Raped by Heritage
 

A $300 winning bid magically becomes a $411 purchase.

Never again.

- Mark

You've got to factor in all the upcharges/buyers premiums with the big boys!

My $1300 winning bid resulted in a bill of almost $1600. I feel your pain...but I was expecting it.

Bid + 20% fee + $20 mail + NY Tax.

Too difficult for some people to understand. :confused:

So having to pay a buyer's premium, sales tax, and shipping, which are all clearly explained in the auction rules, is equivalent to being violently sexually assaulted?

Ok, got it.

Could not disagree more. Heritage is perhaps the most transparent AH in terms of cost. Not only do you get the buyers premium in a parenthetical when you bid, there is a shipping calculator in each listing. My invoice was $0.04 different than the calculated price I knew before I bid.

I agree with Adam. Heritage is one of THE MOST transparent of all the auction houses. You may not like the fees, but everything is explained to you. I have no problems with them.

I'm not sure what I'm offended by more....your insensitivity to sexual assault or your inability to solve a simple math equation.

Your bid was 360 not 300.

Thread title could be changed to savaged by baseball chat board :)

And boom goes the dynamite.

This thread has inspired me. I am refusing to buy my lot since they hit me with sales tax. Once I saw the total amount I realized I didn't really want it, anyway.

I understand being frustrated, but the title really needs to be changed IMO.

S Suckow

How, exactly, were you not treated fairly?

Very offensive title
 

The OPs inability to understand simple math rivals his insensitivity with the use of violent sexual assault references.

Unacceptable on all levels.

I got caught off guard by the sales tax and a little by shipping.
Went from having what I thought was a good deal by a few hundred to having to hang my head by a few hundred.

For anyone from California my invoice shows:

Winning Bid price + 30.12% = out the door price.

I don't think I would change much of anything (maybe buy 1 less card since I could get it at similar prices anytime/anywhere?) but it was a mild shock.

I'll be back next year with Bid + 30.12% in mind.

New here so unsure of forum etiquette between double posts and edits.

Sports Heritage (presumably all online auctions) are able to show bid + buyers premium. It is also common practice to enter billing address, and invoices always end up showing sales tax and shipping.

I wonder what the backend programming would take to visually show:

Your bid = x, Buyers Premium = y, Out the door estimate = y + shipping + known sales tax from user information.

That would undoubtedly prevent scores of people trying to get out of paying their auction.

The sales tax is admittedly a big kick to a lot of folks. They have no choice but to collect it. It is Uncle Sam it ain't Heritage, per se'. I bought one lot last night and am not outraged. It was a bid under my max bid too!! Living near Dallas I just figure in the extra bid sales tax in my strategy. It was still a good deal imo....

I didn’t win any lots in this auction. I always factor in sales tax, which is why I would bid stronger in some auctions compared to others. I would generally bid 10% more in non CA auction houses, except HA which Charges tax regardless of resident state.

+1 Title needs to be changed.

In what states do they add sales tax? Is it only CA, FL, IL, NY & TX?

Agreed.

Rape? Really? It was more like unsatisfying consensual sex. They told you what you would be getting, but you were so excited to be getting any, you didn't listen!

NJ now too. Between LOTG, REA, Golden, those of us in Jersey sure get hit a bit.

As a side note, I personally, really don't like the terminology "charges sales tax". Businesses collect sales tax. As Leon sales, it is the government that charges sales tax, not the AH. I'm sure all AH would love to not worry about collecting it just as much everyone would love not to pay it.

So being told you're going to be raped makes the rape better?

Not talking about Heritage here...but the industry as a whole. The buyers premium is rape. No other way to describe it. If the government imposed a 20% sales tax in this country, I wonder if you'd all be so cool with it?

What does the 20% cover? It's not doing the sellers any favors. I'm surprised more auction houses haven't taken the step of offering a greatly reduced or better yet...gasp...no buyer's premium.

And shipping charges...$15 for two pennants from a familiar auction house doesn't seem that bad....until they arrive.

I have limited experience in dealing with auction houses...maybe a half dozen purchases in the last year and a half. But so far I'm not impressed and the disappointment isn't limited to just one. Half assed-ness and mediocrity seem to be key components of the mission statement for a large part of the industry.

<a href="http://imgbox.com/ASffeITc" target="_blank"><img src="https://images2.imgbox.com/01/53/ASffeITc_o.jpg" alt="image host"/></a>

How do you suppose auction houses stay in business without charging a buyers premium...seeing as many waive the sellers premium?

