ALL TIME FAVORITE SELLERS:
NOTE: Auction houses in our top rankings do not see maximum bids or allow bidding by auctioneers or their employees. All rankings are based on Proxiblog buying experience to establish informed opinion. Your online experience may differ from ours or these reviews.
1. Capitol Coin Auctions
25 points. One of the most professional coin houses on the portal and, in our opinion, one of the top sellers on Internet. Low buyer’s fee, 15%. Consignments are among the best, and owners write accurate lot descriptions that are of PCGS accuracy. Great photos, too--among the best on Proxibid. More than 35 years in the business. Hosts only a half dozen sessions per year, but each is an event with coins from estates. Never overlook this house on Proxibid.
2. Weaver Signature Coin and Currency Auction
25 points. Weaver Signature Coin and Currency Auction. Detailed photography. Best innovation. Top online advertisements. Numismatic descriptions. Low or tiered buyer's fees. Runs budget-saver auctions. Highly competitive, innovative. Provides detailed receipts for both buyers and sellers. Very responsive. See "On the Block" entry for more information. Usually ships within 3-4 days.
3. Fox Valley Coins
24.5 points. One of our favorite Proxibid houses. Excellent consignments. This is the place where the best buys on the portal can be had if the bidder knows numismatics. We are excited to participate in each auction because of the vast array of key dates, varieties and rarities. Schedules only a few mega-auctions per year on Proxibid, but each one is an event! Now accepts credit cards. Photography greatly improved, which makes up for the lack of numismatic descriptions. Buyer’s premium is 18%.
4. SilverTowne Auctions
24.5 points. Exceeds basic criteria in both buying and consignor categories. Among best coin grading and descriptions on Proxibid. Top consignment policy for rare coins. Timed auctions offer great bargains with good selections. Accepts returns on counterfeit coins or if error made in description. Among fastest shippers on Proxibid using numismatic packing. Usually ships within 1-2 days.
5. Leonard Auction
24.5 points. Among the best consignments on Proxibid, and for good reason, too. John Leonard's policies of 0% seller's fee for lots that bring $250 or more ensures top numismatic items. Completely thorough lot descriptions. Quick shipping. Professional customer service. For more about this reputable house, see this "On the Block."
6. Jewelry Exchange
24.5 points. A long-standing reputable auction house featuring regular coin consignments, including gold, US and World coins (and on occasion Ancients) with 15% buyer’s premium, great customer service and quick shipping. Photography adequate; lot descriptions, accurate. See the company’s “On the Block” by clicking here.
7. Krueger and Krueger Auction
24.5 points. Kurt Krueger is a seasoned numismatist who conducts exemplary auctions on Proxibid. This house also is innovative and understands the importance of the online audience. Of particular note is his accurate lot descriptions. He’s not afraid to say “Hogwash” to bottom-tier alleged grades, and we love him for that.
8. Back to the Past Collectibles
24.5 points. 10% online buyer’s fee. Excellent photos. Quick shipping. Auctioneer C. Scott Lovejoy has made significant improvements and secured fine consignments. We admire houses like his that aim to please the online bidder! Rapidly becoming one of the top coin auctions on Proxiblog.
9. Star Coin and Currency
24.5 points. One of the best timed auctions on the portal. Keeps improving. Yet another company that pays attention to customer service. Sharp photography. Numismatic descriptions. Inexpensive, fast shipping.
10. Meares Auction
24.5 points. Charges 5% online buyer's fee for coins. See this article for Darron Meares' innovations. Improved photography. Courteous customer service. Ships reasonably and quickly. Knows coins. One of the longest Proxibid sellers and top auction house; nationally recognized as leader in industry.
11. Kaufman Realty and Auctions
24.5 points. Kaufman Realty features strong consignments, fair photos, numismatic lot descriptions and regular coin auctions. 15% buyer’s fee makes looking here a must. Shipping time is improving. Always worth the wait.
12. McKee Coin Auction
24.5 points. Charges 20% buyer's premium and doesn’t use APN, but gives 5% cash discount and uses PayPal. Consignments are improving, and photography is vastly improved. We know Owen McKee and are pleased that he is sharing his vast numismatic knowledge in his descriptions. You can also find the unexpected in his two-day 1500+ marathons, including Canadian coins. Shipping is reasonable but charges $1 per lot handling fee.
For other companies meeting basic criteria, click here.
One of our favorite auctioneers sent us a note last week concerning a bidder complaint that shipping was slow, requesting a tracking number.
I don’t understand the problem. All the bidder was asking for is a tracking number. The auctioneer should have provided it without being asked. The registered mail number is the tracking number.
