I think this will be TELTRADES last year as an auction

[Paul Kiraly 3]

They are a last resort when you buy coins from them !

 

I have been dealing with teletrade for over 15 years and every single coin I bought from them, I will lose money when I sell any of them.

Teletrade has made a decision that, they just crippled themselves and its their own fault.

Lets face facts, teletrade is a last resort auction house. They really didn't know how to run their auction. If you seen a coin you really wanted and you call them, they couldn't tell you what a coins reserve was. What insufficiently_thoughtful_person made this rule up.

Next is even stupider. If a coin sold at 200.00, the next auction the same exact same coin would start at 180.00 or 200.00. Good luck with trying to get a descent deal on a coin. Because the buyers fees were 15% on top of the high starting price.

Then I loved the Tuesdays no reserve auction. This was the junk that they couldn't sell had no reserve but the starting price was 3.00 plus the buyers fee and shipping. so the minimum coin fee plus shipping was 10.00.. Most of the coins that was on there wasn't even worth that.

Another tactic to keep business they would offer " No Sellers Fees " in hopes to attract sellers to consign to their auction. But with their high starting prices, very few people would consign to them. How in the hell are you suppose to make your 15% when a coin doesn't sell.

When you click a coin on their site, it has a starting bid of 200.00 and next bid is 200.00, which means the coins has a starting reserve of 200.00. with no bids, Good luck with trying to get a good deal.

If a coin didn't sell, and you called teletrade to offer the seller a reasonable price ,the people who answered the phone would either say, It has to run through 3 auctions, or the seller doesn't take offers on coins. I can see they were motivated to make that 15%. Greed is their worst enemy !

As a last resort the offered a crazy Gold rewards program. For every dollar you spent you got 1 point for FREE coin stuff. This Doesn't include the 15% buyers premium or shipping. It was actual money only on the coin. So if you spent 6500.00 on coin you got a free NGC ms65 Morgan Dollar, "their Choice of Course" The average price of that coin was about 120.00 value. Just the buyers fees of 6500.00 is 975.00.

Now the gold rewards program is no longer available.

Now instead of having 4 auctions a week, Now they have 1 auction that runs for a week long. Here's the best news, Not only do they have the expensive starting prices, They added a whopping 17% as their new buyers fees. Now I personally don't mind a 17% buyers fee in the coins start at 1.00 with no reserve like 95% of heritages coins. 90% of the coins on teletrade has a high starting prices of you can just say the word "reserve".

I feel the finally condemned themselves!

Any thoughts on is from other collectors society members?

 

See more journals by Paul Kiraly

[jerseycat10]

I feel that they have made some mistakes recently with some of their changes, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that they have condemned themselves. I have won some nice coins on Teletrade, and have reaped a profit on most, if not all of the ones I resold.

 

I really do not like the one auction a week format, or the increased buyers fee.

[Jack Robinson]

Thanks for such a detailed post. I purchased some coins from Teletrade but, as you wisely pointed out, soon realized that the nice coin would only be a nice coin and not a " good deal" coin.

 

I still do online auctions but keep close eyes on the " hidden" costs.

 

Semper Fi !

 

Best wishes,

 

Jack

[Texans Coins]

I am with you. I gave up on Teletrade a couple of years ago. I couldn't figure out how 15% of $25 was more than $3.75. There were way too many fees for my budget to withstand. I'll stick to Ebay where all I have to pay is shipping.

[Yankeejose]

I totally agree with your post. There is really no point in going in and putting a bid in until you see what the "reserve" is going to be. I quit doing early bidding because it would blow right past my initial bid- then I would realize there actually had been no bids yet- it just went straight up to the reserve. Some of the reserve prices start higher than any price guide and that does not even count the buyers premium. Plus I don't see any special toning or undergrading that would warrant these high start prices. Maybe they allow customers to set their own starting price?

[MCB1980-migration]

You have an interesting observation about TeleTrade but I think some of the listing problems that Teletrade has to deal with are requirements by coin sellers and this problem cuts across all auction houses; Ebay, Great Collections and Teletrade. A seller selects the minimum selling price (call it reserve if you want) and the auction houses agree to it. I see it "all day long" on Ebay with $60 coins having "buy-it-now" of $159 or starting prices of $109. I actually saw a common NGC MS62 silver dollar listed on Great Collections for $100 starting bid when it usually goes for around $50 in the real world market. I wrote Great Collections to give them a heads-up because I thought they made a typo....turns out the consignor required the listing price.

