How Does GC Work?

GiveMeProof · June 20, 2026 9:21PM

Saw something on GC that I'm interested in. I've never used them and have no idea how it works. Is there an annual fee to join? And not having any experience does the bidding work like Ebay? For example, if I put in a max bid of say $500 and at the close the next highest bid is $250, do I get it for $260 or do they just take my $500 bid?

Thank you to anyone who can take the time to explain this to me. I did a search but found nothing relating to this topic.

Batman23 · June 20, 2026 9:36PM

GC meaning Great Collections? They are a great place to bid and buy from. Simple bidding just like eBay. Put in your max bid and it goes up in increments as underbidders bump you up to your max. You can play the snipe game also. BP is the old normal, not the new normal. I have nothing negative to say. Free to sign up and use, no fees unless you win.

RedRocket · June 21, 2026 7:59AM

The only caveat is Great Collections bidding works like eBay. The owners of coins offered with place their own bids so many 99c auctions to start are protected and not really true auctions that way.
The difference is if eBay catches you your membership can be cancelled. I don't know what GC has in place to prevent shilling.

Rampage · June 21, 2026 9:14AM

@RedRocket said:
The only caveat is Great Collections bidding works like eBay. The owners of coins offered with place their own bids so many 99c auctions to start are protected and not really true auctions that way.
The difference is if eBay catches you your membership can be cancelled. I don't know what GC has in place to prevent shilling.

A consignor cannot bid on their own coin(s) unless the consignor has a friend somewhere doing it for them. Same with eBay and any other auction house.

RedRocket · June 21, 2026 9:24AM

Thank you for the correction.

MsMorrisine · June 21, 2026 9:30AM

the major auction houses have given you a maximum allowed bid . you need to find yours and make sure your max allowed has enough room for your future attempts

JimW · June 21, 2026 10:04AM

@Rampage said:

@RedRocket said:
The only caveat is Great Collections bidding works like eBay. The owners of coins offered with place their own bids so many 99c auctions to start are protected and not really true auctions that way.
The difference is if eBay catches you your membership can be cancelled. I don't know what GC has in place to prevent shilling.

A consignor cannot bid on their own coin(s) unless the consignor has a friend somewhere doing it for them. Same with eBay and any other auction house.

This may be true, but I could not find it explicitly stated on the GC site anywhere.

safari_dude · June 21, 2026 10:05AM

@Batman23 said:
GC meaning Great Collections? They are a great place to bid and buy from. Simple bidding just like eBay. Put in your max bid and it goes up in increments as underbidders bump you up to your max. You can play the snipe game also. BP is the old normal, not the new normal. I have nothing negative to say. Free to sign up and use, no fees unless you win.

What is BP? Thanks, karl

Batman23 · June 21, 2026 10:10AM

@safari_dude said:

@Batman23 said:
GC meaning Great Collections? They are a great place to bid and buy from. Simple bidding just like eBay. Put in your max bid and it goes up in increments as underbidders bump you up to your max. You can play the snipe game also. BP is the old normal, not the new normal. I have nothing negative to say. Free to sign up and use, no fees unless you win.

What is BP? Thanks, karl

Buyers premium. GC is at 10%. I see that HA is now at 22%

safari_dude · June 21, 2026 10:11AM

@Batman23 said:

@safari_dude said:

@Batman23 said:
GC meaning Great Collections? They are a great place to bid and buy from. Simple bidding just like eBay. Put in your max bid and it goes up in increments as underbidders bump you up to your max. You can play the snipe game also. BP is the old normal, not the new normal. I have nothing negative to say. Free to sign up and use, no fees unless you win.

What is BP? Thanks, karl

Buyers premium. GC is at 10%. I see that HA is now at 22%

Thanks....thought it was a sniping site. ;-) cheers, karl

blitzdude · June 21, 2026 10:55AM

@Batman23 said:

@safari_dude said:

@Batman23 said:
GC meaning Great Collections? They are a great place to bid and buy from. Simple bidding just like eBay. Put in your max bid and it goes up in increments as underbidders bump you up to your max. You can play the snipe game also. BP is the old normal, not the new normal. I have nothing negative to say. Free to sign up and use, no fees unless you win.

What is BP? Thanks, karl

Buyers premium. GC is at 10%. I see that HA is now at 22%

10% if you pay by ckeck/echeck, wire, or proceeds from coins sold that you have consigned to them. 12.5% if paying by paypal/credit card.

