Stack's.....................again!!!
keets
Posts: 25,351 ✭✭✭✭✭
I have tried, honestly, I have tried to be patient and understanding with that auction firm and their pathetic website. Apparently they are either inept or just don't care to improve it because the problems persist and make even a cursory visit to view lots frustrating. I have a moderately fast PC and good Internet connection, yet they are slow, slow, slow while the rest of the web-world loads normally. I can only conclude that they have either outmoded equipment or software which is incapable of handling the traffic, perhaps because it has script which causes communication problems.
I don't know, I ain't no IT guy. I only know that their site is the one I dread going to, it is always the same no matter what day or what time of time of day.
Since they seem to refuse to want to fix the site I wish they would stop listing such nice, appealing items. Just list crap and I'll stay away.
Al H.
Comments
Perhaps you will have another interesting morning at the shop to take your mind off of the slow web site
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I don't even think about it at work, too much to do.
LOL! That's how I feel too. They list things I like so I have to deal with their crappy website and slow shipping. What's an obsessed collector to do!
ANA LM
USAF Retired — 34 years of active military service! 🇺🇸
I just tried it and loads lightning fast for me.
Navigating the Stacks' site is confusing and difficult. You can end up in places where I can't see any way of getting somewhere else other than going to the front page and starting over, even when you know the lot number of the items you want to see. My wife, who is more computer literate that I am, ran into the same problem when we were working with the site yesterday.
It's hard to find the screen where you can get to see all of the examples of one type of coin in a row. If you lose the screen that has box, "go to lot x," you can get lost. It's not site where you can browse auction lots easily.
It makes you wonder why Stacks' can't improve their site. There are comparatively small political items dealers who have Internet auctions that far easier and less confusing to use. Our hosts realized when their software was subpar and made significant changes. The quality of the pictures at Stacks' has actually gone down, not improved. There was a time when you could get higher resolution views of the photos. That option no longer exists.
I don't who does the programming on the Stacks' site, but whoever they, they are not the best in the business.
it is loading a little faster now but still has the same problem.
I never have a problem with the home-page or the login page, the problems always start once I get into a catalogue and the listings. things sometimes slow to a crawl and the tendency is to get a "long running script" message so I assume it is with their software.
it works great for me. i had no trouble finding what i am looking for and it loaded fast. my problem is that i am outbid already.
Perhaps your connection speed to their website is in direct proportion to the number of dollars you spend with them.
Cheers
Bob
Maybe I'm just getting used to it but Im getting around it ok. I very much felt like keets and Bill up until now. It is still counterintuitive
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
I have a high speed connection, top of the line computer and I am highly computer literate.... and I do not like that site... Cheers, RickO
Never had luck at Stacks. Gave up long ago. GC rocks!
I will echo what Bill said about the pictures, the large option is gone now.
strangely, I have never had a problem during the auction(s) when it really matters, I just have great difficulty being able to view lots, place pre-sale bids and save to my watch list.
I believe it is a catalogue problem.
Personally I find it easy to use, so I'm not sure exactly what you are referring to?
Coin Rarities Online
I've never wanted the headache you guys all talk about so, have never visited Stacks.
bob
Now that you mention it, not being able to zoom in close is ridiculous. When you click the image, it actually goes smaller!
Stack's has beautiful, rare items with gorgeous photographs. Their website, however, leaves a lot to be desired.
Does anyone know who does their photos? Are they done in house?
Zoins, that is what drives me to their auctions. I have won some nice medals and searches often take me to archived auctions that I missed, so I make it a point to watch them.
That's because colonials are always on the first page of the catalog, John!!!
mbogoman
https://pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/classic-issues-colonials-through-1964/zambezi-collection-trade-dollars/7345Asesabi Lutho
I don't even bother with Stack's anymore.
There is still a way to get the high resolution photos, if you use the Google Chrome browser.
When you get the popup window with the photo, right-click on the photo and choose "Inspect".
This will put a window of code on the right, with the actual URL of the large photo underlined and highlighted.
Then right-click on the underlined photo URL and choose "Open in a new tab".
This tab then contains the full resolution photo. Right-click on the image and choose Save Image As to download it.