 

So while I agree that TeleTrade is facing some serious problems, not all of them are by their actions. Of course they could correct this by telling sellers that reserve prices would not be accepted but then we would see more of the over-priced coins on Ebay. Problem with auction houses is that they cannot figure out if they want to be 1.) auction houses ... or if they want to be 2.) store fronts for retail sellers.

[hunter's gold]

I agree as far as the poor decisions that TeleTrade has made recently. Increased buyer fees, only 1 auction a week and an influx of ICG coins with ridiculous starting bids will cost them in the long run. I have bought several coins from TeleTrade and have always made out even with the buyers premium. Having said that I never sold anything through them and don't think I ever would because of all the fees.

[Jeffrey Cardona]

At the begiining of last year I registered with both Teletrade and Heritage and after figuring out both sites and how their auctions worked, I stayed with Heritage. I really only use Teletrade...and other venues... to compare prices/values on coins sold so I can get an idea on my max bid.

[Six Mile Rick]

Paul,

Have you tried Great Collections??

Ian Russell ( owner and ex president of Teletrade) is a great guy and also a member on our chat boards. When something has a high price for a starter I shoot him a message and he usually gives me a better deal. He is well to work with everyone. He was the man in charge of Teletrade a couple years ago and left to do his own auction house. Teletrade has went downhill ever since he left!!

 

Later----

[CBC]

Teletrade created a lot of their own problems. I consigned 15 or so coins with them a couple of years ago, with no reserve on any of them. All came up in the same auction, all received bids, and all of them were at levels I thought were acceptable (but not great) right up to the end of the auction. The next morning, I found that one of the 15 was "not sold". It was re-listed in another Teletrade auction a few weeks later but the highest bid this time was 20% lower than the bid just before closing of the first auction. Next morning, "not sold" again. It was re-listed again (third time around) a couple of weeks later and this time the highest bid was less than half of the original auction bid, but this time it was "sold". To add insult to injury, my original consignment was to a "no seller fee" auction but the third time around they tacked on a sellers fee - for getting me less than HALF of the price they turned down the first time around!

 

I haven't consigned anything with them since.

[Ultra Cameo Collection]

I personally like the changes they made, especially the 1 auction a week. It shouldn't take up to an hour to browse just 1 week of auctions. Now it takes less time which is nice.

 

I have got quite a few rare and expensive coins from teletrade and without them I would still be without the majority of those coins.

 

I don't usually buy a coin because it was a really good price because I am planning on selling it at a later date. Although I am young enough not to have those thoughts in my head as some older collectors might.

 

Heritage was first to up their buyers fees to 17.5% and teletrade just followed suit personally I think if they would have kept the 15% it would drive more traffic.

 

All auction houses seem to have their faults. Ebay's overpriced junk. Heritage's shill bidding that is not so clearly spelled out in their user agreement, and teletrade's not so hidden reserves. Great collections suffers from people not putting the highly desirable coins on that site, although I have purchased a few from them.

 

Depending on what you collect there is at least 1 auction house that will suit your needs.

 

just my two cents

[Six Mile Rick]

Face the facts!!!

Auction houses are there to make money. Not to make you money!!

[jackson64]

CBC..I have so many stories from Teletrade ( and Heritage also)..buyers and sellers that have had some shenanigans go on with their auctions..

 

 

I have one friend who was selling his Indian Head Cent collection on Teletrade. He agreed to set low reserves so that they would sell on the first auction and save himself buyback fees.

 

Well on the first auction listing for a seller they usually don't put those icons like, "CAC", "old holder" , "rainbow" "registry" or "low mintage" --like they do on subsequent auctions after they've collected the extra cabbage of the buyback fee ( it always benefited Teletrade if a coin did not sell on the first auction but on the second or third listing as they got the extra fees).

 

Well my friend set lower reserves so that they would sell on the first auction, assuming that the quality coins and high grades would garner him market value. He didn't like the photos Teletrade had included which made the coins look washed out( they told him it was too late to change the pics)--and he didn't know a second important fact--Teletrade reserves the right to purchase coins. ( or so it seems)

 

My friend's coins with the cruddy pictures were all listed as "SOLD" at the end of auction and at very low prices--but low and behold, 2 weeks later, every one of his coins reappeared at a subsequent auction but with opening bids of 30 to 40% more than he received and with beautiful photos showing the deep red and golden coppery luster and color. Either Teletrade bought them and re-listed the coins for more because his reserve was low, or somebody else bought them all, turned around and mailed them all back to Teletrade to be resold for a quick flip/profit ( possible but not plausible.)

