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something fishy it seems Ive only realized about teletrade...

joebb21joebb21 Posts: 4,809 ✭✭✭✭✭
they have hidden reserves!!!
I noticed when I kept seeing the same coin come up for the 3rd time and I went to the archive but it wasnt there!
checked some ones I had in my watch list from last night but they were not in the archive either.
no wonder it always seems they get such high bids!

did you know about this?
may the fonz be with you...always...

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    123cents123cents Posts: 7,178 ✭✭✭
    The consignors set the reverse by being able to bid on their own items up till 1 hour before the auction officially starts.
    image
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    DennisHDennisH Posts: 14,040 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>they have hidden reserves!!!
    I noticed when I kept seeing the same coin come up for the 3rd time and I went to the archive but it wasnt there!
    checked some ones I had in my watch list from last night but they were not in the archive either.
    no wonder it always seems they get such high bids!

    did you know about this? >>

    Yes. I figured it out the same way you did. Scummy, isn't it?
    When in doubt, don't.
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    19Lyds19Lyds Posts: 26,503 ✭✭✭✭
    I contacted Ian regarding this and the reply was:

    "All reserves are set in advance by the consignor - they can place them online, but all have to be entered prior to the auction start time. These are called Buyback Bids.

    We will usually start the bidding at several bid increments lower than the reserve, similar to most live auctions."

    What this means is that the sellers Buy Back Bid (i.e. Reserve) is not the starting price but as a bidder, you are in effect, bidding against it.

    Better yet, if the Buy Back is $1,000 and you bid $500, the auction will show a bid of $550, then $600, then $650, etc, until either the "buy back" is met or the item does not sell.

    Items which do not sell can be referenced but you must have the Auction and Lot number to bring them up.
    I decided to change calling the bathroom the John and renamed it the Jim. I feel so much better saying I went to the Jim this morning.



    The name is LEE!
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    adamlaneusadamlaneus Posts: 6,969 ✭✭✭
    Pretending that a reserve is a bid...and making it look like bids are occuring when, in fact, the computers are slowly walking the bid price up to the reserve...

    This is misleading. It is an ethical concern in my special tight-a$$ed world.

    I like auction houses that are more transparent about the reserve price.

    TeleTrade plays a game that is designed to get you involved in a bidding frenzy. (against a computer)

    [edit] Wow, my new avatar gives my posts a harsh criminal edge!
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    tombrtombr Posts: 863 ✭✭
    You can also put the item in your tracking list. If the item actually sells, it will still be in your tracking list the next day. If it did not, it will not appear in your tracking list.
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    RussRuss Posts: 48,514 ✭✭✭
    What's worse are all the fake sales. Many, many coins show "sold" at stupid prices, but get relisted over and over and over again.

    Russ, NCNE
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    CameonutCameonut Posts: 7,433 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I agree with the comments about the way the Teletrade "system" treats the reserves.

    I can see the need for the consignor to set a reserve, but for Teletrades computers to keep ratcheting up the bids toward the reserve when it is blind to the bidders is misleading. I would rather see actual bidders bidding on the lots and if they don't meet the reserve, simply indicate the winning bid didn't meet the reserve.

    OR - start the auction at the reserve and save everyone alot of time.

    (And so far, I have earned exactly zero gold points from Teletrade - in essence they have lost my business)

    “In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson

    My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!

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    tombrtombr Posts: 863 ✭✭


    << <i>What's worse are all the fake sales. Many, many coins show "sold" at stupid prices, but get relisted over and over and over again.

    Russ, NCNE >>



    Indeed Russ. Though they disappear from your tracking list, they still show up as a sale in history.
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    BearBear Posts: 18,953 ✭✭✭
    It is not illegal, but immoral comes to mind.
    There once was a place called
    Camelotimage
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    OneCentOneCent Posts: 3,561
    A perfect example of the lack of transparency exhibited by Teletrade.

    Why not simpy start the auction at the reserve price? Don't answer that
    one as I already know the answer....


    image
    imageimage
    Collector of Early 20th Century U.S. Coinage.
    ANA Member R-3147111
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    keetskeets Posts: 25,351 ✭✭✭✭✭
    there is, of course, an alternative to complaining about it.........................don't use the site. simple, 'eh????image
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    FullStepJeffsFullStepJeffs Posts: 1,874 ✭✭✭


    << <i>What's worse are all the fake sales. Many, many coins show "sold" at stupid prices, but get relisted over and over and over again.

