Which Auction Houses did you make the most purchases from in 2022?

[Edessa]

On 1/12/2023 at 9:22 PM, Edessa said:

The only bad experience was the 11 coins purchased from Bertolami in March that are still unaccounted for. There is yet no resolution from their end and I am out $3,080. I am not sure exactly what value I was supposed to get from the 480 EUR Buyer's Fee or the 50 EUR fee for Shipping and Insurance.

Ten months to the day after paying the invoice, I am pleased to report that the coin and book package did finally arrive from Bertolami. Exactly which series of DHL merry-go-rounds in Germany that the package took a scenic tour on is obscure, but the third time that Bertolami sent it was a charm. To stick with old sayings, "all's well that ends well."

[Brennos]

23 purchases in 2022

Bertolami 12 (but the cheapest invoice 😄)
Roma 2
Peus 2
Nomos 1
NAC 1
CNG 1
Künker 1
PF Jacquier 1
Prunier 1
Vinchon 1

 

 

[Deinomenid]

@Brennos  How was Prunier post-purchase?  By far the longest and  most difficult purchase I  have made (US delivery.)  I had to appoint a sub-agent etc and that was the least of the difficulties. Oh how I laughed at the auctioneer's eccentricities (read undisguised irritability) during the  one and only time I bought from him only to realize that was him on a good day. A shame as they often  have  unusual coins.

[Kaleun96]

I wouldn't have believed this myself only a year or two ago but I purchased the most from Heritage Auctions in 2022. In the past I had avoided them due to high shipping fees and difficult customer service but now that I have my coins shipped to a shipping forwarder, taking advantage of HA's $13 domestic shipping rates, I can then send them on to Sweden much more cheaply. I also rarely need to contact their support these days now that I have my alternative shipping address setup and approved with them.

1. Heritage: 9
2. Roma: 4
3. Naville: 4
4. Noble: 3
5. CNG: 3
6. Leu: 3
7. Kunker: 2
8. Stacks: 2
9. Aegean (Vcoins): 2
10. CGB: 2

60 purchases total from 36 auction houses or dealers, so I don't really tend to have any favourites. I've just bought a lot from Heritage recently as they've had some good hoards of types I collect, like Alexander tets, Tarsos staters, and Aspendos staters.

[SimonW]

7 hours ago, Kaleun96 said:

In the past I had avoided them due to high shipping fees and difficult customer service but now that I have my coins shipped to a shipping forwarder, taking advantage of HA's $13 domestic shipping rates, I can then send them on to Sweden much more cheaply.

What shipping forwarder do you use?

[Brennos]

17 hours ago, Deinomenid said:

@Brennos  How was Prunier post-purchase?  By far the longest and  most difficult purchase I  have made (US delivery.)  I had to appoint a sub-agent etc and that was the least of the difficulties. Oh how I laughed at the auctioneer's eccentricities (read undisguised irritability) during the  one and only time I bought from him only to realize that was him on a good day. A shame as they often  have  unusual coins.

This guy is unbearable !
I'm french so the post-purchase was easy, it was much harder to win the coin at the auction 🙂

 

[Kaleun96]

3 hours ago, SimonW said:

What shipping forwarder do you use?

Vykingship. I've been using them for maybe 5 years at this point and can only say good things about them. Others may be cheaper, particularly since Vykingship is based in a state with sales tax (Minnesota), but their customer service, reliability, and speed has made me a loyal customer.  

I usually send cheap coins with their $13 "Asendia worldwide tracked" option or will consolidate a couple of expensive coins from different wins into a single FedEx package for $75 or so, which arrives in 2-3 days.

[SimonW]

4 hours ago, Kaleun96 said:

Vykingship. I've been using them for maybe 5 years at this point and can only say good things about them. Others may be cheaper, particularly since Vykingship is based in a state with sales tax (Minnesota), but their customer service, reliability, and speed has made me a loyal customer.  

I usually send cheap coins with their $13 "Asendia worldwide tracked" option or will consolidate a couple of expensive coins from different wins into a single FedEx package for $75 or so, which arrives in 2-3 days.

That's very helpful, thank you very much!

[Valentinian]

On 1/12/2023 at 3:16 PM, Deinomenid said:

my credit limit gets quickly eaten up by failed bids rather than only adding up the successful ones

In that case I would ask them to raise my limit. If you wins coins from them (or, even if you are just an underbidder), it is in their interest to let you bid, so I bet they would raise your limit. 

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

Any updates about the UK postal strike?  It would be nice to start ordering from LAC again.  And the DHL option doesn't really make sense for $100 coins.

[Heliodromus]

29 minutes ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

Any updates about the UK postal strike?

I just received an xmas card from my sister in the UK a couple of days ago!

[John Conduitt]

3 hours ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

Any updates about the UK postal strike?  It would be nice to start ordering from LAC again.  And the DHL option doesn't really make sense for $100 coins.

I think it is a different problem currently. There haven't been any strikes this year, but Royal Mail had a ransomware attack affecting outgoing international shipments that has taken a couple of weeks to unravel. It's only just starting to get back to normal.

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

Arrghh!!