Teletrade question...?
Anyone ever bought any coins in a Teletrade Certified coin auction? Any opinions?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jim Archibald on -
1. I have not.
2. One of my associates has.
3. They allow seller's to bid on their own items.(shill bidding)
I think that they allow this because they want the largest commission possible. ~ Jim
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Permalink Reply by Jim on -
Thanks for the info, Jim. That's too bad about the shill bidding - they have a nice, toned, Franklin half I was looking at, but I wouldn't bid under those circumstances.
Jim Archibald said:1. I have not.
2. One of my associates has.
3. They allow seller's to bid on their own items.(shill bidding)
I think that they allow this because they want the largest commission possible. ~ Jim
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Permalink Reply by Garry N on -
The guys on Vamworld.com that collect Morgan Dollars use the Teletrade site because it seems to be a place to obtain some unattributed VAM numbers. They will discuss Teletrade items for sale fairly often. Here is an ongoing discussion.
http://www.vamworld.com/message/view/home/10893168
I would also check with these guys to get their opinion about any shill bidding.
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Permalink Reply by coinnetwork on -
I frequently browse Teletrade auctions, but very infrequently buy coins there.
A few thing I don't like about Teletrade: as Jim mentioned, people can bid on their own lots to create artificial reserve prices. That is not necessarily wrong, but its not transparent, so you are never sure if you are bidding against other buyers or the owner's secret reserve price. Also, many lots do not sell and get relisted over and over again. So you end up seeing the same recycled unsold lots sometimes.
That said, if you are patient, and know what you want and the price that it should sell for, sometimes you can pick off a few bargains or registry coins that you would not find elsewhere.
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Permalink Reply by FiremanDev on -
Jim-
1. I have. I just recently won an auction on Teletrade this past Sunday. I love the live auction feature, as well as the short window of bidding opportunity.
2. Until now, I have not heard of any possible shill bidding. It would be a shame if that were allowed to take place. It would place Teletrade's credibility on the dung heap.
3. Bidding is simple, but you must pay attention if you're interested in a particular item. Remember, bidding is live, and your window is open but 7 hours.
4. My winning coin, a 1902-O NGC MS-64PL Morgan has shipped as of 4/7/09. Pretty quick turnaround, I think.
So far, so good. This was my first run with Teletrade, and I can say that I truly enjoyed the process. Unlike Heritage Auctions or David Lawrence Rare Coins, you're able to track, minute by minute, the progression and success (or lack of) of your bids. You may not prefer this sort of feature, but it really appeals to me.
Good luck, and happy collecting...
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Permalink Reply by Jim Archibald on
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"Shill" may be a tough term, because we use that for ebay seller's, it's simply allowed on Teletrade. John actually pointed this out to me when he found out about it. Seller's can start a auction at a low price and simply buy the coin back if it doesn't sell for what they expect it to. This way they get their coin and Teletrade make it's commission. I just don't like that, as Mike mentioned, "it isn't transparent". I just like everyone to know what's going on there. It's not really wrong, it's just different, and I'm not really used to competing against the seller when I'm bidding on a auction I guess. ~ Jim
U.S. Coin Collecting
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Permalink Reply by Jim on
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I read some of their rules, and while they allow the seller to bid on the item, the seller can't bid on it while it's live. They can enter a max bid, which is the price at which they would buy the coin back. This has to be done 1 hour or more before the auction starts. There are no reserve prices, so this isn't completely unfair - I have no problem with a little protection for sellers, I just don't like that their max bid is kept private.
Also, they charge a buyer's premium of 15% on every auction. There is an $8 per lot minimum for this. SO, when you factor in shipping ($4.75 minimum), there is at least $12.75 added to every auction. That's not as big a deal when you buy something expensive, but when you're looking at a MS Washington Quarter worth $30, you'd have to REALLY want that coin to pay the extra fees.
I'm watching a few lots in tonight's auction - I might buy something just to test their service and see if I like it.
Thanks everybody for the info...!
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Permalink Reply by ibognar on -
I sold several coins recently on Teletrade and was very surprised at how little they sold for. Far below historical averages according to their own statistics. I sold several Proof 70 Platinum Eagles for below spot after sellers fees. It takes them quite a while to send payment as well (still waiting after 5-6 weeks).
I didn't bid on my own auctions and since then have been watching the other auctions. I think "self-bidding" must be fairly standard practice. In retrospect, I should have just listed the coins on Ebay.
I have purchased on Teletrade in the past and with buyers fees and the seller bids, deals are few unless you find newby-sellers like me.
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