Auction Houses and their shipping/handling costs
 

so I just got in the mail an almost $1K card from Clean Sweep. It was a pc that was shipped in just a card saver then bubble mailer, nothing else, no cardboard, bubblewrap or other hard material protecting the card, just the card saver and bubble mailer (and it was only shipped first class as well)! Being what I would consider a pretty rare card and paying almost $20 for s+h, I was a little disappointed in the AH lack of protection for something I paid them a grand for. Thankfully the card arrived without instance but there are so many things that could have happened to a card that has no issues with the exception of being trimmed, so any crease/bend would have just ruined it. I don't know but for $20 I would expect a little better shipping + handling for my purchases. /rant

Dan

I just had a great experience with Mears. I purchased 11 bats at their most recent auction. They were well packed and shipped 2nd day Priority. They only charged $29.95. I have paid more for a few magazines from some of the other large AH's. I was very pleased!

Jeff

Greg Bussineau
 

I won a high dollar item from his last auction (Bussineau) and he shipped it overnight Fedex WELL protected for FREE!!!!! It also was shipped the SAME day that I paid!

Mike

+1 on MEARS too. Won two uniform lots on auction ending Tues night. Charged $20 and they were shipped next day, Wed. By Friday they were in my hands, well packaged.

There have been some shipping issues with Clean Sweep recently. See this thread on the PSA forum for $3K worth of cards, similarly shipped in a bubble mailer: Link. On a lesser note, I recently won an autographed ball from them with a full LOA from JSA. In order to fit in the box, the LOA was folded into quarters. In addition, the lot number was written on the LOA (albeit in pencil). It's probably more annoying than a big deal, and I wouldn't have cared at all if it were an auction LOA rather than a full LOA, but when I win items with LOA's from other auction houses, they often put the LOA in a plastic top loader without folding it.

What some AHs should do is use the USPS. Many people don't realize that the USPS will give FREE boxes and there is no limit. You can order them online and they are delivered within days.

What frustrates me about AHs is the insurance costs. The larger AHs most likey use an umbrella policy through a third party. Then they normally pass the savings onto their customers. AHs that just use the regular shipper's insurance (USPS, UPS, Fed-X) are charged double and even triple the cost than getting it privately.

Some AHs I feel use the shipping and Insurance cost as a form of profit. I hope they can change their business model to make it more customer friendly. This might help take the sting off when we pay for our winnings after we make 2 bids past the budget!!!

I have posted this before...I would really like it if the AH's posted their estimate for shipping charges and insurance. You could then factor that into your overall bid.

Jeff