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Shipping Charge Whinge: HA vs GC
Aotearoa
Posts: 1,368 ✭✭✭✭✭
The cost to post a single slabbed coin to New Zealand, both via USPS International First Class.
Great Collections: $16.00
Heritage: $81.50
It makes one wonder, eh?
Smitten with DBLCs.
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And GC gets the stuff in the mail way quicker.
It looks like Heritage is collecting the import duties that are legally required and Great Collections may not be.
Nope. "This is our standard charge for Fees, Shipping and Handling." Besides, the total was below the threshold for which import duties would be attracted.
Smitten with DBLCs.
Possibly has similar shipping arrangement(s) that Amazon has.
I think that's why I got away from ha and do more business with gc. jmo
What the market will bear. It's business.
If you don't want to bear it, just stop bidding.
For HA, shipping is a profit center. For GC maybe just a service for which they like to recover costs. That HA shipping could sometimes be the difference between a buyer [buying for resale] breaking even on a coin or losing money.
edited to clarify what I intended to say.
MY COINS FOR SALE AT https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/other/bajjerfans-coins-sale/3876
All around GC strikes me as being more fun and a better deal or venue for buying at auction
I'll stick with Heritage as that's the place I can find things for my collection. Once in a great while, GC has something for me but it usually has an outrageously high opening bid.
Member ANA, SPMC, SCNA, FUN, CONECA
I buy from both. But I admit the Heritage shipping charges have on occasion been a burr in my saddle.
Just FYI legacy clients on heritage shouldn’t have shipping charges unless that’s changed for new legacy members. My stuff use to come before I even paid for it!!!
My Type Set & My Complete Proof Nickel Set!
I've been a legacy client for a long time and I've never gotten free or discounted shipping.
MY COINS FOR SALE AT https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/other/bajjerfans-coins-sale/3876
It's a cost if you want the coins they handle.
HA makes money on the buy side, the sell side (usually, depending how much they give back to the seller, obviously), and the shipping side.
There is no way that the shipping can be "make or break" for them on a coin, as they have already made money. What they are doing is making money on the shipping and paying for the resources from that and pocketing the rest. It's business.
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment
PRIORITY SHIPPING
We know that your coins and notes are important to you, and that you want to receive them as soon as possible after the auction. With your Legacy Client credit line, virtually every purchase will be shipped to you in the first group we send out, or otherwise delivered per your instructions.
For coin and currency auction invoices over $250,000, we pay the shipping and handling (for shipment within the U.S.) when payment is received within ten days of the auction.
I’ve done some invoices over 100k and since then it’s been free. Maybe they consider yearly invoice totals?
My Type Set & My Complete Proof Nickel Set!
Just curious. How would Heritage lose money on an item they auctioned? Can’t think of a scenario where they don’t win, unless they make an error of some sort
Shipping charges have become a profit center in many venues.... so much so, that free shipping is now a marketing tool.... Cheers, RickO
I'm constantly calling HA to combine shipping. I'll win a coin auction and a currency auction in the same week and they will send two separate invoices with shipping charges on each.
I wish they would automatically combine shipping for repeat customers.
That is true, we try to cover actual costs with shipping, on average. In reality, we lose $3-$4 a package (not counting staff, insurance or packaging costs). Whenever we've tried to increase so it covers the postage cost, USPS promptly puts up their rates again so it's out of whack.
Owner/Founder GreatCollections
GreatCollections Coin Auctions - Certified Coin Auctions Every Week - Rare Coins & Coin Values
My error. I was referring to the buyer of the coin possibly losing money on resale because of the high shipping. I will correct that.
MY COINS FOR SALE AT https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/other/bajjerfans-coins-sale/3876
The Vegas strip casinos charge for parking. There's plenty of off-strip casinos where parking is free.
Check out my current listings: https://ebay.com/sch/khunt/m.html?_ipg=200&_sop=12&_rdc=1
Become a member of their "clubs", then parking is free. Solved.
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment
Legend charged me $30 to ship a single coin from their last auction. They shipped a full nine days after the auction, then shipped via expensive priority express....
Agree that Heritage charges too much as well.
Personally I hate when sellers ship using the most expensive option.
MY COINS FOR SALE AT https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/other/bajjerfans-coins-sale/3876
Every time I ask for combined shipping they do it and usually ships the next day. Always shows Dallas on the label.
It’s greed. Like going from 15% to 17.5% buyers fee. But typical of a monopoly/oligopoly
I have to admit, I’m using HA less and less as time goes on. I really want to like them, but the 17.5% thing really rubbed me wrong and shipping is not what it was 5 years ago. I hate little add-on fees that nickel & dime you to death. If you need to charge more just do it openly. GC wasn’t my favorite previously but they’re really attracting some nice stuff now. Still, HA and SB have a presence at the big shows that the others can’t match.
I just bought a coin from ha. It charge me $18 for shipping to ca. Ha increase the shipping charge from last year. In fact ha double the charge or even more than double the price in shipping in some cases. Ha is not the ha used to be anymore in many way, it is on the way in services. I expect they should charge me $8 to ship not $18. Ha made $10 out of this
Sure. And, that $10 multiplied by hundreds per auction, minimum, and thousands/tens of thousands over the year, is nice money.
It pays for the employees, the nice little mailers, and the Christmas party
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment
To be fair, Heritage charges multiples of the actual cost even for domestic packages, which are simple. I'm used to paying $25+ for a package that gets put in a Priority Flat Rate envelope with at most a signature. Even if you want to say that there are insurance and handling costs not reflected in the postage--and I'll give you that--for the same value, I charge way less to send the same value. There is no way Heritage doesn't have the economy of scale to have lower handling rates and insurance rates than little ol' me, where 100-150 packages in a week is high volume. The only explanation is Heritage is trying to (and apparently succeeding greatly) at making a significant profit on their shipping.
There is nothing more annoying to a paying customer than overpaying on shipping.
When a seller profits on shipping it's a real kick in the teeth for the consumer.
I use to work for a company that sold diamonds and when we shipped them out, we made sure our shipping charge was exact.
Because when it wasn't, we sure heard a mouthful from the customer.
"“Those who sacrifice liberty for security/safety deserve neither.“(Benjamin Franklin)
"I only golf on days that end in 'Y'" (DE59)
I just bought two jewelry items from HA value at 3K. HA charged me $47 shipping. I am pretty sure they used to charge me about $20. So they double their shipping charge since 2018. HA really sucks now.
Then again, HA may have to kick back more and more of the juice to entice consignors.
MY COINS FOR SALE AT https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/other/bajjerfans-coins-sale/3876
From the heritage website:
Up to $199 $6.40
$200 - $399 $11.46
$400 - $999 $17.19
$1000 - $2999 $22.92
$3000 + $32.55 + $1.75 per additional thousand
Coins $1.57 first item + $0.65 per additional item
So- I just had a $6600 invoice from GC this week.
9 coins and shipping was $24
For heritage it would have been
$32.55+ $5.25 (1.75x3)=$37.8
then the extra (.65x8) +1.57=$6.77
Total=$44.57