Is anyone else getting screwed by Heritage .....

[Mephisto]

What I really want to know is why people still consign with Heritage when they can get a better cut going with a big name site like ComicLink?

[gary_crites-migration]

Same here.

 

I had my brother in KY buy a book in the Nov. auction and then ship it to me to avoid the sales tax. That 8.25% adds up quick.

[sfilosa]

I won four books in the latest auction and none got bumped up during the live bidding. I have won many books for below my maximum bid.

 

Also, they do get very high prices for non-certified high-grade books. I also think that they work out deals with the consignors, so they might not really be getting 15% from the seller and 15% from the buyer. I can't verify that, but since some of the books are (or end up) being on dealers websites, I have to believe if you consign a lot (and probably something in most auctions) that they will work with you.

 

I for one love their auctions and have already looked at the previews for the Signature auctions in July and August. Yes, they seem to be having too many, but that actually creates a buying opportunity, in my opinion.

[sterlingcomics]

Is something screwy going on? It looks suspicious...

 

Remember my Internet Only auctions a few months back? And how the auction ended, and I took screenshots of my final bid amounts---only to find that my invoice magically had bid amounts amazingly close to my max bid--if not my max bid? (ie the price magically jumped up AFTER the end of the auction---no floor bidding, eBay online, etc).

 

I never got a plausible explanation other than "System Error" or "Web did not update". Ahem. I work in IT. I know better. Not that I am accusing anyone of anything, but the math doesn't add up IMHO.

 

But I did get a $35 gift certificate...

[sterlingcomics]

What I really want to know is why people still consign with Heritage when they can get a better cut going with a big name site like ComicLink?

 

You DO know that Heritage auctions realize more than any other auction site...at least that's what I'm told

[uclapeterg]

I for one love their auctions and have already looked at the previews for the Signature auctions in July and August. Yes, they seem to be having too many, but that actually creates a buying opportunity, in my opinion.

 

The infamous Action #1 2.5 is being sold in the July auction!!! How many times has it been sold?

[sterlingcomics]

I for one love their auctions and have already looked at the previews for the Signature auctions in July and August. Yes, they seem to be having too many, but that actually creates a buying opportunity, in my opinion.

 

The infamous Action #1 2.5 is being sold in the July auction!!! How many times has it been sold?

 

Everybody sing with me with my favorite Wiggles tune:

 

"Hot Potato, Hot Potato..."

[nearmint]

My high bid on the only item I was interested in(and won) was a full $250 more than the final price. I can't complain about a gorgeous 8.5 Nedor Schomburg war cover for less than 1.5 times condition guide.

[divad]

Ahem, ahem, "brow job!"

 

-j.belushi

[Mushroom]

I am a big fan as well, won 4 books and got that great WDC &S #102 CGC 8.0 (highest CGC graded) for 70% of guide.

[Rocketeer]

I only received "you are high bidder confirmations" on Friday. I never got FIRM confirmation until the INVOICE arrived on Sunday night via email telling me what I already knew from the My bids tracking option on Heritage.

 

I actually got a winning confirmation from E-bay on Sat afternoon telling me I won for $240.00 plus juice (288.00)....on the Heritage archives it shows that the item sold for $288.00.....when I called in to pay, Moses got all nervous and put me on hold so he could talked to his supervisor and said it was won by a floor bidder ...now my high bid for the item was $405.00.......he came back 5 minutes later and asked me if I could prove I won and I said yeah,...I have the E-bay Congrats notice ...so I faxed it to them and that's when they came back with that bullsheet letter I posted......so yeah,...I'd have to say something screwy is going on.....

[namisgr]

Rocket, I suspect Heritage made an honest mistake, but a mistake nonetheless. I was following some of the floor bidding via their website last weekend, and saw how quickly the floor auction moves through the multitude of lots. They typically spent no more than a half-minute on each item (up to about a minute if there are several new floor and internet bids for an item). Since they are trying to deal with bidding by their website placed in advance, through e-bay, through their website "live", and from the floor, I can see how an auction could easily be screwed up. This is clearly the fault of Heritage, and although these screwups seem from my personal experience and the descriptions of others to be rare, it nevertheless is the responsibility of Heritage to simplify their auction procedures, and also to make things right by you.