Yeah, I'm sure there is a rape survivor on an internet chat board somewhere, explaining that being raped made her feel like she had to pay a 20% buyer's premium in a baseball card auction.

Come on people!!!!!!!!!!

It is not difficult at all. You know you will be charged a 20% premium on top of your bid. Simply add the 20% to your bid, and you know what it will cost you.

Heritage even tells you when you bid, what the total will be with the buyer's premium! If you can't see that, then you have bigger problems to work on!

Steve

Worthless complaint solved by paying attention. Terrible analogy. Period. Change it.

That wasn't the case for me. I had a 30.21% premium.
Not hostile or anything over this, just went from feeling excited about my purchases to exceedingly ambivalent.

+1

Really...Many waive the sellers premium? Which ones? And for what criteria?

I guess it depends on your definition of "many". But I suspect that many more aren't having their sellers fees waived. I haven't sold anything through an auction house yet, so I can't speak to that. I'd be curious to hear from those that have.

As to how to stay in business. Be excellent at what you do.

Your knowledge of how auction houses operate seems to be the only thing half assed I see in your post. Would you show up for work or provide a service if you weren't being compensated?

I have NEVER paid a sellers "fee or premium" when selling through an auction house...NEVER! Most AH's will waive these fees if your submission is somewhat significant. On the other hand I have ALWAYS paid a buyers premium...ALWAYS!

Good old overly sensitive Mr. Literal has entered the forum...box of kleenex in hand no doubt.

I've made three large (for me) purchases from Auction Houses. REA twice and Heritage once.... and I always knew exactly how much I was going to be paying with each bid. It's not difficult, the AHs tell you how much they charge.

But if you think that a Buyer's Premium is so unfair, stick to eBay.

Ditto... I would never even consider consigning to an AH that would charge me both a seller's premium and buyer's premium. There are just too many auction houses to choose from now a days that competition has made the seller's premium model a thing of the past.

The buyer's premium is the cut of the auction that goes to the house. It affects the consignor, not the buyer. The higher the premium, the less percentage of the final price the consignor gets. It never ceases to amaze that people do not understand this.

Heritage is very straight forward. Do the fees suck? Yes. But they are part of it.
Can’t imagine the words the op would have used had a multi- thousand dollar card been purchased. Very unfortunate comparison and use of words. Come on. No comparison between rape and a fee on a baseball card auction.
Eric Recker.

Not to mention legally, you are required to report it on your own taxes as use tax if the company does not collect it in your state, :)

Watch out for political comments. I am guessing some conservatives thought what he did too. But regardless, let's keep politics out of here.

Personally, I wish they would do away with it in terms of bidding. As a bidder I hate having to mentally factor in the buyer's premium before I bid. Heritage shows you the total just below your bid amount. Not all auction houses do. I would just prefer to let my bid be the final price and let them do the math behind the scenes.

But I get why they do it and understand it won't change.

That's why eBay has been popular over the years because they don't have a buyer's premium what you see is what you pay. They have major flaws on eBay and are always making asinine changes but have consistently not impose the buyer's premium on people. I'm sure everyone on here has bought or sold on eBay at some point and it's been nice not to have to pay 20% buyer's premium on eBay. Once they wise up and start thinking about charging a buyer's premium then everybody will be complaining about that.

How hard is it to add 20 percent in your head or with a calculator? Much ado about nothing IMO.

I also want to add my name to the list of people who find the title of this thread offensive.

It needs to be changed!

Steve

If I am tracking multiple items and constantly looking at one figure then adding 20% and moving on to the next, it can get confusing. Maybe some of us are not as great at math and memory. It's not a big deal. I just wish it wasn't a necessary step personally.

I'm thinking you thought I said "Liberal"? I said "Literal":

adjective
1.
taking words in their usual or most basic sense without metaphor or allegory.

Grumpy old man in da house!

I pay enough taxes. And literally 80% gets phased out as a deduction with the 10k limit this year. If I cannot even deduct taxes off my taxes I say I’m paying too much taxes. So the hell with them and me reporting it!

English lesson for the day
 

Some of you folks criticizing the OP for the use of the word rape really need to look up the definition of rape.

Hint - the word has several other meanings other than the act of an unconsented sexual assault - e.g. rape the land.

I'm not defending hthe OP and surely he should have considered the BP, taxes, shipping and etc, but if he feels violated (and I don't agree that we was), then rape is definitely an appropriate choice of words.

