SHIPPING FEES.(IT COST THE SAME FOR A WRECKED YUGO SHIPPING AS A LAMBOGHINI..

[ominus1]

..now i buy coins of  lesser god, that is, coins that aren't BU or MS too much but this alst auction i won at 28 euros and shipping was 45....and they wanted it sent bank transfer 9_9..they had me go to WISE but i couldn't find them on there with there email or phone # so since they were only making 5 euros on the deal i suggested we cancel and they agreed...but have trouble paying more than i paid for the coin to mail it to me...whats your thoughts?....

[Kali]

That's one of the biggest reasons I have stopped purchasing overseas.

[-monolith-]

Here's what I do:

1. There are a lot of available coin dealers so ignore the one's with high starting prices except for specialty coins you can't get elsewhere. 

2. If purchasing from European dealers try to purchase from the one's that accept Euros as the conversion rate to the US dollar is much cheaper than British pounds and Swiss fracs.

3. Always check bidder fees and shipping cost. The bidder fees use to be acceptable (4%-8%) but are now getting ridiculously expensive (20%-25%). So search for dealers with cheaper bidding/processing fees. Shipping is another way they rip you off. Check for dealers that will ship via local postage instead of FedEx. Local postage will usually be 1/2 to 1/3 the cost but will also take 2x-3x longer to be delivered. 

4. Purchase additional "cheap" coins to offset shipping cost. I try to purchase a minimum of 10 coins per auction to offset the shipping cost. 45 euros / 10 = 4.5 euro per coin compared to 45 euro for one. You can always find cheap coins to fill in gaps in your collection. I typically will purchase inexpensive Late Roman Imperial or small bronze Greeks to help with shipping cost.

5. I pay all my international invoices via Wise bank transfers. Don't waste money with additional fees to pay any other way. It's easy to setup a personal account, link bank accounts, and convert / transfer money. Wise is the most inexpensive way to convert and pay. Don't use your bank to convert and transfer as their fees are expensive. Almost all European dealers accept Wise, I haven't found one yet that doesn't. If their account doesn't work, like with your example, ask them to create a new account. I've had to do this a couple of times.

6. I've been using this method for several years with no issues.  

Edited September 23, 2024 by -monolith-

[ela126]

shipping fees are the #1 issue i have with participating in certain auctions. (other auctions are great, Sol recently revised their shipping cost from 9e to 10e... kudos to Vasja, he knows his market)

I always email the AH beforehand to verify costs, and ask if lesser options are available. Sometimes there are (just no insurance or something).

there's a handful of AH's that only offer 40e+ options, unless i'm spending 500+, just have to avoid. A lot of 50e coins probably only sell for 30e because they're turning bidders away due to shipping fees.

[expat]

There was a problem with N&N London shipping to some EU countries so they started shipping from Belgium. The shipping price increased dramatically to 45 E. I only pay 15E FedEx from Savoca Germany. Obviously I no longer take part in the N&N auctions.

[ela126]

20 minutes ago, expat said:

There was a problem with N&N London shipping to some EU countries so they started shipping from Belgium. The shipping price increased dramatically to 45 E. I only pay 15E FedEx from Savoca Germany. Obviously I no longer take part in the N&N auctions.

they are specifically who i thought of regarding the "tough, that's what it costs". i also do not take part, despite their coins and service being good.

[-monolith-]

3 hours ago, expat said:

There was a problem with N&N London shipping to some EU countries so they started shipping from Belgium. The shipping price increased dramatically to 45 E. I only pay 15E FedEx from Savoca Germany. Obviously I no longer take part in the N&N auctions.

Actually it's far worse. N&N London auctions are conducted in GBP which have a much greater conversion rate than Euro's: As of today 45 Euro = $50, 45 GBP = $60

[traveler]

7 hours ago, ominus1 said:

..now i buy coins of  lesser god, that is, coins that aren't BU or MS too much but this alst auction i won at 28 euros and shipping was 45....and they wanted it sent bank transfer 9_9..they had me go to WISE but i couldn't find them on there with there email or phone # so since they were only making 5 euros on the deal i suggested we cancel and they agreed...but have trouble paying more than i paid for the coin to mail it to me...whats your thoughts?....

My two cents. It is true that shipping costs may not be very clearly stated by many auction houses, and it's also true that 45 Euros seems a little steep. It's normally good practice to find out about these unavoidable additional costs before bidding.

Having said that it's very kind indeed of the auction house to allow a bid cancellation for the reason stated.