To the OP: Their shipping is a bit steep unless you are buying multiple coins. They offer 2nd day Fedex $14.00 + $0.50 per coin, $15.00 + $0.50 per coin for USPS priority. Auctions always end on Sunday evening. There have been several times where I only won a single coin, so I typically wait to pay until the following week after I have won an additional coin or two. This hasn't really been an issue, honestly I am not sure what the timeframe is that they "expect" you to pay. Fedex is an issue for me because my local drivers are very incompetent and can't follow simple instructions, so I always try to go USPS. If your invoice is over $10K they will only ship Fedex period which I have run into on several occasions now. Also note that if paying by echeck they will hold your first couple of shipments for 7 days before shipping. Then even after multiple successful transactions (probably 10 in my case) before I exceed a $10K invoice, then they will decide to hold your funds for 7 days again. I believe they said after that you have cleared a $10K+ transaction they raise it up to $35K without delay. My only real complaints really, other than that they have been a great place to purchase coins. RGDS!

oldabeintx · June 21, 2026 11:04AM

GC is the gold standard for buying or selling IMO.

Batman23 · June 21, 2026 2:24PM

@blitzdude said:

@Batman23 said:

@safari_dude said:

@Batman23 said:
GC meaning Great Collections? They are a great place to bid and buy from. Simple bidding just like eBay. Put in your max bid and it goes up in increments as underbidders bump you up to your max. You can play the snipe game also. BP is the old normal, not the new normal. I have nothing negative to say. Free to sign up and use, no fees unless you win.

What is BP? Thanks, karl

Buyers premium. GC is at 10%. I see that HA is now at 22%

10% if you pay by ckeck/echeck, wire, or proceeds from coins sold that you have consigned to them. 12.5% if paying by paypal/credit card.

To the OP: Their shipping is a bit steep unless you are buying multiple coins. They offer 2nd day Fedex $14.00 + $0.50 per coin, $15.00 + $0.50 per coin for USPS priority. Auctions always end on Sunday evening. There have been several times where I only wone a single coin, so I typically wait to pay until the following week after I have won an additional coin or two. This hasn't really been an issue, honestly I am not sure what the timeframe is that they "expect" you to pay. Fedex is an issue for me because my local drivers are very incompetent and can't follow simple instructions, so I always try to go USPS. If your invoice is over $10K they will only ship Fedex period which I have run into on several occasions now. Also note that if paying by echeck they will hold your first couple of shipments for 7 days before shipping. Then even after multiple successful transactions (probably 10 in my case) before I exceed a $10K, then they will decide to hold your funds for 7 days again. I believe they said after that you have cleared a $10K+ transaction they raise it up to $35K without delay. My only real complaints really, other than that they have been a great place to purchase coins. RGDS!

I always pay for the low end USPS shipping. $5.00 + $0.50 per coin. I play in the shallow end of the pool though. I haven't had any issue with the arrival. Never thought to not pay for a week and combine shipping, I would have to look at the terms, but I normally pay right after I am done bidding for the day. I just consider the additional five bucks into my bid factor.

The nice thing about GC is that you have an invoice you can pay within minutes of auction end. I just won an auction at HA, first in six years, and it took a couple days before they had an invoice ready for me.

COCollector · June 21, 2026 3:03PM

"Bidding is easy at GreatCollections. All bidders need to register prior to placing a bid. Click on the "Register" link at the top of each page. It's fast, free and easy to register. Once registered, you are all set for bidding."

https://www.greatcollections.com/kb/How-do-I-bid-t45-4.html

MsMorrisine · June 21, 2026 3:15PM

@COCollector said:
"Bidding is easy at GreatCollections. All bidders need to register prior to placing a bid. Click on the "Register" link at the top of each page. It's fast, free and easy to register. Once registered, you are all set for bidding."

https://www.greatcollections.com/kb/How-do-I-bid-t45-4.html

just be sure you know your max allowed bid and contact them to move it up if you need more $$

blitzdude · June 21, 2026 3:21PM

@Batman23 said:

@blitzdude said:

@Batman23 said:

@safari_dude said:

@Batman23 said:
GC meaning Great Collections? They are a great place to bid and buy from. Simple bidding just like eBay. Put in your max bid and it goes up in increments as underbidders bump you up to your max. You can play the snipe game also. BP is the old normal, not the new normal. I have nothing negative to say. Free to sign up and use, no fees unless you win.

What is BP? Thanks, karl

Buyers premium. GC is at 10%. I see that HA is now at 22%

10% if you pay by ckeck/echeck, wire, or proceeds from coins sold that you have consigned to them. 12.5% if paying by paypal/credit card.

