, or a run of the mill highest bidder auction? What happens after you win the coin? What is the BP? Will they ship the coin to you, or will you have to pick it up? Thanks.
Generally, both have a period of time for internet bidding (which is just pre-auction bidding). That's what you see online with a countdown to the live auction. The actual auction comes shortly after and is a live event where you can take part on the internet, or in person if you're local. This is where the coin actually sells. The reason for pre-bidding is if you don't wish to take part in the live auction and you just have to hope that your internet bid doesn't get beat in the live event. Alternatively, you can wait until the live auction and do all of your bidding, just register with each auction house and have a computer capable to streaming. *Both have a BP of 17.5%, so you will need to bid accordingly. *When you win they will send you and invoice. Both accept paypal up to a certain dollar amount. *Both charge you a decent amount for shipping and handling depending on the value of the coin, so if you're not buying a high end coin, you will need to factor this in as well.
Visiting their websites should both answer most of your questions and be a worthwhile experience. It is worth mentioning that unlike eBay, "purchases" made from Stack's or Heritage should not be viewed as being "on approval", so if you decide to bid, he sure that the coin is one you'll most certainly want to own.
You should also check the Goldberg's http://www.goldbergcoins.com. You get better attention from the smaller auction houses. (IMO) Heritage is the "Walmart" of the auction houses. Unless your collection is quite valuable, they don't go out of their way to highlight your coin(s). Oddly enough (from the buyer's perspective), you may find better bargains at the smaller auction house. However, size (or lack of) doesn't necessarily translate to reputation—check out each auction house before you decide to bid. I can vouch for Heritage (with the above caveat), Stacks and Goldberg's. One advantage of reputable auction houses is that they often are associated with a coin show and you can often inspect the coin before the auction. I've passed on more than one coin because the photo didn't show the coin's true condition (e.g., luster—or lack of, hairlines, etc.).
@aubade21 covered most of the basics. I highly recommend Heritage (HA), and I mostly recommend Stacks (SB), with the only caveat that there site is prone to periods of instability. Right now, its acting okay. I would also highly recommend you also check out Great Collections (GC). I actually prefer GC to both of the above. But to me, these three make up the Holy Trinity of non-eBay coin auction sites. http://www.ha.com/ http://www.stacksbowers.com/Home.aspx http://www.greatcollections.com/
Forgot about Great Collections. Haven't used them, but I've talked to them at multiple shows and they seen knowledgeable and nice. Since I'm an early copper guy, my preference is Goldberg. No auction house does copper any better.
GC is the one I am most recent to, bought my gold dollar there a few months ago and was rather pleased. Haven't done eBay since 2009.
Goldberg's, Stack's, Legend, Heritage and Great Collections make up the vast majority of true coin auctions. Heritage is by far the largest; Stack's has the history and experience to offer up great written descriptions and interesting items; Goldberg's always seems to snag very cool consignments; Legend is a relative newcomer that uses their high power inventory to attract coins of similar quality; and Great Collections is geared to the more typical collector. All have positives and negatives and all can be trusted with your money and/or coins. Read the terms on each site and bid accordingly. However, keep in mind that these are not approval sales. In other words, if you are high bidder then you won the coin with returns taken only upon exceptional circumstances.
Trying Heritage now for the first time. I do not plan on winning any of the coins I bid on. In each case I am the current top bid but a hundred or so dollars under trailing 6 month auction final prices. It will be interesting to see what happens during the live auction.
I really like heritage, I lose as much on it as anywhere. Like with any site just do not get in a bidding war. Good luck on your auctions.
What do you know - I just won the auction for my large cent collection. Second surprise win on heritage. I think I have only won 3 or 4 auctions on it all year long. Have yet to win one on stacks, but I am high on auction over there right now.
Thanks mark_h. My bids were all the highest I would go (taking Buyers premium into account). I have not intentions of raising any of the bids. I really don't think any will last. If they do coins are really dropping.
