It’s more important now than ever with the new Proxibid redesign to showcase your photos, hone your lot descriptions, and highlight your consignments for top bids on the leading portal! In the latest installment, Proxiblog laments and compliments best and bad auctioneer lot descriptions during the past week. We will name the best, but you will have to search Proxibid for the bad. (Click pictures to expand and view lot descriptions below.)
Booyah Arneson Auction! for noting defects that online photography may not capture in a coin. Arneson is in the process of becoming more competitive with upgraded photos and complete lot descriptions, as well as lower buyer’s fees. Click here to read more about the house.
Boo! to this unnamed auction house for not showing the certification on the slab, important for authentication.
Booyah! to Gaston and Sheehan Auctioneers for noting artificial color, one of the most common types of coin doctoring.
Booyah! to Silvertowne Auctions and Larry Fuller, numismatist, for identifying buffing and advising bidders what the coin might be worth rather than what the coin appears to be worth. Nice job.
Boo! to this unnamed auction house that photographs without flash on a dark background with a dark-toned coin. If you want to sell online, master basic photography! This is a terrible combination of worst photography practices.
Boo! to this unnamed auction house that doesn’t note a harshly cleaned rarer silver dollar, in a condition that approaches silver melt or, at best, a hole filler in an album. It’s a rare coin; what’s rarer is to see a rare coin destroyed.
Boo! to this unnamed auction house that photographs the album but not the coins. For Pete’s sake, we’re selling the coins, Mr. Auctioneer!
Booyah! to Chaparral Auction for noting that the US Mint Package is missing the gold dollar. It may seem obvious from the picture, but to protect yourself as an auctioneer, always note what is not in the box as well as what is in it.
Boo! to this unnamed auction house that commits one of the worst numismatic sins in describing a slabbed coin from a bottom-tier company as being worth $1650. The coin is so hideous as to be worth only $45. Never quote Redbook prices unless for a top-tier company like NGC or PCGS.
Booyah! to Weaver’s Auction, our top house, for noting coins that have damage that online photography cannot easily capture. Doing so helps the integrity of the house.
Booyah! to Capitol Coin Auctions for noting more coin doctoring in consignments selling on Proxibid. Numismatic expertise is important if you sell coins regularly and want returning customers.
Booyah! to Silver Trades for its continuing expert numismatic lot descriptions, which are a joy to read. You can read about this auctioneer by clicking here.
Viewers can point us to other candidates for our “Boos & Booyahs!” series. Just leave a comment but follow our rules–all in good fun as a way to inspire accurate lot descriptions on Proxibid.
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.
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