Heritage Shipping
 

I won an item at Heritage last night and received my invoice this morning. Included in the content of their message was this surprise:

IMPORTANT: To expedite shipment (as appreciation of your established loyalty), this invoice will be shipped on Open Account, without waiting to confirm payment. Please allow 7-14 days to receive the items you won. If you have not already paid, please visit MyOrders to help ensure expedited shipping on qualified invoices in the future.

THATS service!
PS I'm not by any means a big player with them.

LOL...I've been with them over twenty years and have not received that kind of service. Spent over 6 figures with them cumulatively as well. Congrats.

I got the same email on the last two Heritage lots I won. I took it to mean that I spend way too much money with them. LOL.

I have had that happen, always on lower priced wins. Still, a great service that makes you feel trusted.

For the last 2 years Heritage has shipped all of my winnings before receiving payment, whether it's $50 or $5,000. Great service!

It's great, but their 60$ shipping fee can mostly fit in a 17$ flat rate box.

Question..
 

Do they not notify the buyer when the order is shipped? This is my first purchase through them. Paid for it Saturday morning and haven’t heard a word since...figured paying over $17 shipping on a item valued at less than $300 I would had some sort of notification by now.....

I have participated in many Heritage auctions. They have always notified me when the items have been shipped. I usually pay the day after an auction ends. They have shipped the very next day and have also waited almost 2 weeks to ship.

Just notified

I've gotten items from two recent weekly auctions. Both times I paid on Monday, received shipping notice Wednesday, and got the items Friday or Saturday.

Received email notification today my winnings were shipped

I may, just may, retire from Heritage auctions. First, I find their people among the most knowledgeable in the business, most of those on the prewar card stuff I at least have a passing relationship with and are most congenial. And their offerings are just about the best in the business. But, and it is a big but, I don't think I can afford to play anymore. It isn't so much what I pay for the item(s) won or the vig, that's their bread and butter, it is the sales tax of 6.5% for Florida, the shipping I won't comment on except, as their packages are so carefully wrapped, I'm sure it is more handling than shipping cost, But
today I went to pay them at just about the same time my cards from the last auction arrived (great marketing strategy or what? Makes you feel like a special customer) and found out a new cost add-on, using a credit/debit card will be another 3% and no Ebay. For the cards and memorabilia I seek, it just might add up to be too much.
REA, on the other hand, where many of us are players, has auction terms much more too my liking.
I don't understand why a big successful AH like Heritage can't eat the 3% for those long term customers like myself and other Net 54'ers that small of an amount when looking at the entire transaction.

I understand your frustration, but I am not really following what exactly you are complaining about. Is it the 3% that you are being charged for using a credit card? If so, do any of the other large auction houses allow you to use one without a fee?

most auction houses won’t even accept credit cards, and at least one that does charges a higher buyers premium if you do.

Does it depend on the type of auction or amount? I've won items in two recent Heritage weekly auctions and wasn't charged extra for using a credit card. They did offer a discount for paying by e-check.

The amount of items won was just over $6,000, so my use of a debit card to settle my account was about $200, money I really didn't want to added to my total bill. If you have used your credit card without having the charge I incurred added, then there is a lack of equity here and I am really pissed. Not right.

i'm really not sure where you're getting the 3% credit card fee from. The only 3% fee I found in Heritage's T&C is for late payment. I have never been charged a cc fee and I have used my credit card through Paypal for the last several auctions I've won from them. If they are charging you an extra fee, give them a call on Monday and find out why. I know I'd really like to know. I do know many of the other auction houses that have started accepting Paypal now give a discount on the buyers premium if you don't use Paypal, but that's not the case with Heritage. Perhaps that's what you mean by being charged a fee? Also since you brought up REA as having more favorable terms, keep in mind they do not accept credit cards.

I will agree with you that their shipping does seem on the higher end, however, Heritage also does an exceptional job stating very clearly how the S&H is calculated before you even bid. I won less than 40 graded cards for a little over $2k and shipping was about $39. The packaging is absolutely bomb proof, each of the 2 lots was individually boxed and put into a larger box about the size of a small microwave.

DJ

I don't get it, why don't you just pay by eCheck? I get a 1% discount for paying that way.

Simply because I wanted to use my credit card when I couldn't use Pay Pal and didn't want to write any kind of check. It seemed reasonable to me, and if Heritage didn't want to eat the 3% charged by Visa then that is just a business decision that is hardly customer friendly. I believe they are big enough with real deep pockets to afford it. Sometimes business models need to be tweaked.

There is not a 3% credit card charge below $2,500. Above it, there is. Like others, my biggest complaint is the shipping. I don't care how well packed the cards are, they simply gouge you, especially for small purchases. I also don't like the fact that they have used USPS free boxes inside their outside box, that's illegal.

The reason that most retail businesses or restaurants eat the credit card fees is because they are generally operating with gross margins at 50% or better. An auction house is working with a gross margin as low as 20%, so “eating” 3 pts represents a significant (15%) profit hit. Big or small, it wouldn’t be fiscally prudent to take that hit off the top.

Sam, good point. But for me when I add up all the extras, it is hard to be a competitive bidder, particularly when you consider a Fl sales tax of 6.5% and now to pay another 3% for the privilege of using my Visa card. Heritage has my money, rightfully so, but there are many who always will wait until the last minute and send in a paper check without penalty.

