First of all, I want you to understand that I am telling you this for your own good. I am not saying it to offend you in any way. I am only trying to help you. But there is something you need to learn, something that everybody involved with coins has to learn at some point or another. You ever hear of a guy named Ken Bressett ? I'm sure you have, anybody who has even looked at the cover of the Red Book has seen his name. He's been involved in every segment of numismatics that there is for about 70 years. Anyway, there is a quote attributed to him - " There is no free lunch in numismatics ! "
Wise words but there are actually two free lunches coming up this next weekend in Orlando. Well actually I guess I paid for one of them. Well, darn, I paid for both. It takes time to learn. All kidding aside there is little that comes free.
Kowtow to the manipulations of the auction houses...because it "for our own good"? We've had this discussion before. I'll save us both the headache and just let it go. :dead-horse:
I could see the OP being upset about the fees, but IMO they should have paid the fees and chalked it up to a cheap learning experience. I would prefer that Teletrade showed the bid price with the buyer premium next to it like Heritage, but it is what it is. My computer has a calculator if the math is to difficult for me. I bid a lot on Teletrade, I factor in the BP, Tax(here in CA) and shipping before I set a max. I don't win as much as I like, but there are some deals to be had, and a good selection with a good return policy.(unlike ebay where you take a risk with every purchase.)
I'm sorry, but I have no sympathy! We are a capitolist economy. Auction houses are NOT non-profit organizations. If you think you "got ripped-off" you're going to love sending them a $5 coin to sell. They'll sell it - and you'll get a buck.....maybe!
"There is no free lunch in numismatics". Actually, most of the big auctions offer catered free lunch and dinner food, but no booze, so that might be more accurate, "no free booze in numismatics". The tuition paid for that purchase is the cheapest that I have seen in this business. Think of all those who realized too late that they had overpaid on six figure deals with telemarketers. I'd like to see a zoomed in picture of a high end snookered customer as he/she brought his huge collection down to the local honest dealer and got the sobering news that his collections was worth a fraction of bucks spent. All the big auction houses have many employees to pay, high overhead, certifying fees, shipping and insurance expenses, legal and accounting costs, advertising ("Great Collections" is spending $10K a week on internet and other ads), requirements to pay the consignor within a specified time. They aren't running a charity or a museum. You aren't obligated to pay unless you bid. And Teletrade does have a generous return policy, and you could always call them and tell them you will pay the return charge even if they do not ship the coin, that would save both some money and trouble. The certification fee alone is up to $50 for coins under a certain value, every coin costs $$$ to get in a holder. You would probably have better luck at a local coin show with cash if you want to avoid the hassles of legal misunderstandings.
Sounds like a bad case of buyer's remorse to me. In my opinion the OP should have manned up and paid for the item he bid on and won. The OP made a newbie mistake. Teletrade's Terms and Conditions are not hidden and they are not written in legalese.
Always read the fine print, ALWAYS! Especially if it's an account dealing with the exchanging of money or goods. No pun intended to the OP but I don't have one ounce of sympathy for those that don't read the fine print to see the terms of any deal.
Oops. I don;t think an Attorney is required for: Maybe a little exploration about what it costs tp play would have been in order? The above page is linked at the bottom of every Teletrade page. As it sits right now, the OP has done nothing other than to shoot himself in the foot.