Wise or bank (telegraphic) transfers are very common payment methods. It will save a lot in currency conversion fees and avoid credit card/Paypal surcharges too. Well worth learning how to use it, if you're going to keep buying from foreign auction houses. 

 

 

 

[Deinomenid]

7 hours ago, -monolith- said:

2. If purchasing from European dealers try to purchase from the one's that accept Euros as the conversion rate to the US dollar is much cheaper than British pounds and Swiss fracs.

I don't understand this at all. It's  just a reference rate. It is not cheaper or more expensive at all unless there's a genuinely different conversion cost (not rate). As  in your frictional costs of exchange are going to be extremely similar dealing with francs or yen or won or sterling etc. The price is the price and  it doesn't matter what "normal" currency it is referenced in as long as you  know the exchange rate before.  And assuming you don't need to worry about major moves in the fx between bid and  actual transaction.

The only difference, assuming you are not purchasing  in your  home currency whatever that might be, is remembering what the rate is. So it might be slightly awkward to remember when bidding but that has no reference to cheapness or otherwise. Thankfully most of the major  units we are deal with are mostly somewhat around parity. Sterling 1.34 or 0.75, euro 0.9 or 1.1 depending on which way  you look at it.

It's not like the Ugandan shilling which  blows your mind at 0.00027 to the dollar - I've had to buy and sell stuff in that! Though not Greek coins. 😀

 

[-monolith-]

16 minutes ago, Deinomenid said:

I don't understand this at all. It's  just a reference rate. It is not cheaper or more expensive at all unless there's a genuinely different conversion cost (not rate). As  in your frictional costs of exchange are going to be extremely similar dealing with francs or yen or won or sterling etc. The price is the price and  it doesn't matter what "normal" currency it is referenced in as long as you  know the exchange rate before.  And assuming you don't need to worry about major moves in the fx between bid and  actual transaction.

The only difference, assuming you are not purchasing  in your  home currency whatever that might be, is remembering what the rate is. So it might be slightly awkward to remember when bidding but that has no reference to cheapness or otherwise. Thankfully most of the major  units we are deal with are mostly somewhat around parity. Sterling 1.34 or 0.75, euro 0.9 or 1.1 depending on which way  you look at it.

It's not like the Ugandan shilling which  blows your mind at 0.00027 to the dollar - I've had to buy and sell stuff in that! Though not Greek coins. 😀

 

If you live in the USA as I do the $ conversion rate to Euro's is much cheaper than the $ to GBP or $ to CHF. For example todays exchange rate is 45 Euro = $50, 45 GBP = $60. 

[CPK]

It's a pain but it's not going to stop me from buying coins from overseas (i.e., outside the US.) I use Wise most times, which is much cheaper than the grossly inflated PayPal currency conversion rates.

[DonnaML]

1 hour ago, -monolith- said:

If you live in the USA as I do the $ conversion rate to Euro's is much cheaper than the $ to GBP or $ to CHF. For example todays exchange rate is 45 Euro = $50, 45 GBP = $60. 

That's a very strange way of stating the fact that the GBP is worth more than the Euro compared to  the US dollar. The same coin isn't going to be any "cheaper" if you pay for it in Euros rather than British pounds. It will cost you the same number of dollars to make payment either way.

The only problem with using Wise to pay a European seller from the USA is that if the coin never arrives and the seller refuses to give you a refund (and the shipment wasn't insured or the seller's insurer doesn't pay), you have no recourse unless you sue the seller in Europe. Unlike with payment via paypal or credit card. One has to weigh that risk against the fees saved by using Wise.

 

Edited September 24, 2024 by DonnaML

[rasiel]

Like many others, I don't mind the total bill but I do mind being taken advantage of. I feel like some use the shipping punitively, to make up for lackluster prices realized.

Here's a list of some of the worst offenders this year I've run into.

It would take a very very special coin to get me interested in placing more bids with any of these again. This to me exposes poor business strategy. You screw over a customer and for that you see a blip on your sales. Once. Treat the customer right though and they'll sing your praises and in the end you'll make a lot more. Seems like such a simple, common sense way of doing things.

Rasiel

[Kaleun96]

16 hours ago, ominus1 said:

..now i buy coins of  lesser god, that is, coins that aren't BU or MS too much but this alst auction i won at 28 euros and shipping was 45....and they wanted it sent bank transfer 9_9..they had me go to WISE but i couldn't find them on there with there email or phone # so since they were only making 5 euros on the deal i suggested we cancel and they agreed...but have trouble paying more than i paid for the coin to mail it to me...whats your thoughts?....

Perfect example of why you should always check the terms and conditions before bidding. I simply don't bid with these auction houses, it's their loss.