Teletrade Auctions??

Wisconsin

I just signed up with them and have been looking at some of their auctions. Since I have not dealt with them, what are your feelings about them, the coins, and service??

agentjim007

Good deals are seldom. Returns fees will eat you up. I just bought a coin on their last Sunday auction because they offered $50 cash back on any coin purchase. Watch for these auctions you can pick up a deal. If you see something you really want and can live with the price then don't worry about it, buy it.

Russ

I've purchased a couple dozen coins through Teletrade and have had excellent results, frequently grabbing coins for far less then any other venue. They ship immediately, shipping charges are very reasonable, and they actually answer their phone when you need to speak with someone. I don't like the buyer's fee, but I just factor that in to my bid amount.

Have I had to return coins? Yep. But, I've returned coins to just about every dealer that sells in my series, including biggies like L&C and everybody's hero, R&I (Rick Tomaska).

Russ, NCNE

lordmarcovan

I've scored some real bargains on Teletrade, and bought some really nice coins through them. However, I have also gotten a number of substandard coins with neutral or slightly negative eye appeal. I would still buy from them if they had something I needed, but I would go to eBay and elsewhere on the Internet first- I like to at least see a picture before I bid on something. Teletrade was wonderful for me back when I didn't have a computer. Now, with eBay at my disposal, and Heritage on occasion, I seldom use it anymore. I never tried a return- usually the coins I bought from them were too cheap to be worth returning, so I "ate" 'em.

Sometimes you can get a "steal" off Teletrade, though, since the other venues get more attention. Though I haven't bid in about a year, I still get their catalogs, and enjoy reading them.

RotatedRainbows

Its best NOT to bid on any coin without a picture as their descriptions are not always accurate. I bid on a coin about 2 months ago that I felt was not accurately described and voiced my displeasure on the invoice when I returned it and not only did I not get hit with a return fee they refunded some of my postage. Won coin with bid of $150 + $15 buyer fee (10%) and they refunded me $170 plus some odd change.

gmarguli

TeleTrash is the dumping ground for crap. It's for the stuff you would be too ashamed to sell under your eBay ID. It's for stuff you need to sell without a picture.

Sure there are good deals and nice coins every now and again. I'm sure if you look thru enough piles of dog crap you could find something of value also.

I'd avoid TT. ***Bad*** descriptions. Substandard coins. High fees.

gmarguli

I've returned coins to just about every dealer that sells in my series, including biggies like L&C and everybody's hero, R&I (Rick Tomaska).

L&C? I used to know one of their buyers. Given what he said/did I wouldn't ever buy a coin from them.

jom

<< <i>I'm sure if you look thru enough piles of dog crap you could find something of value also >>



Sounds like the typical Heritage auction at Long Beach to me. lol

jom

vega1

I have found that good deals can be had at times, just do your homework. One piece of very important advice when dealing with Teletrade...

Never, ever, ever, buy a piece with no image. 99% chance its a dog (no offense dog)

RLinn

I have purchased a couple of dozen items through their auctions. I usually look to get an item a fair market price for listed grade minus one grade (i.e pay 65 money for 66 listed coin) Not surprising, I loose more that I win, but have always liked what I won, when I won. Patience is the key. I have been especially fortunate on some of the lot bids containing 3-10 of the same item.

Russ

<< <i>I have been especially fortunate on some of the lot bids containing 3-10 of the same item. >>



This has also been where I've gotten the best scores. Here's a recent example. All three coins are solid for the grade and, individually, the market has been pricing them between $75 to $85. With shipping and buyer's fee, my cost was less then $150 for the lot.

Russ, NCNE

mrdq

I bid them weekly and I've won 3 NICE deals this year and lost about 100

IrishMike

As someone has said you have to do your homework. There are some deals on their. Greg I have purchased many coins there, resold them on Ebay complete with digital pix and not one complaint. There is one major dealer on Ebay who buys a great deal of coins from them and they always show up on Ebay. Most of them are not nice to look at. Technical for the grade.It can be either a good or a bad experience.

BAJJERFAN

Hello and welcom to the boards.
Oh and nice Icon too! Go Bucky

Dave99B

Low end slabs, my friend, low end slabs. But even I must admit, you can get a steal from time to time.

Years ago (10+) I found a lot of decent stuff there, but lately (last couple of years) I would say my return rate is over 50%. I haven't bought a single coin there in over a year. Even their imaged stuff is pretty down right ugly, in my opinion.

My advice is avoid them, if possible, or at least bid no more than 50% of Greysheet.

Dave

lordmarcovan

I knew Greg would come in with his "TeleTrash" comments, LOL.

So, tell us, Greg- what specifically turned you into the foaming Teletrade hater you are today? Was it one big, bad, sour transaction, or a bunch of smaller disappointments?

BTW, I bought at least 3 PCGS PR70 DCAM coins from them in 1998, for $50-75 each. A 1986-S Washington, a 1989-S Kennedy, and a 1981-S SBA. Sold the quarter and the SBA for over $300 each, in the last year. Made a small profit on the Kennedy, too. I suppose I got lucky because the advent of the Set Registry later drove up the demand for these coins. They were well worth $50-75 to me, but at $300+ a pop, I sold them cheerfully and bought gold. I would never pay more than $100 for a base-metal modern coin. Well... usually not, anyway.