    Russ, NCNE >>



    Yeah, I was kinda upset when one of the coins I had listed without a reserve supposedly sold, only to find out later that it didn't.

    Steve
    U.S. Air Force Security Forces Retired

    In memory of the USAF Security Forces lost: A1C Elizabeth N. Jacobson, 9/28/05; SSgt Brian McElroy, 1/22/06; TSgt Jason Norton, 1/22/06; A1C Lee Chavis, 10/14/06; SSgt John Self, 5/14/07; A1C Jason Nathan, 6/23/07; SSgt Travis Griffin, 4/3/08; 1Lt Joseph Helton, 9/8/09; SrA Nicholas J. Alden, 3/3/2011. God Bless them and all those who have lost loved ones in this war. I will never forget their loss.
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    Billet7Billet7 Posts: 4,923 ✭✭✭
    Yeah, another reason I don't care for the firm. They aren't really auctions, they are set up to look like auctions, but they aren't.
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    sinin1sinin1 Posts: 7,500
    I like to scan the prices realize the coins that sold are shown are there and the reserve not realized disappear
    it shows what areas (series/denominations) are selling and what are not


    even if you donb't sell with them, you should read the info for sellers as it describes buy-back terms

    it can be quite pricey for sellers to have unrealistic reserves - and return shipping to seller
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    WaterSportWaterSport Posts: 7,046 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I also get the feeling they are "selective" about the prices realized over a coin. By this I mean if a common coin comes to auction each week and won each week for a different amount, only the highest realized prices are posted. I watched for a long time the value posted for a 1976 S proof in MS 69. That coin would sell week after week at a range from $160 - $200. But each week, only the $200 values would be listed.

    WS
    Proud recipient of the coveted PCGS Forum "You Suck" Award Thursday July 19, 2007 11:33 PM and December 30th, 2011 at 8:50 PM.
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    19Lyds19Lyds Posts: 26,503 ✭✭✭✭
    Personally I don't have a problem with a sellers "hidden reserve" or buy back or whatever else you want to call it. You either win the coin at your price or you don't and there's no point in whining about it.

    However, I'm not a BIG fan of that $8.00 minimum buyers fee!
    I decided to change calling the bathroom the John and renamed it the Jim. I feel so much better saying I went to the Jim this morning.



    The name is LEE!
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    If the consignors' item doesn't sell, the consignor is charged 5% of his "buyback/reserve" price. This is a little motivation for the consignor to put in a somewhat appealing price for the buyers.
    Very Positive BST Experience with: guitarwes, ibzman350, jmcu12, Bamafan27, OnlyGoldIsMoney
    Reference: Coin Links
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    Ahhh, come on Gentlemen, teletrade has operated this way since I can remember. I have bought and sold many coins through them (during 1993-2003) and its a fine system as it stands.... for certain types of material. Just know what your willing to pay and if the reserve is higher, then you don't pay. The buyback (buyer is charged a %age of the buyback price) He/she does not get a free ride.
    NumbersUsa, FairUs, Alipac, CapsWeb, and TeamAmericaPac
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    RedTigerRedTiger Posts: 5,608


    << <i>Ahhh, come on Gentlemen, teletrade has operated this way since I can remember. I have bought and sold many coins through them (during 1993-2003) and its a fine system as it stands.... for certain types of material. Just know what your willing to pay and if the reserve is higher, then you don't pay. The buyback (buyer is charged a %age of the buyback price) He/she does not get a free ride. >>



    You do realize that the coins that continually get relisted are likely house owned? That's the "free ride." It is why it can be discouraging. Find a coin worth bidding on, perhaps place a bid, or see the computer enter its "house" bids, only to see the coin "not sold." Then see the same coin in an auction five weeks later, and then three months later.

    If Teletrade limited their auctions to true reserves where the consignors were paying for that privilege, probably 1/2 of their listings would be gone. That's half I wouldn't have to try and guess whether it is a real auction, or a house coin with a "fishing" reserve. By "fishing" I mean an above market reserve price, hoping that someone naive comes along and thinks they are bidding against another collector instead of the house reserve.

