Mixed Experiences Consigning At Heritage & Great Collections

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Author	Replies: 7 / Views: 6,678
Phaedrus29 Valued Member United States 228 Posts	Posted 03/06/2015 6:26 pm WARNING: long post! To cut quickly to my lessons learned, here's my advice to others: 1) At Heritage, if you want to have coins graded somewhere specific (especially PCGS), be absolutely certain that this is 100% clear with the folks at Heritage and noted on your paperwork, or consider doing the grading elsewhere. In general, Heritage's normal process does NOT include taking your grading preferences into consideration. 2) At Great Collections, if you want to avoid the possibility of extra little fees here and there, choose to set your own minimum bids rather than their "recommended" option. ---- My experiences: Let me start by saying I recognize I am a picky individual...the "issues" I describe here may not bother others, but they were frustrating and disappointing to me. I figure they might be helpful to others considering consignment through Heritage or Great Collections. First at Heritage: I had over 30 coins that I wanted to have graded, with the intention of only officially consigning a portion of those coins based on how they did at grading. I was very happy when Heritage offered to have them all graded with no obligation to consign with them--I would of course be responsible for their reasonable grading fees. The representative I met with in NYC was very friendly and knowledgeable and has continued to be excellent through email correspondence. At the meeting, I was told about the grading process used by their experts in Dallas: each coin would be considered individually and sent to the grading service that they deemed best for each. I expressed a preference for PCGS grading, based on my research on this forum, etc. I was told that I COULD demand that all of my coins be sent in to PCGS for grading. I, being a beginner in the world of coins, figured that the experts might have very good reasons for sending some of the coins to NGC over PCGS in certain cases, so I didn't want to force all the coins to PCGS. So I explained that my preference was for PCGS grading unless the experts had a good reason to choose another service for a particular coin. OK, great. To cut to the short of it, every single one of my 30+ coins were sent to NGC for grading. In response to a rather shocked and disappointed email from me, I was told that this is their normal process and that they didn't realize my preference was more of a "request". If that was clear to them, they would have just sent all of the coins to PCGS instead of going through their normal review process--which isn't what I had really wanted anyway. Since I am responsible for the grading fees and they didn't take my preferences into account when shipping all the coins off to NGC, I asked if I might be reimbursed at least for the grading fees of those coins that I decide to officially consign. I was told, basically, "we will see". So I guess the lesson is, if you care about where your coins are graded (and want something other than NGC), consider grading the coins elsewhere or yourself, or make sure this is absolutely clear to the people at Heritage. In general, their normal process does not include taking your grading preferences into consideration. ---- Next at Great Collections: I sent 10+ coins to GC for consignment, after reading many recommendations from the folks on this forum. Ian has repeatedly been excellent to deal with through email...very generous with his time and very friendly and helpful. In consigning my coins, based on my limited knowledge, I chose the "recommended" option of letting GC decide on the minimum bid amounts in my auctions. The other options are to start the auctions at 50%, 65%, or 80% of the values that I list (values concerning which I was uncertain), or to start all coins at $1. I had repeatedly received recommendations from people on the forum to start ebay auctions at $0.99, and my ebay auctions have done well when I followed that advice. However, I wasn't sure if this advice also applies to GC, where I assume the audience is more limited. I decided the best option would be to go with the "recommended" option of letting GC determine the minimum bids. In the notes on the consignment form, they say that they "usually" set the minimum bids at 70% of a coin's value. GC also charges listing fees, determined by the minimum bids. They charge $3 for minimum bids $1-99, $5 for minimums $100-999, and $10 for minimums $1000+. So far, two of my coins have been listed for sale at GC, a 1987 $5 gold eagle (MS69) and a 1987 $50 gold eagle (MS69). GC set the minimum bids at $100 and $1000, which appears to be higher than their "usual" 70% of the value. I was a bit frustrated because these appear to be higher starting bids than I was expecting and just the right amount to bump me up to the higher listing fees. We aren't talking about a lot of money here in fees, $7 extra, (although it might be a relevant percentage in some cases), but