wow, never, ever ever ever again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was said earlier by @rte that: "A man has to know his limitations." Indeed agree but I'm afraid I don't...or at least not the legitimate why/what for of buyer's fees. What exactly are buyer's fees used for...the purpose/use for auction services charging them over/above the consignment fee...? Have heard several things to include just another way of extracting additional $$$...pay or don't play, etc. Thanks for any insight here.

 

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I presume you would agree with the general premise that every for-profit business has to garner a profit in order to stay in business? (I exclude the airlines because that is a business that seems to perennially lose money yet still stay in business.) I am not sure what you mean by the term "consignment fee" but I'm assuming you mean a fee charged to the item's owner, often called a "seller's fee". That fee is often based upon the estimated value of the owner's item. At most coin auction houses, the fee is non-negotiable for items below a certain value and is otherwise based upon a value table or is negotiable. If an item is of significant numismatic interest and/or will generate "buzz" for the auction house, they will often do a special deal on the seller's fees or waive them entirely.

The historical model for traditional auction houses is that they take a percentage piece of the hammer price, called a "buyer's premium". That applies to farm auctions, car auctions, estate sales, etc. The rationale for this is to align the auction house's interests with those of the item's owner. The owner's interest is to achieve the highest price and so is the auction house's-when one makes more money, so does the other. Since there has never been a legally-binding fiduciary responsibility on the part of the auction house to the item's owner, the premium has been used as a means of aligning the two parties' interests. Note that, other than contractual/legal terms and good business sense, the auction house is under no mechanism nor obligation for aligning the buyer's interests with theirs.

So, the Buyer's Premium serves to provide the auction house with the revenue needed to cover all of its expenses plus a profit. I fail to see why that should be in any way controversial. It is certainly not "ripping anyone off". The terms and conditions of each auction house are normally well advertised, they certainly are for Heritage Auctions.

Now, to the OP's complaint. Heritage Auctions is a lousy place to buy low value coins and that is partly due to their relatively high BP, high shipping costs, and minimum BP ($29 minimum, regardless of the hammer price.). There are other, better venues for this part of the market. I think the OP just got surprised because he had not previously researched the market he decided to join and got an unexpected (to him) result. That happened to me a few months ago with a low value coin from Heritage where I ran into the minimum $29 BP. I posted on that and there was no one to blame for that surprise but me.

 

It's the cost of doing business; pay employee salaries, photograph coins, list coins on web server, unpack coins from seller, package coins to buyer, ...

 

Not my thread, but maybe rip-off is the wrong word. Waste of time is more fitting. By the time you do all the figuring and conniptions some of these places have (multiple premium rates listed in different areas of the site, etc.) and come up with what a reasonable bid would be, it gets blown by by the person who doesn't even look or care about the 'adders', including the premium. So you diligently take your time, create a pile of bids and then take your "0" at the end of the day. I've gotten to the same point, where certain auction houses I don't even bother looking to see what they have, because I won't pay the big markups, I also won't win anything.

 

Well, actually, most places charge the premium, then the 'handling', then the shipping, then the CC 'fee' separately. Handling usually isn't part of the premium.

 

And not to hijack, but seeing I have a couple in a row... I also realize the BP is for the cost of doing business, but then when you see 18-20% premiums and the photographs are utterly illegible and useless, there's little to no information, and no one responds when you call/ask about it, it's a gouge.

 

I am a firm believer that the best way to express your dissatisfaction with a business is with your feet. That's why I never fly anymore, unless "she who must be obeyed" demands it.

 

Of course shipping and handling is charged separately. But that wasn't my point. The auction company wouldn't be in business if it couldn't make a profit. I'm not sure what the breakdown is for handling but I'm sure it doesn't cover salaries. I personally like Great Collections seller and buyers fees which are considerably lower than auction houses like Heritage. But Heritage is a much larger company and surely has higher overhead.

 

Almost like the cable bill. Call them and at least complain. You’ll fell better

 

For me, I used to love flying and going places. Not anymore. I'd like to go places, but until teleportation becomes a reality travel for me is going to be limited by my dislike of planes, airports etc.

 

Yeah butt. Waiting forever for shipping is the real surprise

 

Yeah. That’s what gets me!!

 

Also part of the reason for the high buyers fee is marketing as well. You could charge a fee of 10% and offer no discount or charge 20% and then tell the seller they get 10% of it. Telling them they get that psychologically seems like a better deal eventhough the charge is the same. Obviously some get more than that some get less but realistically it wouldnt be that smart to be selling through a Heritage or Stacks if you dont have enough to get some of the fee back in negotiations.

 

My lawyer charged me 20 bucks for stamps. I responded with sending him a stamp and three blank sheets of paper. He knocked 200 bucks off my bill and a apology

 

Calm down. He’s just venting.

 

Happy to hear your grounded in the right places

 

Yeah. I think you nailed it

 

Nicely said. I hope that takes some out of sting OP is feeling

 

Ok I’m going out on a limb in asking. Does the seller pay any cost when selling their coins. If so. What percentage of entry or sale?

 

I haven't sold through Heritage but yes, there are usually seller's costs. Of course it depends on the value of the coin(s) being sold. At Great Collections they charge a $5 fee per coin for imaging and cataloging and for coins sold for less than $1000 they charge a 5% fee. I've sold coins years ago through Silver City Auctions and they charged a fee for each coin (I can't remember the amount per lot).