I agree, they should provide an easier way to view the full resolution photo, but this way works in the meantime.
For half dimes, the Stack's photos are usually higher resolution (900 x 900) than the typical photos on Heritage,
which are full slab photos that are not cropped to the coin (500 x 500 when cropped).
Was also going to suggest using a different browser if you're using Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Try using Chrome mentioned above or Mozilla Firefox. If you're used to using Internet Explorer for your everyday internet tasks, and then try the same thing using one of the other two browsers, you will never want to go back to using IE. When installing them you will have the option of importing all your favorites and passwords etc. from IE.
Yosclimber, what a great tip and thanks!
I use Chrome and I have very slow out in the boondocks DSL and I don't have any serious problems, other than not liking their layout.
Joseph J. Singleton - First Superintendent of the U.S. Branch Mint in Dahlonega Georgia
Findley Ridge Collection
About Findley Ridge
I can't remember the last time I actually bought something from Stacks.
Life it too short to put up with their BS website - I don't go there anymore. (and am happier for it.)
“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!
I hope we aren't bidding on the same lots !
"Everything is on its way to somewhere. Everything." - George Malley, Phenomenon
http://www.americanlegacycoins.com
It seems they've gotten the worst of their problems worked out. It works OK for me (see recent newp), but isn't nearly as sophisticated as Heritage's.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars
Bill,
I have a suggestion for you to help keep you from getting lost. When you move your mouse pointer over a hyperlink and it turns into a hand and index finger pointing - then right click with your mouse and select "Open in a new tab". This will always allow you to click back on your original tab and hopefully navigate better
My Washington Type B/C Set
I try to do this from the main list of lots to try to open the individual lot in a new tab and am unable to do so. The website will not let you do that which can be a pain.
Plus having to register for each session, and then run the same searches over and over in each session list is ridiculous.
Michael Kittle Rare Coins --- 1908-S Indian Head Cent Grading Set --- No. 1 1909 Mint Set --- Kittlecoins on Facebook --- Long Beach Table 448
I check HA several times per month.... daily when it gets close to a big auction. I've tried very hard to like Stacks, but I just can't seem to. Yes, if necessary I can get around their site OK, but it isn't intuitive and certainly isn't designed like any other site on the web. Couple that with the drama I've had with past invoices and shipping SNAFUs and I just do my best to find stuff I need other places. I can't imagine how they attract consignments.
Honestly I gave up on using Stacks' website, (except if I can manage to get their auction archives to work) through my computer and just use the iOS app instead on my phone. I find it easier to use.
Andrew Blinkiewicz-Heritage
I'm not a fan of Stacks or HA sites. It's always displaying (by default) already sold items and other odd auction types. It's easy to miss coins too since there are usually multiple auctions to go through.
GC is simple - one giant chronological list of coins in the order they will be sold. They also tag Toned and OGH coins.
Check out my iPhone app SlabReader!
After reading this thread, I just spent a few minutes perusing the Blue Moon and Pogue lot listings on the Stacks Bowers site and I thought the displays were really clean and easy to use. The navigation and search between auctions is a little frustrating. For example, I tried searching for the 1804 dollar when I was browsing the Blue Moon sale and the Pogue coin does not appear (because it's not in that session).
With that said, I think it's still really good software and so much better than it was before the latest upgrade a year or so ago. The site came up very fast for me, as well so not sure what that issue is.
Heritage, GC, among others in the coin hobby, set a very high bar for bidding software and that's really rare in the collectibles world, and it's been incredibly good for the coin hobby as a whole, attracting new bidders and keeping active collectors engaged.
I personally collect U.S. stamps, and in that category the Stacks site would be the best by a mile. Among the dozen+ stamp auction companies I've bid in, I almost never receive: bid acceptance, outbid notices, daily status with all my bids, or a post-auction update with my winnings. It's like 1995 in their world. I have to beg these guys for my invoice at the end of an auction. EBay is -- by far -- the best auction platform for stamps. Sad, but true.