To the OP: Their shipping is a bit steep unless you are buying multiple coins. They offer 2nd day Fedex $14.00 + $0.50 per coin, $15.00 + $0.50 per coin for USPS priority. Auctions always end on Sunday evening. There have been several times where I only wone a single coin, so I typically wait to pay until the following week after I have won an additional coin or two. This hasn't really been an issue, honestly I am not sure what the timeframe is that they "expect" you to pay. Fedex is an issue for me because my local drivers are very incompetent and can't follow simple instructions, so I always try to go USPS. If your invoice is over $10K they will only ship Fedex period which I have run into on several occasions now. Also note that if paying by echeck they will hold your first couple of shipments for 7 days before shipping. Then even after multiple successful transactions (probably 10 in my case) before I exceed a $10K, then they will decide to hold your funds for 7 days again. I believe they said after that you have cleared a $10K+ transaction they raise it up to $35K without delay. My only real complaints really, other than that they have been a great place to purchase coins. RGDS!

I always pay for the low end USPS shipping. $5.00 + $0.50 per coin. I play in the shallow end of the pool though. I haven't had any issue with the arrival. Never thought to not pay for a week and combine shipping, I would have to look at the terms, but I normally pay right after I am done bidding for the day. I just consider the additional five bucks into my bid factor.

The nice thing about GC is that you have an invoice you can pay within minutes of auction end. I just won an auction at HA, first in six years, and it took a couple days before they had an invoice ready for me.

$5? I'm always quoted $15 but I am typically buying gold so maybe there is a difference due to package value? Must be. Anyway, I'm cheap and I like to always combine as much as I can. RGDS!

blitzdude · June 21, 2026 3:25PM

@Batman23 said:

@blitzdude said:

@Batman23 said:

@safari_dude said:

@Batman23 said:
GC meaning Great Collections? They are a great place to bid and buy from. Simple bidding just like eBay. Put in your max bid and it goes up in increments as underbidders bump you up to your max. You can play the snipe game also. BP is the old normal, not the new normal. I have nothing negative to say. Free to sign up and use, no fees unless you win.

What is BP? Thanks, karl

Buyers premium. GC is at 10%. I see that HA is now at 22%

10% if you pay by ckeck/echeck, wire, or proceeds from coins sold that you have consigned to them. 12.5% if paying by paypal/credit card.

To the OP: Their shipping is a bit steep unless you are buying multiple coins. They offer 2nd day Fedex $14.00 + $0.50 per coin, $15.00 + $0.50 per coin for USPS priority. Auctions always end on Sunday evening. There have been several times where I only wone a single coin, so I typically wait to pay until the following week after I have won an additional coin or two. This hasn't really been an issue, honestly I am not sure what the timeframe is that they "expect" you to pay. Fedex is an issue for me because my local drivers are very incompetent and can't follow simple instructions, so I always try to go USPS. If your invoice is over $10K they will only ship Fedex period which I have run into on several occasions now. Also note that if paying by echeck they will hold your first couple of shipments for 7 days before shipping. Then even after multiple successful transactions (probably 10 in my case) before I exceed a $10K, then they will decide to hold your funds for 7 days again. I believe they said after that you have cleared a $10K+ transaction they raise it up to $35K without delay. My only real complaints really, other than that they have been a great place to purchase coins. RGDS!

I always pay for the low end USPS shipping. $5.00 + $0.50 per coin. I play in the shallow end of the pool though. I haven't had any issue with the arrival. Never thought to not pay for a week and combine shipping, I would have to look at the terms, but I normally pay right after I am done bidding for the day. I just consider the additional five bucks into my bid factor.

The nice thing about GC is that you have an invoice you can pay within minutes of auction end. I just won an auction at HA, first in six years, and it took a couple days before they had an invoice ready for me.

Yep, I factor the shipping into my bid as well but I know it has probably cost me a coin or two. THKS!

COCollector · June 21, 2026 4:13PM

I've bought & sold coins on both ebay and Great Collections.

VERY important difference:
-- GC has a Buyer's fee.
-- Ebay has no Buyer's fee. (But it does have Seller's fees.)

Think about how that can affect your bidding decisions.

For example, on ebay, if my winning bid is $900 on a $1000-value coin, then that's an okay deal for me.

Whereas, on GC it's a different story: I pay my $900 winning bid PLUS a Buyer's fee.
https://www.greatcollections.com/kb/Do-you-charge-a-buyers-fee-t44-4.html

And of course, you also pay applicable taxes & shipping on both ebay and GC.

GiveMeProof · June 22, 2026 10:18AM

Great info. Thank you all so much for the help!

How Does GC Work?

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