I've noticed several coins lately that have crossed the block for "low" prices and then are quickly sent up to auction on Heritage's eBay page. Is this a new development or have they been doing this for awhile? Or are they just coins that get returned? Take for instance this coin http://www.ebay.com/itm/1862-Indian...946?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20f73b1192 This exact Indian Cent sold for $270 including B/P at a Sunday auction in December, for a price quite a bit lower than other matching grades. Now the same exact coin is back on their eBay page in a no reserve. Same with other coins they have on eBay. I just found this strange.
Could be coins that were returned, failed to meet reserve and really didn't sell the first time or it's possible Heritage bought them the first time around and is now reselling. In the auction terms, Heritage clearly states they may bid on coins in their own auctions. They're not the only major auction company that does this either. Never did like that as there is the potential for funny business considering they also know the max bid of the bidder who is winning the coin before they decide to place their bids... Never suspected any funny business like that from Heritage though and have won coins well below my max bid many times. Other auction houses I would never even consider putting in a max bid as I wouldn't trust them to not run me up!
Heritage sells coins as a retail outlet. So does Stacks. So does DLRC. So does Legend. So does pretty much every auction house. Why shouldn't they be able to buy at auction just like any other dealer? Where would they get inventory otherwise? Auction houses are usually very careful to avoid any hint of "insider" knowledge. They actually don't need to use such knowledge even if they wanted to as they have a built in advantage of not needing to pay themselves a 17.5% buyer premium.
Heritage offers coins for sale in at least five distinct ways. They have public auctions that they often run in conjunction with major shows; they buy and sell coins directly on a wholesale basis with dealers and this is often done with generic gold; they allow owners of coins purchased through Heritage auctions to list the coins on Heritage at a fixed or negotiable price; they allow dealers to take inventory, which has not previously been purchased from Heritage, and list it on the Heritage site at a fixed or negotiable price; and they are allowed to bid on their own public auctions and purchase coins that are then resold on various venues such as their own site or ebay. If I recall correctly, the TOS from Heritage lists (or at one time listed) a limit of a single bid by Heritage for any lot of interest. It is likely the coin was not returned, but was purchased by Heritage through their auction.
Bidding in your own auction? I know a lot of auctionhouses do it, but then an auction isn't a level playing field anymore. Off late the distinction between auctionhouse, appraiser and dealer has become less transparent. Conflicts of interest? Possible.
If one arm of the auction house bids on the part of the house and the other arm of the auction house handles bids on the part of its clients and they keep the information separate and list this in the TOS then there isn't a conflict of interest.
It's kind of hard to accuse them of any funny business when they are then listing the coins at no reserve on eBay...that in no ways guarantees them a profit over what they paid for the coins internally... I don't see the gripe / concern here. A philosophy I take is to just put in the highest bid I'm willing to pay. If I win, so be it. If I lose, oh well. Seems to make my life less stressful, and I don't have to worry about all of the conspiracy theory minutiae of why I didn't win. Someone else bid more than me....period.
It's also possible that the coin belonged to heritage when it was put into both auctions. My mental model of 'Auction houses' is they are basically just dealers who periodically market their material in the form of auctions. They do all the things a dealer would do, i.e. buy coins, sell coins on consignment, sell their own inventory, etc., while also periodically putting on an auction.
We had a "parting of ways" many years ago when I was a regular buyer of certified vintage gold, having seemingly won 3 auctions, when I was notified that one auction had been won by another for my exact odd amount maximum bid. After many documented unresponded queries, without my paying for anything until clarification or resolution, I was informed of discontinued access to their site. Explanation was never provided, others denied "shill"/house bidding. "Only the shadow knows!" More recently, a post on this site outlines how a contact by a "senior numismatist director" promised a "in home" evaluation of a certified coin lot having a valuation in excess of $25,000, upon request. Upon submission of request for meeting with a detailed list of PCGS certified classic Gold coins virtually all in "mint state" grade condition, by all standards of appraisal, well in excess of the stated requirement amount. After numerous inquiries I was informed to send my coins out-state for the previously promissed "in home evaluation" which again was deemed possibly in violation of state laws, illegal, and not to happen. A possibility, of similar "consignment" offer, with return response and "low ball" purchase offer, as I had seemingly insinuitively realized? "Only the shadow knows!". JMHO
I noticed this same thing g recently. I was eatchi.g 2 coin auction on Heritage and I failed to bid. A week or 2 later they are listed on ebay for about $90 more. I still want them, but not at the newer price.
