A fee-free ebay like auction site

[Maineman750]

Ebay and paypal fees combined are a lot less than other ways to sell your wares. Especially when you add in the amount of traffic. I only thank you can complain if you are not very experienced in retail especially online retail.

Ran out of thanks...but yeah...I totally agree

[hasfam]

Over the past 15 years I have bought but mostly sold a ton of children's books and coins. I tried several auction houses, had a few of my own dot.com web site stores, been part of a few of online malls. Been there done that....and I always go back to eBay. Traffic, Traffic, Traffic is the bottom line and says it all.
There are 2 ways of looking at the bay. Your selling junk around the house where anything you sell it for is pure profit. You wanted to get rid of it anyway. Or, your in business and you pay the cost of doing business. if you think eBay is expensive, try owning a brick and mortor store....I have, and its a whole lot more expensive and without the traffic.

[Coppertop]

I think you're missing one point....for a $2990 coin...they collected 4% from me, and 15% from the buyer. Although many sellers only perceive a 4% fee...the truth is that they collected 19% of what the buyer paid. Between eBay and Paypal fees, I only pay 12%.

To me it seems they cater to sellers, not buyers, for what Teletrade does for sellers, I'd send coins to them all day long if I had the time and capital.
Teletrade does alot for the seller, only to charge them 4%? They handle it physically, do shots, deal with customers personally and collect the money for you etc. That's a hell of a deal if you ask me. Put the coin in the mail, fill out a form ,maybe do very minor checking on it and thats it. Many would probably be happy to do 10% or more.

The buyers fees is what keeps most people not from buying much there, unless they have money to throw around like they don't care. And a world full of few customers or buyers , is limiting. I grew up in Delaware and we don't have sales tax here, so I'm used to the idea that if something is $100 , its $100 not $115 + and thats why ebay works well in my opinion. If they charged the buyers 15% I bet many wouldn't even shop there any more.


Ebay is the opposite, caters to buyers. They only thing they do for the seller is the ability to allow you to list in their cyberworld where all these buyers hang out. You have to handle everything completely, and when they used to charge you 4% or whatever it was, it was doable, but now it's rather ridiculous, because although its setup really well, they are pretty much robbing people with fees for what they do for the experienced seller that usually operates with no hicups. Will I still use it, among with lots more ,yep. Do I feel like some1 is taxing the hell out of me and bite my tongue YEP. That ebay invoice sure does hurt when the money goes out, and sending them a quick $25 bucks here and there for 1 coin that you did most of the work for seems a bit too much.

[Maineman750]

I see you're still missing my point Copper....it doesn't matter if they charge the buyer or the seller. Example: Buyer has $3000 to buy my 72 die 4

Teletrade he can bid $2600 and I net $2496..he pays $390 buyer fees

Ebay he can bid $3000 and I net $2750 even though I paid all fees.

[Coppertop]

likewise :/ I can see your argument

Part of what I'm saying is..
even if you get more on ebay, you worked for it , on Tele they worked for you, and in most cases even got it in a slab for you, and they charged you less. You paid ebay basicly to rent space and if you paid them $350 to do that, it's pretty ridiculous, not to mention you may have to send you coin to and from PCGS etc on your own

[Maineman750]

So Teletrade made $494 for posting a picture, typing a description, and getting it slabbed and that's a bargain for you ?

I post pictures and type descriptions on here all the time....not exactly hard work and I'd jump for joy to get $200 for each coin I posted. And the slabbing is as easy as taking it to your dealer...sorry but I don't see a great bargain for the extra $250. Not saying it's a rip off, but it's no better than eBay when you do the math.

[seal006]

To me it seems they cater to sellers, not buyers, for what Teletrade does for sellers, I'd send coins to them all day long if I had the time and capital.
Teletrade does alot for the seller, only to charge them 4%? They handle it physically, do shots, deal with customers personally and collect the money for you etc. That's a hell of a deal if you ask me. Put the coin in the mail, fill out a form ,maybe do very minor checking on it and thats it. Many would probably be happy to do 10% or more.

The buyers fees is what keeps most people not from buying much there, unless they have money to throw around like they don't care. And a world full of few customers or buyers , is limiting. I grew up in Delaware and we don't have sales tax here, so I'm used to the idea that if something is $100 , its $100 not $115 + and thats why ebay works well in my opinion. If they charged the buyers 15% I bet many wouldn't even shop there any more.