John - everyone has to live by their state's laws. Whether Heritage collects the state tax or you pay it yourself, what does it matter?

Rob, you are right, of course, but it is still a bummer when the point of sale is Texas and I live in Florida. It puts me at a competitive disadvantage in Heritage auctions compared to somebody, say, in South Dakota, particularly if I wish to use my Visa cards for payment and he/she pays by check. Still if you have to get the card then none of that really matters.

How so? South Dakota charges sales/use tax, about the same % as Florida. Just because Heritage does not collect it on behalf of the state does not mean that it does not have to be paid.

Well, because Heritage has an office in Florida, which I guess gives a Texas company the right to charge Fl sales tax. I doubt they have an office in South Dakota. I don't understand it but I guess that is the law. And yes it is a real office here in Palm Beach. I have been down there and kicked the tires. It is not a PO box.

The point of sale is not the determining factor for sales tax, it is the point of delivery. That's why the sales tax is different in different states because it is determined by where it is delivered.

The law is this. Any company sending merchandise obtained via internet is required to collect sales tax for that state if it has a physical presence in that state. If they do not, they are not required to collect sales tax. If you are in FL, the tax Heritage collects goes to the state of Florida.

Because of political pressures, most major companies (Amazon, primarily) now have agreements with most states to collect tax. The reason it has not been required is because tax laws are different in every state and it was considered too big a burden on a company to have to understand and comply with all states laws.

An example: Alabama has a 4% state sales tax and each county and city have their own. There is a roughly 10-15 mile stretch in the Birmingham area, where you could be in Jefferson or Shelby County, in city municipalities of Birmingham, Cahaba Heights, Vestavia Hills, Hoover or unincorporated areas in both counties. So in unincorporated Shelby Co sales tax is 5%. In the city of Birmingham/Jefferson Co, you pay 10%. Other combinations can make the tax 6%. 8% or 9%. That's just within a 10-15 mile stretch! Do to that craziness, the state came up with an 8% agreement with Amazon, so technically if you live in certain areas you could be getting overcharged or undercharged.

Hope that helps


Ultimately, legally everyone in every state is legally required to pay the tax whether the seller collects it. But we all know that doesn't happen.

"the right" to "charge" sales tax. lol

I just looked at Heritage's Terms & Conditions and their general FAQ on their site and there is no mention of taking credit cards at all. I've only won one lot from Heritage and it was July 2017. At that time, the info I saw clearly stated they accepted credit cards up to $5,000 and there was no addition to the 20% buyer's premium. I am not sure what they are doing now as the T&C don't mention it.

In reply to those who commented that it wouldn't be prudent to "eat" the 3% credit card fees, I would submit two thoughts:
- Large companies with high volumes can negotiate lower fees with CC vendors/banks.
- That argument is not considering the fact that the use of credit cards often increases purchases both in volume and amount. While it is impossible to know how taking credit cards would directly affect this type of business, it is entirely possible they would make additional $$ in bids because they take credit cards. It is my preferred method and HA and Sterling take them so I look there first for items I may want. There is a reason companies began taking credit cards in the first place. The primary two reasons are convenience and higher sales.

Yes, and also add a third reason: the AH doesn't want to pay Visa/MC 3%, preferring to pass the cost along to the customer who wishes to pay by credit/debit card which, harking back to my original point, puts me in a hole when competing against fellow bidders, especially for desirable high value items, residing in a state where Heritage has no physical presence and who wish to pay by check. A smaller auction house, like Sterling, hungry for new and repeat bidders, must feel they have little choice but to absorb the 3% cost. A similar reasoning probably exists why Heritage won't take Ebay. The FL sales tax and credit card surcharge added $600 to my auction total and that was painful.

John, do you realize that you owe that tax no matter whether Heritage collects in on behalf of the state or not? The tax has nothing to do with Heritage having an office in Florida or not. When you buy something from Heritage or Sterling (your example), you are obligated to pay the same tax. It is just that you have to submit the payment directly yourself.

http://floridarevenue.com/taxes/Pages/consumer.aspx

Also, since you mentioned Sterling, Sterling also charges 3% for using a CC. The difference is Sterling states it as a discount to the buyer's premium for other payment methods rather than as a charge for using a CC: "A buyer's premium equal to 19% of the high bid will be added to all lots. 3% discount will be applicable if payment is made by check, cash or money order. A $1000 winning bid will be charged $1190." Therefore if you're paying with a cc, your still paying more than the person who pays by check. I know LOTG and many other auction houses do the same. The smaller AH's aren't eating that 3% to get more business.

I think I get it now, maybe. If a winning Heritage internet bidder in South Dakota doesn't have Heritage collect a sales tax, which only happens in states where they have a physical presence, he is still liable for it and needs to remit same to the state on a voluntary basis. Which I am sure rarely if ever happens. And I suppose their refusal to accept Pay Pal as a method of payment and making winning bidders "eat" the 3% credit card fee they should be paying, are simply business decisions and Heritage profit enhancers.
My only point when I initiated this thread is that, when trying, often failing, to calculate any kind of successful bidding strategy, I have to entertain costs that folks in other states don't need to. My hit ratio in their last auction was abysmal

Lol, get real. Nobody is paying sales tax that isn't collected from heritage. Right it wrong, that's the reality, so people in FL are very much at a disadvantage.