Midwest Coins runs 60-65 coin auctions a year through the website portal Proxibid. No other auction house on Proxibid pushes as many coin lots. Humbly, we do make mistakes, as we are human, and put 100% effort into rectifying these problems when they do occur.

Midwest Coins is a family-owned business. We own a full service coin store and jewelry business.

When we first started with Proxibid, I can remember selling wheat pennies individually and other items of no numismatic value. We have been with Proxibid for over five years now and have enjoyed all the people we have met along the way. One of the great things about our business is that we can run it the way we want. We have made changes along the way, only if it was deemed necessary to improve the experience for the customer.

One thing should be noted about our company. WE HAVE NEVER NOT TAKEN BACK AN ITEM FROM A CUSTOMER IN THE FIVE YEARS OF OUR BUSINESS. IRREGARDLESS OF THE REASON FOR THE RETURN, WE HAVE ALWAYS ISSUED A REFUND.

With that being said, please put yourself in our shoes for a minute. We DO our best to accurately describe each coin. We DO ship in a reasonable time frame. We DO accept returns in an acceptable time frame. We have issued several returns even after the period that consumers have sent coins in for the grading process. This should be noted. considering that this could be several months after the auction and we have paid the consignor already, and I am forced to eat the coin and costs. I have always believed that it is worth any cost to keep a customer. It cost more to lose one and even more to attract a new one.

Here are changes we made to enhance the customer experience on our Proxibid auctions:

1. Started at 20% Buyers Premium (1 year), lowered to 18% (3 1/2 years), and now we are at 15%
2. Shipping generally took two weeks; we now have Click & Ship and ship within 3-5 days.
3. Shipping charges were cost plus $5 for handling; we now charge a $10 flat rate! (Please note that if you buy a $3 item that we usually cut shipping costs in half.)

In all, we appreciate the loyalty of our long time customers and look forward to the new ones as well. We have lost some customers along the way, and I know that all auctioneers could say the same.

Keep in mind that a fair and impartial mind is needed to accurately describe the coin business. We are in the business of providing an outlet to sell coins to people that may or may not have easily or readily available resources to complete their respective collections. We categorically sell coins below grey sheet prices while maintaining happy consignors. That is one tough act to follow at times.

All of these services are still worth something in America today, aren’t they?

Thank you for allowing me to express our position, as well as our gratitude to customers for their commitment and loyalty to Midwest Coins through the years. We will continue to shine and bring to you quality coins, tougher dates, excellent customer service, lower premiums and shipping costs, 100% satisfaction, excellent descriptions, awesome photography, and an overall pleasing ONLINE auction experience.

Please feel free to drop me a line at charles121871@yahoo.com to express your concerns or opinions about this “On the Block” installment, adapted from my company newsletter.

Postscript: If you are an auctioneer who wants to share views in “On the Block,” leave your email in a comment. We’ll be in touch. Rules are simple: Explain your practices and perspectives as proactively as possible, as our intent is to share information to make the online buying experience pleasurable and profitable for auctioneer, consignor and buyer. “On the Block” is not a venue to challenge Proxiblog’s “Honor Roll” standards or Proxibid fees.

Proxiblog is an independent entity with no ties to Proxibid. We promote the ethics of the National Auctioneers Association and American Numismatic Association.