Ebay is the opposite, caters to buyers. They only thing they do for the seller is the ability to allow you to list in their cyberworld where all these buyers hang out. You have to handle everything completely, and when they used to charge you 4% or whatever it was, it was doable, but now it's rather ridiculous, because although its setup really well, they are pretty much robbing people with fees for what they do for the experienced seller that usually operates with no hicups. Will I still use it, among with lots more ,yep. Do I feel like some1 is taxing the hell out of me and bite my tongue YEP. That ebay invoice sure does hurt when the money goes out, and sending them a quick $25 bucks here and there for 1 coin that you did most of the work for seems a bit too much.

Mark, eBay does one thing better than any other online selling venue. It is something you cannot put a price tag on. You are dead in the water without it. With it, it empowers you to do whatever it takes to make that sale. What is it? It has been mentioned numerous times... TRAFFIC Where else for a mere 12% are you going to bet 1 BILLION potential buyers? Answer: NO WHERE. I have an online store and I have sold online for over ten years. I have owned and managed brick and mortar. I have even sold things in a live auction and two week long world famous antique shows. The amount of traffic generated by eBay is completely beyond compare. I know it looks slighted to favor the buyer. IT SHOULD. If a buyer feels comfortable they will keep coming back. EBay is one of the top companies in the WORLD. They must be doing something right.

[Coppertop]

Sean, not arguing it gets traffic, I actually pointed that out. Maineman: no Tele basicly does the work for you and handles the coin directly, pshyically, what I was saying is you basicly ship it to them , that's it. I won't point out my reasoning anymore, I think I stated enough already, And you seem to be overlooking what I'm saying and frankly it doesn't even matter, but was a good discussion

[seal006]

Mark,

I think your point is spot on for top end coins to a point. You cannot just sell anything and expect someone to buy it on Teletrade. I think the 1992 CAMs that recently sold are a prime example. The first was with Heritage the other was eBay. The eBay one sold for more and the seller reaped more profit in the eBay sale as well. In business, the harder you work, rather than outsource, will be a better margin for you. PERIOD.

[ShyCent]

Alex, to simplify it, what is important is you are happy with the price received and the buyer is pleased with the coin.

[seal006]

Sean, not arguing it gets traffic, I actually pointed that out. Maineman: no Tele basicly does the work for you and handles the coin directly, pshyically, what I was saying is you basicly ship it to them , that's it. I won't point out my reasoning anymore, I think I stated enough already, And you seem to be overlooking what I'm saying and frankly it doesn't even matter, but was a good discussion

Here is a question from an uninformed. I do not know the answer because I have never tried to sell something through Teletrade. What happens if you send them something and it does not sell?

[Maineman750]

Mark, I was simply expounding on your statement "even Teletrade charges you next to nothing and they do all the work for you"
when in fact Teletrade charged double what I would have paid eBay.

Sean, I don't remember the details exactly..but Teletrade charge you a percentage if the coin doesn't meet your reserve...don't know what happens if there is no bid at all.

[seal006]

It is an honest question that obviously no one knows the answer to. Do you have to set a reserve? I understand that tey do all the footwork involved in slabbing the coin. That is not free from PCGS to them, right? The reason I ask is because I have seen quite a few lots on Teletrade end up with no bids or "item did not sell" status. This means it could cost you quite a bit in the end if you coin does not sell.

[Coppertop]

I think the process is best explained on their website if you scroll to the bottom.Also PCGS, Stacks&Bowers and Teletrade are all located in the same building which is a whole nother can of worms.

http://www.cointalk.com/t206442/

http://www.teletrade.com/coins/help/how2sell.asp

[seal006]

So let me get this straight. I have 5 coins that I do not place a buy back bid on, which is considered to be the same as a reserve to Teletrade. It will cost me $15 to get those 5 coins back, but they will all 5 be slabbed? $3 each to get them slabbed? Fair for me, but I do not see how it would work for Teletrade. If I put in a $100 buy back on each of those 5 coins it would cost me $5 each coin or $25 for all 5 plus the $15 return fee. That would bring my total to $40. Again it would come out to $8 per coin per say, but all would now be slabbed.

If all of this is correct, it seems fair, but the only issue is I am paying a fee to get back coins that no one wanted. On eBay if they did not sell I am out only a couple of bucks for the listing fee. I would still have the coins that no one wanted, but they would not be slabbed. So I guess it begs the question, is it worth the fees to have unwanted slabbed coins?