it's just frustrating to think that their "recommended" option might involve decisions intended to increase fees for sellers. I sent an email expressing my concern and was told that based on their statistics they find that coins do better when they are listed at these flat numbers. If this is their standard policy when making listing decisions, it would certainly be helpful if this information was included in the notes on their consignment form, so consignors could make informed decisions about whether to set the starting prices themselves. So, my recommendation is that, if you decide to consign with GC and care about avoiding extra unnecessary (in my mind) fees, then make sure to choose your own minimum bid amounts. ---- I apologize for the long post, but hopefully my experiences so far will be helpful to others! This forum has been an invaluable resource to me as I sort through the coins inherited from my father. Overall, my dealings with Heritage and Great Collections have been largely positive, but I wanted to share some negative aspects that might easily have been avoided. Edited by Phaedrus29 03/06/2015 6:36 pm Report this Post to the Staff

Buddy Rest in Peace United States 7075 Posts	Posted 03/06/2015 7:25 pm I haven't ever dealt with either company but I suppose some day I might and I learned a lot from your post. So, thanks! Report this Post to the Staff
denco7 Pillar of the Community United States 2543 Posts	Posted 03/06/2015 9:11 pm No offense, but maybe you should have done your own homework first. You claim "limited knowledge" and decide the best course of action is to let the experts determine value and listing criteria because they know your coin, their audience and past sold prices. But then you sit back and question and criticize their decisions. Perhaps ebay would have been the better way to go for you. Everyone thinks that their coins are priceless or they are trying to recoup an ill thought out purchase. One can't expect to keep listing a $60 coin on Heritage or GC for $100 week after week at their expense, hence the listing fees. I only say this because I ran into this constantly in my professional life as a contractor. People come to you all the time, throwing the entire project in your lap because they want a great job at a good price and bow to your experience and integrity. Then proceed to question everything you do, from the cheaper windows they saw at Home Depot, to an ad they saw on Craigslist for a tile guy that has no work and will do the tile for 1/2 price. Add in YELP and Angies list as a place to ~~vent~~ review, and it becomes a question of " why did you chose me, if you don't trust me ?" I would say pick some one you trust has your best interests in mind and let them do their work. Or their is always ebay. Again, no offense, just offering an empithetic point. Report this Post to the Staff
Phaedrus29 Valued Member United States 228 Posts	Posted 03/07/2015 4:00 pm Quote: No offense, but maybe you should have done your own homework first. No offense taken, thanks for your thoughts. For the past two months I have been doing many many hours of research, trying to learn as much as possible. Two months ago I knew practically nothing...now I know a little bit more than nothing. There is still so much to learn. It seems like your comments are mostly directed toward what I said about my experience at GC. I'm sure you are right that I would have benefited from more research. I would have been more confident of the coin values and what I wanted the starting bids to be. This would have involved many more hours of taking detailed photos of each coin and posting those on the forum for advice, etc. I have been doing this with the coins I've put on ebay, but I was hoping to save some time with the 10+ coins I sent to GC. I guess you can expect some extra cost and dissatisfaction when you try to take an easier route. So, I do agree that ideally I should have done even more research before deciding on an option. That being said, I do feel that both Heritage and Great Collections somewhat misrepresented what they were going to do, or at least could have been more transparent. For example, Heritage said that each coin would be considered individually and sent to the grading service that they deemed best for each, and I expressed my preference for PCGS all things being equal. Since all 30+ coins were sent to NGC, it is hard to believe that they actually decided that NGC would be a better option for each and every coin. And it seems that my preference was completely ignored. At GC, their consignment form says that they usually decide to list coins at 70% of their value. I don't think they did that in the case of my two coins (yes they do only say "usually"), and they went for the flat numbers with higher listing fees. All it would have taken is one sentence in the notes on their consignment form saying something like: "For coins where 70% of the value is $85, for example, we usually set the minimum bid at $100, since we find that coins tend to do better when listed at these flat numbers." If this is the standard practice, and it involves higher listing fees for sellers, why not reveal this to consignors so they can make an informed decision? I agree that ideally you would pick someone who you trust has your best interests in mind and let them do their thing. In general, I think Heritage and GC are good options, and I would use them again. I just thought my experience might help others to make more informed decisions and avoid my "mistakes", regarding grading through Heritage and setting minimum bids at GC. And yes, I need to work on my verbosity. ;) Report this Post to the Staff