 

Keep b__ching and moaning about it, until they comp you for their mistake.

[Rocketeer]

I agree,...I think they screwed up and made a mistake as well,...however, be man enuf to admit it and don't send me a letter like that to try and cover and insult my inteligence...not very professional IMO....

[Darthdiesel]

I have a feeling that they need to somehow synchronize their Heritage live bids, their ebay bids and regular internet bidding systems to be able to tabulate and process all bids accurately. OR, they should just go with the one auction end time for all methods, not end it a day early for auction bids. It does seem to be a form of auction extending going on espeially if they are making "after the hammer drops" deals to floor bidders. I'm assuming that they forgot to bump it to the seller's reserve on you or that the seller of that lot was on the floor and worked something out privately with another floor bidder. You know how it is...it is all about the $$$

 

Go look back and check the fine print on any of the ebay live bidding format rules and stipulations and see if they did find a loophole. If not then cal them on it, complain, beetch and moan, but in the end, its only a comic book, right? Now go see my buddy about a "NM/MT" Wolverine 145 Nabisco variant...those wil always make you fell better after getting bent over on a deal...kinda like a LOOlipop at the doctor's/dentist's/barber's

[uclapeterg]

Your barber/doctor/dentist bends you over?

[AlexH]

This totally sucks Rock.

 

I think it is time to say:

 

I will no longer bid on anything from Heritage until they improve their system.

 

In my opinion, any auction house that artificially bids up the price to just under your highest bid is just asking to be closed down. IF they are doing this, then it is just a matter of time before they are investigated, especially with the volume of money they are dealing with.

 

Alex

[Mr. Zipper]

In my opinion, any auction house that artificially bids up the price to just under your highest bid is just asking to be closed down. IF they are doing this, then it is just a matter of time before they are investigated, especially with the volume of money they are dealing with.

 

Alex

 

Good point. The reason why it's okay for established auction houses to have private bidding -- and not okay for ebay -- is that an established auction house is supposed to adhere to a code of ethics and be above reproach in this regard. Whether Heritage is stacking the deck in their favor behind the scenes remains to be proven, but enough people seem to think they are... and perception equals reality.

 

Some ebay sellers use private auctions and justify it by arguing that "all the big auction houses do it." True, but the big auction houses are established businesses and we know who the principals are, they [should] have a history of fair dealings and supposedly adhere to a code of ethics. In other words, we place trust in the good name of the established auctioneer and expect that the auction will be conducted fairly. Not the same can be said for ebay sellers like Comic Keys. We don't even know who they are and/or what their real name is and they expect us to trust them?

[Rocketeer]

And the sad part is they are so omnipotent that they can not even admit they fooked up....now they blame it on E-bay and suggest that I make my future bids through the web-site,...well here's a bit of advice then,...don't run them on E-bay then closing a day after the web-site closes....

 

Sir, Since Ebay does not give us the bids they collect until the item actually

is up for auction any delay with the server can cause mis-information from Ebay.

All they receive is they win amount and do not see who it went to. From that

information they send out their preliminary notices, something we have been

trying to get them to discontinue until they receive information from us. Since

this causes so many troubles we ask for people who are placing absentee bids to

place them on our website so they can be 100% sure their bids will be full

executed for them. Placing absentee bids on a Heritage site also saves you 5%

from the Ebay site. We ask that people only use the Ebay site for the eBay live

portion of the auction, which too can cause some problems due to delays with

servers and internet lag-time.

[Darthdiesel]

Your barber/doctor/dentist bends you over?

 

I guess the word is out...

[Silver Surfer]

I have wonder about this myself. If the current bid is $200 and you place a high bid of $500 what's to keep them from shilling it all the way up to but not past your $500 bid to ensure that they are maximizing their comission(s)?