Big Name Auction House Observation - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 1,987
arktekt3j New Member United States 26 Posts	Posted 12/28/2009 10:17 am I was watching a few coins the other day on an online auction house. They had two almost identical coins. Date, grade, luster etc. I am telling you guys these could have been stamped one right after the other, even the die crack was almost identical. At any rate, I watched these two coins and by the end of the auction one sold for $450 and the other sold for $425. Today I looked up the realized coin prices. The $450 coin is not listed as being sold. The $425 is listed as $425. The really really odd thing though is that the $425 sale price I watched the night before did not include the buyers premium, so it should be listed at $488.75. So I have to really wonder just who bought this coin? My guess is the auction house. That ain't no auction house folks, that is insider trading, shill bidding or some other unethical/immoral activity. Now I have looked up prices on other auction houses and these same coins 2 years ago sold at higher prices. But in the last year the price for these coins have dropeed into the $350-$400 range. Just food for thought. Any thoughts on this? Report this Post to the Staff

BH1964 Bedrock of the Community United States 10982 Posts	Posted 12/28/2009 11:42 am I can't comment on this specific instance but reserves are often set with the "house" sometimes agreeing to buy the coin if it doesn't reach a certain level. Perhaps the $425 coin was such a case. ANA #R3154474 Report this Post to the Staff
hhbkiddo Pillar of the Community Canada 1248 Posts	Posted 12/28/2009 12:42 pm Sometimes Auction houses guarantee a certain price NET to a good client. if the price is not reached at auction, the house buys the coin at the guaranteed price. Regardless of WHERE to bidding goes, the client always ONLY gets the agreed net price. Even if the coin sells for much more, or less. As for the Images: you will find somewhere in the small contract print that it is discretionary to have exact pictures displayed, unless specifically stated that the images are of the exact object to be sold. It will also say you can always request specific images before bidding. Report this Post to the Staff
just carl Bedrock of the Community United States 20753 Posts	Posted 12/28/2009 2:30 pm A long time ago I went to an auction house. I wanted to bid on some items and almost always was outbidded. I did finally get something worth about what I paid for it though. As leaving I met someone I used to know a long time ago and now worked at this place. He told me his job was to bid on everything if not much interest. He had a sheet with expected prices and the idea was to get the prices to that or over by his compititious bidding. If he wins, he takes the item and it is just put up on the next auctuion. He told me this was standard practices and really difficult to prove anyway. Since then anytime I go to an auction I watch for people like him in the place and usually find one or two. Probably the same on the internet and even more difficult to prove. Report this Post to the Staff
livingdinasaur Pillar of the Community United States 1571 Posts	Posted 12/28/2009 3:40 pm They are known as "Shills", and are there to do nothing more than 'bid up the price as high as possible. The procedure is the same , live Auction house, or on line. That is one of the reasons I only use "buy it now". At least you know exactly what the item will cost! Auction-wise, you pay what tyou bid, plus the buyers premium. IMHO, it will be cheaper, "BIN", in the long run. Dick Report this Post to the Staff
isali New Member United States 11 Posts	Posted 01/23/2010 10:24 am One benefit we all have with the good online auctions selling certified coins is to look at the previous sales on all the sites to see if the cert number is the same. Report this Post to the Staff
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