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    i will say i have never bought anything from them and i am a newbie why would i pay more for a coin that floats around on ebay or any other site i dont get into that you bid more then me if i want the coin i will not pay more then ngc or pcgs list price unless it's somthing i really want then i might go a few $ higher
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    wondercoinwondercoin Posts: 17,133 ✭✭✭✭✭
    This has been discussed many times here and most concluded (as I recall) the system is equally as fair as the current bidding systems used by much larger auction companies such as Bowers and Stacks to name just a couple I believe. For example, at a Bowers auction, you will have a coin reserved for $1,000 and the coin opens live on the auction floor at, say, $750. Bidding takes place in the auction room (live) and bidding stops at $975 after live bidders bid against the reserve, which is shown as a bid from the podium after someone bids live in the room and the auctioneer shows he has a bid above the bid in the room. Let's say at $975, live bidding stops in the auction room and the coin fails to meet reserve. No different than Teletrade having a "secret" reserve at $1,000 on a coin and it failing to meet the reserve - right?

    Wondercoin
    Please visit my website at www.wondercoins.com and my ebay auctions under my user name www.wondercoin.com.
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    i bid half price on coins and currency if i want it i bid no more then what it's worth with buyers premium and shipping lol that is on graded coins and currency
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    BAJJERFANBAJJERFAN Posts: 31,635 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Pretending that a reserve is a bid...and making it look like bids are occuring when, in fact, the computers are slowly walking the bid price up to the reserve...

    This is misleading. It is an ethical concern in my special tight-a$$ed world.

    I like auction houses that are more transparent about the reserve price.

    TeleTrade plays a game that is designed to get you involved in a bidding frenzy. (against a computer)

    [edit] Wow, my new avatar gives my posts a harsh criminal edge! >>



    A reserve is technically a bid as I believe the consignor has to pay the juice on his reserve bid if it doesn't sell. I think the puter only bids up house owned coins and not consignor owned coins. Why would TT want to risk buying someone's coins?

    You bid what you are willing to pay and if you get it, fine. The same ol rhetoric thats preached here about eBay and other auction venues.
    theknowitalltroll;
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    joebb21, I would use your name but you don't have a profile listed to get it from.
    I'm Richard but better known as Tiny by my friends so you can call me Tiny. You
    started in on Teletrade on my thread last night and as I told you then,

    " Set your mind on a price even more so than when bidding on eBay and figure
    the % and the shipping. I have got some very good deals and some so so but I
    have all ways been happy with what I get. "

    And like Al put it,

    " there is, of course, an alternative to complaining about it.........................don't use the site. simple, 'eh???? "

    Have you ever won off Teletrade before? Are you a regular bidder? I have got a bunch
    on coins from them and yes I have been POd at them but hey ya got work the system
    as in many ways of life. Work their ways to your advantage and ask for help from people
    that use them and enjoy buying from them.

    Now I don't bid on Heritage or any of the so called " Quality Auction Houses " I guess only
    because I haven't ever tried but I wil one day and if I have a bad time with them I'll learn
    how to use them not bad mouth them.

    Teletrade's ways of doing business may really suck as you and others say but the coins
    I have got from them were fair priced even with the buyers premium and the shipping. Their
    pictures may leave a little to be desired but have you seen those sorry a$$ ones many of the
    big sellers on eBay and so many coin web sites have. Many of them are scans and just
    how the heck do tell anything about a coin from a dang SCAN ???

    All right I've clamed down and NO I do not work a Teletrade I just like buying off the auctions,
    listings, rip offs, computer generated or "Bot Sales" if you like or just what ever you want to
    call them.

    Tiny

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    YaHaYaHa Posts: 4,220


    << <i>joebb21, I would use your name but you don't have a profile listed to get it from.
    I'm Richard but better known as Tiny by my friends so you can call me Tiny. You
    started in on Teletrade on my thread last night and as I told you then,

    " Set your mind on a price even more so than when bidding on eBay and figure
    the % and the shipping. I have got some very good deals and some so so but I
    have all ways been happy with what I get. "

    And like Al put it,

    " there is, of course, an alternative to complaining about it.........................don't use the site. simple, 'eh???? "

    Have you ever won off Teletrade before? Are you a regular bidder? I have got a bunch
    on coins from them and yes I have been POd at them but hey ya got work the system
    as in many ways of life. Work their ways to your advantage and ask for help from people
    that use them and enjoy buying from them.

    Now I don't bid on Heritage or any of the so called " Quality Auction Houses " I guess only
    because I haven't ever tried but I wil one day and if I have a bad time with them I'll learn
    how to use them not bad mouth them.

    Teletrade's ways of doing business may really suck as you and others say but the coins
    I have got from them were fair priced even with the buyers premium and the shipping. Their
    pictures may leave a little to be desired but have you seen those sorry a$$ ones many of the
    big sellers on eBay and so many coin web sites have. Many of them are scans and just
    how the heck do tell anything about a coin from a dang SCAN ???