Bidders on the receiving end will have a difficult time understanding why they cannot track those packages with a Registered Mail number as they might with “delivery confirmation.”
Actually, with registered mail you can track it. You can see when it was accepted by the post office and you can see when it is out for delivery. The latter is useful if you want to make arrangements to be at home to receive it or if the little notification slip gets lost in the mountain of junk mail. The former reassures the buyer that the auctioneer didn’t simply neglect to ship the item at all.
The RE tracking number is important, of course. I’m not sure about your comment concerning out for delivery. I asked the post office about that and was told that is when registered mail can be stolen.
One time I had the same concerns as the bidder. The point of the post, I think, is that patience and security are important when registered mail comes with coins.
Thank you very much for sharing your comments!
I’m not sure about your comment concerning out for delivery. I asked the post office about that and was told that is when registered mail can be stolen.
When the registered mail arrives at the destination post office and is placed on the vehicle for delivery, they scan the RE barcode and the tracking information is added to the USPS site. The package has to be signed for. So I don’t understand how it is more likely to be stolen if the recipient knows the RE number or not. Every time I send something to NGC, it comes back registered. They always provide the RE number. How many packages have they lost due to emailing the RE number?
USPS never lost an item of mine, even only with delivery confirmation, and I’ve been doing coins for 40 years.
There are ALL manner of ways a package can be stolen if the thief knows the delivery time. You’re making the assumption the postman knows the person who is signing for the package.
Again, the point of the post is to be patient because registered takes time and you cannot track it as you might with delivery confirmation.
Also, sending registered is cheaper than priority when you need to add insurance. But it also requires different packing methods (paper tape, for instance).
Speed and security do not always mesh.
There are ALL manner of ways a package can be stolen if the thief knows the delivery time. You’re making the assumption the postman knows the person who is signing for the package.
There are just way too many ifs here. A potential thief has to identify a coin collector, find out his address, hack into his email, hope that the items are being shipped to home address, hope the collector isn’t home that day, hope the postman doesn’t know the person signing for the package, hope there are no neighbors around watching, etc. It’s possible, but as your own experience shows (no losses in 40 years) it is somewhat unlikely.
My point is, and I have to be pretty blunt here, any shipper who keeps a tracking number secret from the recipient is an idiot. All he is doing is annoying his customer and adding absolutely no security. This is true regardless of method of shipment and what is in the package.
Also, sending registered is cheaper than priority when you need to add insurance. But it also requires different packing methods (paper tape, for instance).
Registered mail and Priority mail aren’t mutually exclusive. As USPS.com states: Registered Mail is available for items paid at Priority Mail and First-Class Mail prices.. In fact, Priority Mail Registered is often cheaper than First Class Registered, if you can make use of one of the flat rate boxes.
We really aren’t disagreeing. Yes. Any shipper needs to share tracking numbers. You’re expanding the point of the post, which is great. A lot information has been shared here. However, a question for you, and if so, please don’t mention the specific auctioneer: Did a Proxibid house ever NOT give you a tracking number? (In one instance, I had to contact Proxibid to get the house to give me one.) Just saying …
Did a Proxibid house ever NOT give you a tracking number? (In one instance, I had to contact Proxibid to get the house to give me one.) Just saying …
No. That’s why I’m so incredulous here. The way I understood the auctioneer you quoted, is that he (or she) was unwilling to share the RE number. One Proxibid house does share tracking number automatically for more expensive packages shipped by UPS, but not the smaller ones shipped by USPS. I think it’s a limitation of their system and if I call and ask for tracking number, they do provide it. As it happens, you have often made very positive comments about this house. Since I consider them very trustworthy, I am not as concerned about failure to provide a tracking number for packages that don’t require my signature.
OK. It’s probably my fault for not being as clear as I would have liked in the post. What happened was this: I got an email on the subject concerning Registered packages being slow to arrive. Apparently, the auction house was contacted for the tracking number after a few days because the shipment hadn’t arrived. That’s when I thought it would be best if I did a post on Registered being slow but secure–the title, I think, of the post. But all this really doesn’t matter. What does, is that our exchanges have added lots of useful information. That’s what a blog is about. Interaction, audience contribution, information.
We’re OK. Right?
we’re fine. One of the mildly annoying things about Registered mail is not that it’s always slow, but that it’s unpredictable. I’ve had Registered package travel the same distance in 2 days and in nearly 2 weeks. OTOH, even though it is often slower, the post office will accept claims for lost registered packages after 15 days. For regular insurance, claims have to wait 21 days. Also regular postal insurance maxes out at $5,000, while registered can be insured up to $25,000. I’m sure that it makes a difference for higher value coins.