is G.C. taking over?

[DHalladay]

When Heritage raised its buyer's fee to 20% several years ago, I had concerns there might be serious trickle down effects on consignors, who would see smaller net proceeds and would ultimately seek out other selling alternatives. It's taken longer than I expected.

But when Heritage raised its minimum buyer's fee to $29 -- think about that; you win a lot for $1 but your bill is $30 -- I thought, "OK, that's going to stop inexpensive coins from being sent to Heritage." My next thought was, "I hope Great Collections ($5 minimum buyer's fee and as low as 10% buyer's fee) is prepared for the tidal wave of consignments coming its way."

Those were just hunches, though. At least until this morning, when I looked for some evidence – and found it. Admittedly, it's only today's evidence and it's only two data points. But here's what it is; decide what it says to you:

-- As of this morning at Heritage, there are 961 Morgan dollars listed under "All current and coming soon auctions". Just 8 of them (0.83%) are listed/described as VAMs.
-- As of this morning at Great Collections, there are 2,662 Morgan dollars listed in current and coming auctions. Eighty-nine of them (3.34%) are listed/described as VAMs.

The raw numbers say Great Collections has nearly three times as many Morgans in its auction pipeline right now than Heritage does, and four times the percentage of Morgan VAMs.

Even though I kind of saw this coming, it's still a little surprising – and I do expect it to continue.

[weth]

I must admit that although I've bought from Heritage and find them to be quite reputable, they don't really make their submission process very straightforward so I've never sold through them. It's always been easy to submit to GC. Even selling beat-up, common date silver dollars gets you a decent percentage of the actual sale price.

I've certainly helped to increase the number of VAMs in GCs sales stream recently...

[UNCLE BINGO]

I am pretty sure ole Ian is going to end up ruling the world kudos to JB for all the vss stickers and Jr for attributed correctly,as these bring great attention to the hobby . Buy em while you can it's getting tougher ...

[JohnGoldsmith]

One of my motto's is, I know you need to make a profit, just don't make it all off me.

Strength in numbers, make a few dollars and sell a lot of coins.

[DarksideVAM]

The raw numbers say Great Collections has nearly three times as many Morgans in its auction pipeline right now than Heritage does, and four times the percentage of Morgan VAMs.

That suits me just fine. Especially since we lobbied them into keeping the VSS stickers on the slabs. I sent Ian a lot of lobbying messages for more than a year but I think @messydesk must have sent an "offer he can't refuse"

Seriously, I prefer using Great Collections for liquidating extras but I was discouraged in sending VAMS because they stripped off the labeling.

[messydesk]

It's sort of a natural outlet for graded VAMs. Low fees for coins that aren't high enough value to send to Heritage and probably quicker payment for consignments. I think when all is said and done, the fees are close to the same as they are with eBay if you don't have a preferred seller store and the hassle is much less.

[DarksideVAM]

hassle is much less.

Right on. Not having to deal with the 10th percentile of humanity has measurable value.

[Kurt28]

I believe that GC is on the right track to taking over, and there are several things they could do to hasten the process. One, might be to find a mutually beneficial agreement with ANACS to promote VAMs, as PCGS and NGC only recognize a small percentage of all VAMs. Two, might be to invest in better photography. I think HA reins in that department, but as one that likes to pick, photos are important.

[messydesk]

I believe that GC is on the right track to taking over, and there are several things they could do to hasten the process. One, might be to find a mutually beneficial agreement with ANACS to promote VAMs, as PCGS and NGC only recognize a small percentage of all VAMs.

They currently have discounted grading at ANACS. I don't know if they have negotiated discounted attribution as well. They also send me coins for attribution once in a while. More than just VAMs, they'd do well to promote general variety collecting, as there are many varieties in many series that aren't worth what it costs to sell through the full-fee auctioneers.

Two, might be to invest in better photography. I think HA reins in that department, but as one that likes to pick, photos are important.

Quality assembly-line coin photography where throughput is king is difficult. Heritage has rooms full of photography stations. Their slab shots are consistent enough that I've become quite good at knowing what the coin will look like in hand. Their glam shots are horrible and hide information on the coins. Being able to zoom in on photos to see fine detail is a website issue that Heritage has handled well, GC not as well.

[ljs123]

I would rather send coins to G.C. over Heritage. My experience with G. C. has been good. My St Gaudens 1909-S/S in PCGS MS-65 did well. I just sent in my favorite Saint into G. C.
In the near future you will see a 1911-D/D PCGS MS-66 CAC with Duckor/Akers heritage on the label. /

[UNCLE BINGO]

Big coin Lee . I HOPE it does well for you !let us know when, even if I only get to watch . It should be fun .

[messydesk]

I would rather send coins to G.C. over Heritage. My experience with G. C. has been good. My St Gaudens 1909-S/S in PCGS MS-65 did well. I just sent in my favorite Saint into G. C.
In the near future you will see a 1911-D/D PCGS MS-66 CAC with Duckor/Akers heritage on the label. /

If it's a D/D does it need any other label on it, or did PCGS take care of that.

[ljs123]

JB,
It is a D/D on the label.
Several years ago I purchased this coin unattributed. I sent it back to PCGS to get the D/D on the label. Then I submitted it to CAC.

As mentioned by others, the photos on G.C. are not as good as Heritage. If this coin wasn’t labeled as a D/D on the label, I don’t think it would show up in the G.C. photos very well.

[DHalladay]

I also lobbied Ian for over a year about the consistent VAM attribution accuracy of VSS over NGC and PCGS, using coins that were currently running in GC auctions as evidence. I'm proud to have been a part of that chorus, and happy for Ian and Rae about the extra business it has brought them.