    All right I've clamed down and NO I do not work a Teletrade I just like buying off the auctions,
    listings, rip offs, computer generated or "Bot Sales" if you like or just what ever you want to
    call them.

    Tiny >>





    Tiny... You are 100% correct about your theory of TT.. Remember a seller has their price in mind when they set their reserve..

    No one is going to list a coin @.99 on TT... This is another venue to sell a coin at your asking minus the fees and shipping that TT should get for having a cool place to buy coins from.

    So, Tiny, very well put.. I for one love TT.. I sell many high dollar coins on TT. Also have bought many too..image
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    COALPORTERCOALPORTER Posts: 2,900 ✭✭


    << <i>What's worse are all the fake sales. Many, many coins show "sold" at stupid prices, but get relisted over and over and over again.

    Russ, NCNE >>



    What's really funny is when they notify you of a similar coin in an upcomming auction, and it's really THE SAME COIN !! LOL!
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    RedTigerRedTiger Posts: 5,608


    << <i>

    << <i>What's worse are all the fake sales. Many, many coins show "sold" at stupid prices, but get relisted over and over and over again.

    Russ, NCNE >>



    What's really funny is when they notify you of a similar coin in an upcomming auction, and it's really THE SAME COIN !! LOL! >>



    This part I haven't observed. If true, it would certainly be unethical. This practice would establish high "fake" sale prices to shill clients just to establish a higher baseline for future sales. Their loophole would be returned coins, however, if they are being sold to "house" clients that can return for no fee, just as "house" coins can be relisted for no fee, it smells rotten, and it makes things worse than what I have been seeing.

    As always readers, I try to stay away from bashing, and I also shy away from happy talk. Folks should know what is really going on, and not be one of the naive novices that get taken in by Teletrade's business practices. From the comments, it appears that the dark side of Teletrade is mostly unknown to the novice readers. The sellers who use it have come in to defend because they have a dog in the hunt, so take their comments for what they are.

    I do not hear similar reports going on at the other major auction firms. Perhaps they do go on, but the percentage of coins that the "house" seems involved in at Teletrade seems an order of magnitude higher than at other firms.
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    wondercoinwondercoin Posts: 17,133 ✭✭✭✭✭
    From time to time, a coin of mine sells on Teletrade and Gil notifies me Teletrade has determined it was a bogus bid and reverses out the bid (and bans the bidder). I greatly appreciate as a consignor that Teletrade address this problem early and not 38 days later at "settlement date". Once this happens, my coin(s) gets placed for sale in the next available auction (even though the coin show as having just sold in the prior auction). Nothing sinister going on here at all (other than what the deadbeat bidder did to Teletrade and myself). I sure hope Teletrade notifies all the bidders in the prior sale that the coin is available once again - otherwise, I could be impacted the next time the coin comes up for sale.

    From a bidder standpoint, I personally believe they are running a clean auction, which is why I comfortably placed a $50,000+ bid to win a coin for the mid-$20,000's not too long ago (a pop 1/0 MS67 Lib nickel). I posted a thread on it right here as well as I recall.

    Wondercoin
    Please visit my website at www.wondercoins.com and my ebay auctions under my user name www.wondercoin.com.
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    PawPaulPawPaul Posts: 5,845
    No doubt what you describe happens Mitch - but maybe on 1 out of a 1000........ if that ?

    Sometimes I 'll grant you , odd things appear to happen at Teletrade ; but I don't believe the company knowingly tricks anybody .

    they got some faults - but nobodys perfect .

    I myself have bought and sold close to a thousand coins since B. Rome created Teletrade and some of the best pieces in my collection are from Teletrade .
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    pennyanniepennyannie Posts: 3,929 ✭✭✭
    I no longer spend any money at TT, to many other places to spend it. I did not like the way they run it but it is their place and not mine. I am sure they do not miss me.
    Mark
    NGC registry V-Nickel proof #6!!!!
    working on proof shield nickels # 8 with a bullet!!!!

