Teletrade vs. eBay?

Has anyone ever used Teletrade before to buy coins? What are the pros and cons of it vs. ebay?

 

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I've used both. Plenty. Overall, very happy with both.

The only problem with Teletrade is the 12% buyer's fee.

T-trade is a business... e-bay is a giant electronic neighborhood garage sale.

So with t-trade, one gets professional customer service. I've always been happy. Always a return guarantee.

But with e-bay, it's different with each seller. As long as you check the seller's "feedback" rating and they've got a good track record *-AND-* a "Satisfaction Guaranteed" "no questions asked" return policy, you're PROBABLY safe. I've been burned once.

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Another difference I've noticed... Teletrade is better if you're looking for the High End pieces.

 

Just looking through....Teletrade will only auction certified coins, right?

 

I've also sold on both. Happy with both.

With T-trade, you just send in your stash, and they do the rest. It's easy. With e-bay, seller has to do more work.

But with e-bay, you're dealing directly with the buyer, and you'll get your cash MUCH SOONER.

T-trade may wait as long as two weeks to list your piece. Then another 10 days for the world to check it out, then another time delay while the buyer pays for it PLUS buyer's 7-day return privilege.

All told, it's about six weeks from "send in the piece" to "I've got my check". BUT I got top dollar.

T-trade also requires minimum $1000 total consignment.

 

Right on... and not just ANY certified coins.

ONLY the following : NGC / NCS, PCGS, ICG, and ANACS.

I also like the T-trade "Mr. Wantlist" feature... good query engine, plus it will e-mail ya.

Another cool thing about T-trade... use "Search Catalogs / past auctions" to do queries and learn MARKET PRICE history ! Just remember seller is paying 12% buyer's fee in addition to sales price.

It doesn't matter what the Red Book says about price... what counts is what people are actually paying TODAY.

Similar deal on E-bay... use the "Completed Listings" feature to find out what recent sales have done.

 

What's the address for Teletrade? Can international traders sign up for it? Do you need a credit card to be registered like on Ebay?

Aidan.

 

I never had a single credit card to my name. Yet I buy and sell on ebay. I just paid $5 for ID verification.

 

So to me, it sounds like coins sell for more on Teletrade, just because it's a well known service and all coins are certified by well known companies. However, as a buyer, you're not likely to get as good of a deal moneywise because the site is so well known to collectors, plus the buyers fee. Is that correct?

 

Getting a guaranteed genuine coin at a fair price is about the best deal I can think of.

 

I'm not sure I appreciate your condescending tone. I may be new to collecting coins, but I am certainly not new to the world of collectibles. Anyone who collects anything knows that in order to cash in on a good deal, a certain amount of risk is involved. If you stay up until 3 am to watch an auction and get in a bid at the last minute, you will get a better deal than if that same item ends at 7pm on a weeknight.

There are deals to be had out there on ebay and elsewhere. Perhaps if you got off your high horse you might be able to see them a little better.

 

There is no condescending tone in the prior post that I can detect. It's so easy to get hurt in this hobby that everyone should appreciate a straight forward piece of advice delivered in a very direct manner so there is no mistake in understanding the message.

 

I guess I'll throw my 2 cents into this discussuion. I have never bought coins through Teletrade but I often will check their past auctions to compare the final prices with the prices on Ebay. If you want to find the " bargains" then Ebay is without a doubt the place to go. Sure , you have to be careful with the sellers and the "sometimes" high shipping etc. , but I've never had any problems. I've been buying on Ebay for 2+ years. I think Teletrade is 100% in their service and I don't believe there would ever be any problems. I just think there are too many folks bidding on Teletrade to get any real deals , maybe once in a blue moon , but that's about it. On the other hand if you use patience , know what to look for and check out the sellers you can come up with some real steals / deals on Ebay. If I were to ever sell I would take a hard look at Teletrade since they do most of the work for a fee instead of myself doing all the work on Ebay , but I hope that's down the road a ways. Hope this helps. If you would like I can list a few coins I picked up through Ebay just as examples. I'm not the big spender either. Most of my puchases are $75 or less.

 

I'm sure this has a lot to do with it too. I've never paid more than $60 for a coin on ebay. If I was going to drop a couple grand, I would probably feel a lot better working through a Teletrade auction.

 

As mentioned earlier, Teletrade deals primarily in higher end coins and has the experience there

 

It sounds like you need to invest $5 in a good sniping program! It will help you sleep better knowing that the program is doing the bidding for you while you rest peacefully! I can't think of any better money I've spent than what i spent on my sniper, it's saved me hundreds over the past couple years!

 

Here, here...I use "Auction Sentry" and it is cheap and great! I set my proxy and walk away and go post away in the Politic forum of Coin Talk! :computer:

As for eBay, I never buy any coin unless it is slabbed by a top TPG. My experiences with eBay raw coins have been that too many are over graded, whizzed, altered, and even some were counterfeit! It is NOT worth it! Hence my buying days for coins are now saved for the major shows where I can SEE and HOLD the coin...and dicker with the dealer.

Teletrade and Heritage are great for the quality of coins they sell...but with quality, you will pay for it!