The worst part of all of that is that the stamp dealers I know are all crying about how bad the hobby is, and "everyone's dying, no new collectors, etc." but they all run their auctions like crap and there's no way a new hobbyist could stomach this type of bidding pain. You have to really love stamps to play in these auctions...
Anyway, I digress. I like the Stacks web site and I think if they make a few UI changes it would be even better and solve the issues that frustrate the members here. Not to mention there are some really cool coins coming up for sale this week...
Whitman Brands: President/CEO (www.greysheet.com; www.whitman.com)
PNG: Executive Director (www.pngdealers.org)
In this day and age of the interwebs, if you are going to be dealing on the line, you either have to have far above average computer skills or hire someone who does. People are used to fast page loading and expect it.
If you are going to sell on the interwebs, do it right.
I liken this to restaurants that offer coffee. All restaurant coffee sucks, but they feel compelled to offer it. If you aren't going to do it right, don't do it.
Just my eversohumble opinion.
Cheers
Bob
...and I hope Stack's is reading this thread.
While unrelated and no slight intended, I used to have the exact same problem with David Lawrence's site.
Slow, slow, slow, slow, slow!
I don't know why and they didn't know why even after contacting them and speaking with their IT folks.
I just quit going to the site which remedied my problem.
I believe that they've redesigned the site so whatever it was went away. But I still rarely visit the site anymore.
Hack, I rarely come here anymore for what it's worth.
The name is LEE!
in firefox you can also right click the image you want to view and select open link in new window...the image loads and you can zoom in and out.
The David Lawrence site was completely re-written a couple years ago (before I retired from DLRC). It had been really slow but definitely worth checking out again as it's much faster and user-friendly now. The problem with slow web sites like that is the problem is usually at the architectural level and has to be completely re-written to fix it. I could write a two-page dissertation about the DLRC site but I won't bore anyone with the details.
It is my understanding that Stacks did the same thing.
Whitman Brands: President/CEO (www.greysheet.com; www.whitman.com)
PNG: Executive Director (www.pngdealers.org)
+1.........best advice yet!
Well, somebody is obviously going to the site. Prices were very strong for all tokens and medals!
I got completely blown out of the water
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Yes I know him, but not personally. He posts pictures of materials that come in for sale and the occasional stacks update (like their "new updated" site) on reddit every one in a while. So the pictures are done in-house and he is one of the "photographers".
Here is a link to one of his posts...if you click on his name you can creep on his older posts and message him if you want.
PS: this is another place where us younger collectors like to hang out and talk coins.
https://www.reddit.com/r/coins/comments/49un36/66_gold_eagles_in_today/
Maybe, maybe not. Does Stacks-Bowers allow house bids the same way that Heritage and others do?
They do. The last time I whined about their site the president contacted me. He actually phoned bid for me on a lot I really really wanted whilst his wife was ready to give birth.
mark
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
it matters little if they contact us and bid for us. I have received PM's also, in the past and as a result of this thread. that wasn't my intention and it doesn't help at all since the problem persists, not just with me but with others.
fix the page.
I am not an IT guy as I said in the OP, but it seems clear to me that there is probably some script conflict of some type in the software or in a specific part of the links within the web-site. if they keep trying to fix what they have or if the same person(s) is trying to rectify the problem I believe it will remain. there are way to many flawless, seamless web-pages out there for me to accept that this can't be fixed.
I would be thrilled if they would just fix one problem:
Their sorting feature doesn't work. You can't sort auction items by price, only by lot number, even though sorting by price is an option.
Incredibly annoying.
For those with slow loading / hanging pages /etc. on a particular web site, always try a different web browser to see if the problem disappears. If it does, you just found out where the problem lies.
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About 15 years ago, and several mergers ago, a wise coin dealer told me that I would be happier and better off as a collector if I simply forgot that Stack's existed. While Stack's has morphed into a considerable force with the folding in of Bowers/ANR/Teletrade, and much more relevant to collectors than then, I continue to follow this advice, and have little regret for doing so.
I've been following that advice also........never have bought a thing from Stack's.
I think that LIVE auction sites have more challenges than do static auction sites like eBay. While I am very comfortable with Heritage, I feel somewhat lost online with Stacks. We should all hope that they improve their site.
OINK
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