 

Also, I know of dozens of people who have complained that they had the high bid at the end of the auction but then Teletrade wouldn't allow them to get the coin--just listing it as "unsold" even though there were multiple bids on the item.

 

If a coin's opening bid is the reserve and not $1 then how can coins which are bid on not be sold? Are there 2 reserves? An opening bid and a second minimum hammer?

 

And a personal story about Teletrade--------- I bid on a coin at $320 and let it ride..no raises or chasing...all of the way until the final minute my $320 was the high bid until the auction closed. One hour later when results were posted the coin said, "unsold"..I figured I got stung by the mysterious minimum winning bid scam--but hey, it wasn't costing me anything so I wasn't overly concerned ( although I did want the coin)..later when I logged in to view the Monday auction the next night it said, "unpaid item invoice"--I clicked on the item and it showed I had won the coin, but with a bid of $360 !!!!..I was irate, I called them and they said- "are you sure you didn't raise your bid?..I assured them I didn't and reminded them that even if I had raised my max bid ( which I didn't) that I can't bid against myself--it would only raise my bid if someone else had bid ( which they admitted had not happened). Eventually they agreed to let me have the coin at $320--I told them I didn't like the game they were playing with bumping and schilling--and the girl said, "sir, if you aren't happy with our company then it is your right to no longer participate-----so I no longer do...

 

I could tell you even worse stories about Heritage cherrypicking my consignments, "losing" thousand dollar coins, telling me I had already been paid--and eventually "finding them" in the warehouse over a year (and dozens of phone calls) later....also putting 5 $200-300 coins together as lots--again, a year to receive funds..and as a buyer, why would ANYONE bid at an auction when the auctioneer actively admits that they schill bid on coins to drive the price up?--It's in the auction agreement/statement if you don't believe me.

 

Teletrade?...good riddance. There is nothing there that I can't find on ebay BIN--and without the confiscatory 17.5%, the ridiculous ebay price-gougers are often actually cheaper ( and free shipping.)

[MarkFeld]

I have a number of disagreements with your post.

 

While I don't participate in Teletrade sales, just because they are the last resort when YOU buy coins from them, doesn't mean everyone else feels the same way. Your "They are a last resort when you buy coins from them !" sounds as if you are speaking for everyone else. Bad idea.

 

If you will lose money on every coin you bought via Teletrade, the blame, if any, goes to you and/or the state of the coin market, not to Teletrade.

 

While you might not like Teletrade, that doesn't mean "they really didn't know how to run their auction." I don't happen to agree with the way they run it, but it seems as if they do know how to run it and are doing it their own way.

 

Many consignors don't want their reserves disclosed. So the fact that Teletrade wouldn't reveal reserves to you doesn't mean that an "idiott" made up the rule.

 

The following quote of yours makes no sense to me:

"Another tactic to keep business they would offer " No Sellers Fees " in hopes to attract sellers to consign to their auction. But with their high starting prices, very few people would consign to them."

 

The "high starting prices" are likely set by the consignors (via their reserves), not by Teletrade. And if so, that wouldn't deter consignors.

 

Curiously, where do you get your "95%" figure for the % of Heritage auction coins that start at $1 with no reserve? I bet you made it up/guessed, without doing any solid research.

 

Perhaps others will disagree with me. But I believe that your criticisms would probably have a much greater impact if you had worded them in a more polite and professional manner.

 

 

[Paul Kiraly 3]

Mark you say you don't participate in the teletrade sales. So all your remarks here are based on what ?

My observations are based on years of personal experences .

Especially all the other ppl who left feedback here.

Your comments are like a 400 lb man sitting on the couch yelling at the football players on what to do, knowing that you never been on the playing field.

 

 

 

 

[MarkFeld]

Mark you say you don't participate in the teletrade sales. So all your remarks here are based on what ?

My observations are based on years of personal experences .

Especially all the other ppl who left feedback here.

Your comments are like a 400 lb man sitting on the couch yelling at the football players on what to do, knowing that you never been on the playing field.

 

 

 

 

I don't need to participate in their sales to have valid observations. My comments were based on facts, as opposed to emotions, which seemed to cloud your conclusions.

 

I have plenty of experience, as a bidder, a consignor, a consignment coordinator and an auctioneer over the years, and I understand how auction companies operate.

 

Please show me a single thing I wrote which was incorrect and/or feel free to try to refute any or all of my points.

[Beijim]

Teletrade has listed in its current auction (closing April 7, 2013) a coin in the "Bullion Susan B. Anthony Dollar" category.

 

That seems a fairly clear indication of incompetence.