Heritage Post Auction fees - just right!

[JJ McGraw]

Won my 1948-49 Honus Wagner Leaf card last night……got the invoice today….fees were just right!

[Rhotchkiss]

With all respect, if you don’t understand the buyers premium (“know what that means”) than you should not bid in auctions. LOTG and every other auction house besides EBay has a buyers premium. Unlike most, Heritage clearly discloses the amount of the buyers premium and the all-in price, so I don’t understand (at all) your gripe there.

The credit card fee is standard and everywhere. You don’t want to pay it, write a check or wire them money. Why should they eat the fee so you can pay by credit card?

I feel the only legit gripe you may have is the shipping and handling, which usually is postage and insurance. Heritage is much better than many - I won a $25k lot in gottahaverocknroll and they charge 1% for that- same percent whether I bought a signed Who Tommy album or some other album for $25. That sucks. Some AHs definitely use the shipping/handling as a profit source, which blows. But it does cost AH’s money and time to package and send items. I don’t see Heritage as being one of the biggest abusers.

Bottom line, the cheaper the item, the less efficient buying at an AH becomes. You may be better off finding these things at card shows, on BST, etc. It is just as much time and effort to list, sell and send a $300 card as it is a $30,000….

[ncinin]

Originally Posted by JJ McGraw

On Sunday I found out I had won a 1948-49 Honus Wagner Leaf card and today I got the invoice. A couple of things which surprised me.
1. When bidding the estimate with fees that they do offer was almost $50 less than the invoice I received.
So here is how it played out
I won the card at $310, happy about that…they said it would be around $380 with fees, ok, still good
Then reality set in….
$310 for the card
$68.20….buyers premium ( still don’t know what that means)
$20.06……Service and Handling, that card must be awfully heavy to handle
$32.85…..sales tax…no way around that
Sub total….$431.11
So I tried to pay online…..nothing was working on their end, so I called hoping they would wave the $13.53 fee to use a card……..oh no, we can’t do that
Grand Total…..$444.64
So a card I won for $310 cost me an additional $134.64

Was it worth it….not to me any more. And I did drop some more serious cash at the LOTG auction, but did not feel the way I do today and will continue to patronize the LOTG auctions in future.
So, for now, I bid a fond farewell to Heritage, as they say….”too rich for my blood”.

Heritage has the best payment system of any auction house.

It is setup where they draft from my checking account. When I log into my account and view my invoices I click quickpay and click a verification screen and payment is initiated and drafted the next day. No service fee, no mailing a check or anything.

[JJ McGraw]

I was being sarcastic on the buyers premium comment and yes, I understand how auctions work. I do believe I have the right to complain if the fees are too high, etc. And even though I’m not a high roller with deep pockets, I believe you are correct about buying from individuals etc. My mistake was pursuing this card further , their mistake was underestimating the fees, but regardless, I think $134.64 is too much extra to pay. Lesson learned. I need to get back to the hobby aspect of this and the fun, and that, as you state above, comes from individual persons and dealers.

[JJ McGraw]

Originally Posted by ncinin

Heritage has the best payment system of any auction house.

It is setup where they draft from my checking account. When I log into my account and view my invoices I click quickpay and click a verification screen and payment is initiated and drafted the next day. No service fee, no mailing a check or anything.

It apparently wasn’t working for me to do that today with the checking account. Maybe there was an overload on the system…I don’t know…but it is what it is.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by JJ McGraw

My mistake was pursuing this card further , their mistake was underestimating the fees, but regardless, I think $134.64 is too much extra to pay.

Not sure I understand why you're fixated on $134. As you noted, the sales tax was always going to be there, and the buyer's premium you totally understand.

It seems like the only real issue is the S&H, which is $20, plus the $13 extra you paid to use your credit card.

$33 ain't nothing, but it's sure a lot less than $134. And for that matter, you could've skipped the $13 by just sending a check.

You're right that $20 for S&H is more than $5 or $10 that you would usually pay on eBay. So it seems like it's really a $10-$15 issue.

[JJ McGraw]

Honestly……I don’t know what I was thinking. The fees aren’t too high and all is right with the world . Thank you for all the input. Must have been off my meds today
Gracias to all!
Mike

[oldjudge]

“Measure twice, saw once”. It applies to more things than carpentry.

[BobbyStrawberry]

Or, for the modern hobbyist,

"Saw once (at auction), paid twice (as much as I should have)"

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry

Or, for the modern hobbyist,

"Saw once (at auction), paid twice (as much as I should have)"

I've always thought the big auction houses should send a case of beer to all of us frequent flyer bidders on closing night. Imagine some of the prices they'd realize.

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by Mark17

I've always thought the big auction houses should send a case of beer to all of us frequent flyer bidders on closing night. Imagine some of the prices they'd realize.

Oh, definitely! Offer some different beer options and include them in the catalog

[Exhibitman]

I do NOT buy anything inexpensive from Heritage. They also have a minimum BP so if I win a cheap lot, the BP can be substantial. I am at the point where I see little reason to bid on mainstream cards in most auctions. They are available elsewhere with way less friction.