Proxiblog has announced new site enhancements covering different categories and topics, including a badge to identify auctions with APN clearance.

We have covered this topic in several posts, including this one and this one.

Although Proxiblog reads auction house terms of service before bidding, a few auctions are not clear about lacking APN clearance. This week we received this message from one such house:

“We do not automatically bill your credit card on file. We accept the following forms of payment: credit card either by phone or email, cashier’s check mailed to us, and Paypal. …”.

Emailing or even phoning in credit card numbers is terrible advice from a security perspective. Email is easily disseminated to others. And credit card information might be stored in the auction house’s computer system, with no idea who might have access to that.

So we applaud Proxibid on APN bagding. We realize there is a small fee. But there is a greater cost in terms of lost business by not securing clearance from an increasingly online coin buying public.

Proxiblog is an independent entity with no connection to the auction portal Proxibid. Our intent is to uphold basic numismatic standards as established by the American Numismatic Association and the National Auctioneer Association and to ensure a pleasurable bidding experience not only on Proxibid but also on similar portals such as iCollector and AuctionZip.