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.
Here are a couple of things I have experienced recently that have caused me to be less enthusiastic about proxibid coin auctions and have caused me to
say that I, too, won’t be participating in this auction company’s auctions again:
1. One of the auction companies who is listed in the top 15 of your current
rankings had a recent auction. I spent a great deal of time previewing their catalog, researching coin values, and determining and placing my maximum bids. After the live auction started, I noticed that a very high percentage of
the lots were being won by onsite bidders. About halfway through the auction
I calculated that roughly 85% of the lots had been won by the onsite bidders so I sent a message to the system operator asking if there was a buyers premium for onsite bidders. The reply was that onsite bidders who paid by
cash or check had a 0% buyers premium, 5% for credit card payers. The buyer’s premium for proxibid online bidders was 15%.
I believe the difference in premiums based on location should be disclosed
in the terms and conditions at proxibid. There is another auction coming up
in the next couple of weeks with another firm listed in your current rankings where the onsite buyers will pay a 10% premium and proxibid online bidders a 15% premium. I found this out from a brochure they sent me in the mail.
A difference of 5% will not prevent me from participating, but a difference of 15% will.
2. In this same auction there was a coin that I thought I had a good chance
of winning. I placed a maximum bid of $110. Before the live auction started I was the high bidder at $70 iirc. The coin ended up selling for $110 – to an
onsite bidder!
On several other occasions my bids were overlooked and coins were sold
to onsite buyers at the same price I was willing to pay. This leads me to believe that either the auctioneers aren’t being very careful about paying attention to their proxibid customers or they are favoring the onsite bidders for some reason (perhaps to avoid paying fees to proxibid, I don’t know but it
does make one wonder what is going on).
I would appreciate your thoughts on these situations or perhaps they could be the subject of a blog article in the future.
Thank you.
L
I agree with you. Keep in mind that the coin auctions in the top rankings to the right are ones that I purchased from and can describe with some degree of accuracy. I think too many of those are using the Internet audience to bid up the onsite audience. And then we’re charged 15-20% on the leftovers. I also have written several times about the costs of setting up onsite and why onsite audience should pay premiums at least as high or low as online bidders. Also, there are numerous ways that auctioneers are circumventing losing any money on coins, including ghost bidding and ghost buying (claiming someone on site purchased the coins).
That said, eBay is awful for coin buying. Bidders there think their coins are priceless. And dealers charge way too much. As such, problems with Proxibid aside, it still is the best place to buy coins with research and experience. Without those, you can lose lots of money on Proxibid. Bid with care rather than with confidence!
I agree completely concerning ebay. In addition to the problems you mentioned, I had several experiences where I felt the seller tried to
scam me and stopped participating there a long time ago.
But I have had some excellent experiences and have made what I felt to
be good buys on coins in both the Great Collections
and Teletrade Tuesday no reserve auctions. I recently won lots at
both of these auction houses that I am very pleased with and I have
never yet participated in one of their auctions where I went away afterwards wondering about what was going on in the bidding as I have on a number of occasions with the proxibid coin auctions I have participated in.
Concerning the comment I had left earlier, I want to clarify by saying that I understand that auction houses may feel they have valid reasons for
charging a higher buyers premium to proxibid customers than to their
onsite customers and I don’t object to them doing so. But I do feel that they should disclose this difference up front.
If I feel a coin is worth $100 to me and that is my bid limit and it is the
only coin in the auction that I want to buy, I will probably only bid $80
after I take into account a 15% buyers premium and the cost of shipping.
If there is no premium for an onsite buyer and they also feel the coin
is worth $100 and that is their bid limit, then obviously they will win every time and I will eventually quit bidding there and move on to another venue where I feel the playing field is more level.
L.