Heritage Auction Pricing Question

[coinman_23885]

Would you consider the prices obtained at Heritage as wholesale or retail? Why?

[Old Pueblo]

Retail plus 15%

 

 

OP

[physics-fan3.14]

Slightly higher than retail. For the most part, Heritage caters to the collector. Dealers would pay wholesale, collectors tend to pay retail. I have seen a number of coins auctioned on Heritage later wind up in a dealer's inventory, usually for considerably more than retail.

[TomB]

I hate the answer I will give, but it is truly a coin-by-coin basis.

 

There are many lots where I shake my head and look at the quality of the coin and the price realized and then think to myself that a collector purchased that coin for far above full retail. However, there are other times when I physically go through near every lot at a Heritage lot viewing and then win a few pieces for under what they will eventually sell for on my site. The folks who buy these lots from me are not buried, either, which means that I paid wholesale or less for a high quality coin. Others will have similar experiences and I would guess Mark Feld could echo much of what I have written here.

[123cents]

I don't think the prices at Heritage are wholesale for the must part but I do know tons of these coins end up in dealers inventory.

[Walkerfan]

It goes both ways I have seen great deals AND record prices. Alot of these coins wind up in dealers inventory for much more as was already stated, so the prices must be pretty reasonable for the most part.

[michael]

all over the board

 

some go for insane money and are problem to low end low eye appeal

i wonder who bought such a coin?/ an internet bidder sight unseen bidder comfortable in the result that he got the coin for a smaller increment higher than the last bidder??

 

some go for under wholesale money and are killer coins (usually not the cause but it does happen)

 

and everywhere inbetween

 

most i have seen go for under to lower to higher wholesale prices if they are just decent average coins

 

again it is all over the board

 

 

 

 

[James_OldeTowne]

all over the board

That says it all! Stuff goes for below wholesale, some goes for way, way too much.

 

That's why I'm not a big fan of those statements implying that auction results make for a good pricing tool.

[Mozin]

I do a lot of research before I place my max bids with Heritage auctions. Most of the time I am the underbidder, not just another one of the losing bidders. Many dealers outbid me, and add on their 30-50%. Obviously, I don't buy from these dealers. In my opinion, the winning bids at Heritage auctions show the current fair market value of auction lot coins.

[MarkFeld]

I hate the answer I will give, but it is truly a coin-by-coin basis.

 

There are many lots where I shake my head and look at the quality of the coin and the price realized and then think to myself that a collector purchased that coin for far above full retail. However, there are other times when I physically go through near every lot at a Heritage lot viewing and then win a few pieces for under what they will eventually sell for on my site. The folks who buy these lots from me are not buried, either, which means that I paid wholesale or less for a high quality coin. Others will have similar experiences and I would guess Mark Feld could echo much of what I have written here.

 

Tom guessed right - I agree with him.

 

The line between wholesale and retail has become blurred in many instances, in large part, due to the Internet and the transparency which it often produces.