Another wrinkle that is easy to miss is that sales tax is calculated AFTER buyers premium and NOT on the actual bidding price.
This would be an easy way for people to mentally mix up how much they are paying.
Which ends meaning California residents need to add ~30.21% in their head vs. bid price.

Lol...It doesn't affect the buyer the same way sales tax doesn't affect the buyer, right?

There's no "I" in many.

god I hate those damn Literals!!!!

Stop calling it rape, you agreed to it.

Only if you don't understand it. Otherwise, no, it doesn't, it's just part of the bid calculation. For anyone who understands it, the BP is a matter of indifference -- it could be zero or it could be 50 percent.

I regularly compare sale prices between eBay and auction house results and I'm amazed at how much people over pay for items in auction. I was watching some complete sets in a few recent auctions and lost interest when I realized I could get the sets much cheaper on eBay. It's like some people don't know eBay exists...or think they can only get a good item if they pay through the nose for it.

The defense of the BP here is mind boggling...How dare anyone infringe upon your right to be ripped off!

Not grumpy, just amazed at the ignorance shown in your response. And I'm probably young by net54 standards.

How is it being ripped off if you fully know it is going to happen? If you don’t like, buy somewhere else. Plenty of non BP options out there.

Yeap, I can't see my computer screen. Now quit getting all literal. :cool: (says Emily Litella, Gilda Radner)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZLeaSWY37I
.

Now the buyers premium is deserved. Auction houses are not a free service. eBay charges the the seller and after the eBay price premium and PayPal cut... what hairs are we splitting.

That said, they come up economically the same and if buyers aren’t factoring in the buyers premium and possible taxes in an auction, then that’s the buyer’s fault!

While rape is an appropriate word by definition, it is an extremely powerful word. In my opinion, using it in any context less significant undermines the severity, suffering, distress, and personal violation of those who have experienced a sexual assault.

Do you get this excited when you pay your taxes?

So you can define "literal" with the help of an internet dictionary, but you can't seem to see the difference between informed consent (the practice of the auction house) and the analogy used in the title. And for your error or inability, everyone who disagrees with you gets the pleasure of being accused of being either old, sensitive, or "literal." (None of those things are de facto bad, by the way.) When in fact it is your mistake all along.

As someone who counsels assault survivors, the analogy is gross. But even if you think it isn't, it is just the wrong analogy. Your choice on which one you want to defend. Now, back to complaining about terms clearly noted by auction houses...

Ebay doesn't charge buyers to buy things. I get the difference in overhead costs for an auction house. So I'd sincerely like to know...Is waiving seller's fees at auction houses the norm, or reserved for the special few?

Oh, he should have been more politically correct? Understood. :rolleyes:

If you don't pay your taxes you go to jail or get fined.

If you don't bid on an auction...you get to go to bed before 2am.

Something is happening here but you don't know what it is.
Do you, Mr. Jones?

I have a right to be ripped off? Constitutional attorneys please explain:D

Hi Rob, the seller gets charged on eBay so he (should) mark up the card appropriately.

At the auction houses: It’s fairly common to waive the sellers fee. That is extra juice in their negotiation with your consignment. That said the more desirable cards you have the better your neg rate (sellers premium is waived and you share the buyers premium). And if you have a featured front page piece that increases your leverage to get a higher neg rate across your lots.

This entire thread and all threads like it in the future can be avoided if auction houses utilizes the provided user information they use in invoices to also display during the bidding process.
Honus Wager Bid 1,100 / Buyers Premium 1,320 / Est Final Price 1,430

Yes, they could also be avoided if folks on this board possessed greater than a 6th grade education and a calculator.

Dude doesn't bother to read the conditions of sale of the AH and all of a sudden he's been taken advantage of. Yeah, sure.

OP should stick to garage sales.

It's not accurate regardless of what meaning he intended, as rape is never consensual, unlike his purchase.

I just cut a rather large tax check, and I wasn’t particularly excited about it. But then I realized my tax dollars are needed to fund things like teaching people how to read, multiply, or the basic fundamentals of how businesses work. So it goes to a good cause.

No I don’t. But I expect it. I pay quarterly taxes so I know what to plan on. I don’t like it but it is reality. Not much to say. Just do it.

This.

Getting off topic but I wish that was the case. A big portion of what we pay go to pensions of those who are “clocking in” their city jobs and not adding any value besides calculating how big their pension will be in 5 years.

Lol.

Also a good point, but how well tax money is used has potential to rival Frank’s monster thread!