    RIP "BEAR"
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    RedTiger,

    No I was not considering the house owned. You have a very valid point on that issue.
    NumbersUsa, FairUs, Alipac, CapsWeb, and TeamAmericaPac
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    ElmerFusterpuckElmerFusterpuck Posts: 4,900 ✭✭✭✭✭
    What RedTiger described does happen. Last year, I was tracking a MS-67 PCGS 1956-D Roosevelt dime. It 'sold' for $130. Not too long later, I was notified of a similar coin coming up, which turned out to be the same one. This one was a happy ending; I got the coin for $33. I really don't think it 'sold' to begin with either.
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    wondercoinwondercoin Posts: 17,133 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Pawpaul - Seriously, in your opinion, what happens the other 999 times out of a 1000?

    Wondercoin
    Please visit my website at www.wondercoins.com and my ebay auctions under my user name www.wondercoin.com.
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    PawPaulPawPaul Posts: 5,845
    ...i think the coin gets legitimately bid on and the buyer pays and either keeps or returns the coin(s) .

    I'm thinking that no more then 1 in a thousand lots are bid on by unscrupulous people who have no intent to actually buy the coin(s)
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    leothelyonleothelyon Posts: 8,550 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Hi Joe
    Here's a similar thread that I had some questions concerning Teletrade's set-up. But all and all, you must have some idea on the value of the coin that interests you and bid accordingly. Personally, since I can enter several max bids up to a certain time, I've learned not to place my very top max until I'm certain that's the amount I want to pay or I'll back out. It depends on the coin but I have let a few coins ride only to find them relisted again. I have also had coins sell but resurface again in a matter of weeks where I end up with them anyways. But the bottom line, I've stuck with a value/price and paid pretty close to my estimate, that sometimes includes the TT fees. Seldom have I ever gone hogwild on a coin because it was a "one of a kind" type of coin (on TT) but I have.
    I collect the JN series, something alot of folks don't get too excited about so I have ended up with some very nice coins, however far and and very few come along.
    From a seller's prospective, depending on where the market is on some coins, like it's been said, no-one is going to list coins on TT for .99 but it's a place where the market can be tested for a fee, however that compares to other avenues but their photography IMO is far better than what's out there to choose your coins from.


    Leo

    The more qualities observed in a coin, the more desirable that coin becomes!

    My Jefferson Nickel Collection

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    clackamasclackamas Posts: 5,615
    Its better than having one of the Stacks, or one of the Heritage guys shilling in the open and you can even return coins to teletrade.
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    PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 47,551 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>........and you can even return coins to teletrade. >>



    ........with a restocking fee.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

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    BAJJERFANBAJJERFAN Posts: 31,635 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>...i think the coin gets legitimately bid on and the buyer pays and either keeps or returns the coin(s) . >>



    A returned coin shows as sold and is kept in the archives as such.
    theknowitalltroll;
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    7Jaguars7Jaguars Posts: 7,991 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Not that they care, but I wonder if they have ever considered that their policies have in the long run chased potential bidders away. I would say that is definately me, and whereas I used to regularly check their listings I only do it sporadically now and even less frequently bid because of it. Also, I think the potential bidder can count on adding at least 20% on to the "sale price" for fees, premium, etc.
    Love that Milled British (1830-1960)
    Well, just Love coins, period.
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    PawPaulPawPaul Posts: 5,845


    << <i>

    << <i>...i think the coin gets legitimately bid on and the buyer pays and either keeps or returns the coin(s) . >>



    A returned coin shows as sold and is kept in the archives as such. >>





    ....yes- I complained about that many times on deaf ears ; they stand behind the belief that it was "sold" but got "returned " ...........

    how stupid do they have to be to perpetuate that kind of irrational thought behavior ?????


    .if it wern't for them implementing the acceptance of credit card and Paypal payments - they would have gone belly up years ago


    As I pointed out several times ; about every third auction ends up with half the lots unsold

    .....but u gotta love them for what they are
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    I used to have my doubts about "house owned" coins on TT.

    But how else does one explain coins like this one?

    I can say confidently it has been in at least a dozen different auctions...
    "Wars are really ugly! They're dirty
    and they're cold.
    I don't want nobody to shoot me in the foxhole."
    Mary






    Best Franklin Website
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    BAJJERFANBAJJERFAN Posts: 31,635 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I used to have my doubts about "house owned" coins on TT.

    But how else does one explain coins like this one?

    I can say confidently it has been in at least a dozen different auctions... >>



    They may have collected more in return fees than the coin would have sold for. LOL
    theknowitalltroll;
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    bestdaybestday Posts: 4,271 ✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I no longer spend any money at TT, to many other places to spend it. I did not like the way they run it but it is their place and not mine. I am sure they do not miss me. >>



    Strange ,but my max bid would hit almost 100 % of the time

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