If a coin is PCGS PR70 DCAM, you really don't need a picture, do you? Unless it has developed haze or spots after the fact.

dorkkarl

funny thing about tele-trap is that i never seem to get an "Average" coin. they always seem either much worse than expected (60% of the time) to much better than expected (40% of the time). ie, their imaging technology, whatever it is, seems to look "sharp" on screen, but the actual coin looks much different. case in point: i've picked up several large cents that looked terrific, but turned out to be recolored pieces of crap, or have micro corrosion not apparent in the digipic. on the other hand, i've picked up some early silver pieces that went for cheap, but turned out to be way nicer and original than they looked in the pic.

1 caveat: far too much shill-bidding, or buy-backs going on. skews pricing big time, and opens them up to bogus inflated bidding that;s there just for the purpose of making certain coins look like hot items.

bottom line: there is no replacement for sight-unseen.

2 things in their favor though, #1 i actually do think the return policy is good, and #2 they used to have some really hot-looking demo-dollies at their booth at national shows.

K S

gmarguli

So, tell us, Greg- what specifically turned you into the foaming Teletrade hater you are today? Was it one big, bad, sour transaction, or a bunch of smaller disappointments?

I started with TeleTrash back when they used to mail you their auction catalog. I'd bid on coins and when they arrived they would not match the description. Returns cost money and time. After a while I gave up.

I sold a lot of coins on TT. Suddenly some of my were refused because they didn't want to handle "these" coins. Yet the exact same coins still appeared in their auctions. I later found out why. I was sickened at their business practices.

I spoke with people who had close ties to TT and what I was told about their other practices made me NEVER do business with them again.

You cannot trust their descriptions. You cannot trust them.

I admit my experiences came in the pre-Manning days, but the bad taste is still there. The crap coins they sell are still there. I also personally wouldn?t trust Manning Auctions, but that is just based on personal opinions.

I didn't get screwed or anything like that. I just realized what a bunch of scumbags they really were. Accugrade dealers have more integrity than TT.



BTW, I bought at least 3 PCGS PR70 DCAM coins from them in 1998, for $50-75 each . A 1986-S Washington, a 1989-S Kennedy, and a 1981-S SBA. Sold the quarter and the SBA for over $300 each, in the last year. Made a small profit on the Kennedy, too. I suppose I got lucky because the advent of the Set Registry later drove up the demand for these coins. They were well worth $50-75 to me, but at $300+ a pop, I sold them cheerfully and bought gold. I would never pay more than $100 for a base-metal modern coin. Well... usually not, anyway.

Did you buy any ICG PR70s for the same price? What about PCI? Oh that's right, they don't sell PCI coins. I wonder why they take ICG which was a new service and not PCI???

DCAMFranklin

Perhaps, because PCI sucks. At least you are consistent, gmarguli. TeleTrade sucks. ACG sucks. CameoCC sucks. NumisTrust sucks. Just wondering gmarguli.........is there something in this coin collecting world that does NOT suck??

flaminio

<< <i>Perhaps, because PCI sucks. At least you are consistent, gmarguli. TeleTrade sucks. ACG sucks. CameoCC sucks. NumisTrust sucks. Just wondering gmarguli.........is there something in this coin collecting world that does NOT suck?? >>



LOL! Greg is one sour fellow, ain't he. Sure posts a lot, too.

I've purchased just one coin from Teletrade, and it was stunning. I admit that I miscalculated the "juice" and ended up overpaying a bit, but that was my fault, not theirs. Nonetheless, I am quite happy with the coin and the service. I do wish they'd abandon their goofy numeric IDs (which are impossible to remember) and let me pick my own ID (or just use my email address).

-Bob

DMWJR

Just a quick funny since someone mentioned NumisTrust. I bought three 7TF REV/78 Morgans slabbed 63 by NumisTrust, and payed average 63 money. To my surprise, the holder says 7TF, but the reverses have 8TF's. How'd they miss that one three times in a row?? Real grades IMHO were between 60 and 62.

To me, the only thing different between Teletrade and EBay is that you know you will get a slabbed coin with the "alleged" grade on it from Teletrade. It's still sight unseen, aka, potluck. I have gotten some great deals and some not so great deals on TT, and I have no complaints about their service.

gmarguli

Perhaps, because PCI sucks.

They didn't for *YEARS*. Perhaps you don't know much about them and their history. Do you know the CORRECT answer to why there have never been PCI coins on TT, but ICG was their fast? If not you need to do some talking to people who know.


is there something in this coin collecting world that does NOT suck??

Sure lots of things. However, lots of other things suck and I have no problem pointing them out.

gmarguli

Greg is one sour fellow, ain't he.

Not really. I'm not sour at all. I just won't sugar coat things. Why bother? I call it like I see it. If that offends some, then that is their problem.

If more people had the guts to tell it like it is then perhaps there would be less scumbags in this hobby and more collectors.