Phaedrus29 Valued Member United States 228 Posts	Posted 03/16/2015 02:19 am Just to follow up regarding GC, the 1987 $5 gold eagle (MS69) sold for $139.69 (this includes the 10% buyer's fee), and the 1987 $50 gold eagle (MS69) sold for $1266.10 (again this includes the 10% buyer's fee). I believe gold is currently at $1162 an ounce. I guess I can't complain too much about these results...not bad. I was a little discouraged that there was no last minute bidding activity at all. The last bid for the $50 was a whole week before the auction's end, and the last bid for the $5 was a few days before the auction's end. My coins on ebay have usually had late bids, but maybe that's not the norm on GC. Report this Post to the Staff
Jon K Pillar of the Community United States 723 Posts	Posted 04/01/2015 09:12 am Regarding grading, I would suggest that Heritage would absolutely send the pieces to the grading service that would result in the highest sale price. As they are passing the cost to you, they have no reason to be concerned with grading fees. Return time might be considered, but (unlike you or I) I would think that a big account like HA would get excellent return times from either company. The only dog they have in the hunt is to get their commission. One has to weigh the possibility of looser grades at NGC with the "PCGS Premium". I believe you were right at leaving the decision with HA. Although I understand your frustration as your instinct tells you that your wishes were ignored. Were all the coins similar? As in all of them recently minted gold? Edit: I just reread your post. You were not expecting to consign all of the pieces. I better understand your disappointment if some of them are "keepers". End Edit. Edited by Jon K 04/01/2015 09:19 am Report this Post to the Staff
Phaedrus29 Valued Member United States 228 Posts	Posted 04/01/2015 7:49 pm Quote: Regarding grading, I would suggest that Heritage would absolutely send the pieces to the grading service that would result in the highest sale price.... The only dog they have in the hunt is to get their commission. That seems right, although I have heard that Heritage has part ownership in NGC. That may just be unsubstantiated rumor though, I'm not sure. They did assure me that in the case of a few of the coins, there was good reason for preferring NGC over PCGS. That seemed to suggest, however, that for many of the coins there really was no good reason to prefer NGC. And I felt in these borderline cases my expressed preference for PCGS should have been followed. Quote: Were all the coins similar? As in all of them recently minted gold? Tough question for me to answer, but they weren't recently minted coins. They were all pre-1933 with denominations ranging from 5C to $20. ------------------- UPDATE regarding GC: Based on my concerns regarding the minimum bids set by GC and the increased listing fees, Ian allowed me to set my own starting prices for the remaining 9 coins I had consigned there. For some of the coins, I chose a starting price a bit under $100 (when appropriate) to avoid extra listing fees. All of my coins sold, and in most cases ended up selling for over $100, so I probably saved a few bucks here and there setting my own starting prices on those. However, a couple coins ended up selling for under $100. It's tough to say, but perhaps they would have sold for $100 or more if I had started the bidding at $100. So, in attempting to save a few bucks on listing fees, I MAY have cost myself more money in the actual final price. I really expected there to be more bidding activity on the site. Perhaps based on the amount of activity at GC, it really is preferable to use higher minimum bids even though this will increase the listing fees. The overall return may be better this way. Edited by Phaedrus29 04/01/2015 7:50 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Luckyman New Member United States 22 Posts	Posted 04/10/2020 11:25 pm Question? I am new to the auction house scene and I have some pretty high valued coins I would like to sell. Do you pay the $ upfront or do they take it out of the final price realized? So say I sent my 43 Washington FS103 or my 37 DDO Washington varieties to GC. Can you pay for the grading fees out of the sale or do you pay this all up front? Do they get you a discounted rate if you co sign with them or bulk submission like say 10 of the same coin Quarter, Dime ect? Thanks Report this Post to the Staff
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