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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;ToughCOINS, post: 2588862, member: 20480&quot;]I&#039;ve bought coins in Heritage auctions BUT, and this is very important, I have never bought a coin I did not examine in person, and am very glad of that.</p><p><br /></p><p>I always get very excited about one or two dozen coins before the FUN Show, and make it a point of examining them in person once I arrive. Almost invariably, I find that most of those coins are bottom of the grade, or have been straight-graded without justification . . . some spot-cleaned, some with scratches, some with PVC damage . . . I&#039;d venture that 10% of the coins I&#039;ve &quot;targeted&quot; would satisfy me. </p><p><br /></p><p>Had I bid on those coins without a firsthand examination, I would have been very disappointed.&nbsp; Fortunately, having the benefit of handling the coins before the auction, I whittled my initial targets down to just a few coins worth my attention. </p><p><br /></p><p>Usually, I end up paying pretty strongly for those few grade-worthy coins and, more importantly, other buyers end up paying far too much for the bottom of the barrel. </p><p><br /></p><p>I cannot claim to know how those lowly &quot;C&quot; coins and problem coins were placed in the auctions, but presume they are dealer deadwood, or trap coins which dealers do not want to be associated with selling.&nbsp; Among all of the major auction houses I&#039;ve bought from, I&#039;ve found Heritage the disproportionate market-leader in such offerings . . .</p><p><br /></p><p>Are there nice coins in Heritage auctions?&nbsp; Absolutely.&nbsp; Are there bargains?&nbsp; Yes to that too.</p><p><br /></p><p>Is it safe to throw caution to the wind, and assume that Heritage has your best interest at heart? . . . Sorry, but not in my opinion.</p><p><br /></p><p>As regards bid levels on Heritage (and most of the other major auction houses - Stack&#039;s, Goldberg, Legend, etc), their buyer&#039;s premiums are almost all 17.5%.&nbsp; If you&#039;re bidding on their coins, and want to know how much to bid so that you&#039;d be paying the same as on DLRC, eBay or Great Collections, simply multiply your max price by 0.85, and that&#039;s what you should bid.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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