Payment Process in Heritage Auctions

[GPX | 1,376]

Hoping for a genuine discussion on this particular topic - Heritage Auctions payment process. 2 main reasons why I’m curious to know:

1. I have a stack of CIB games I may send to WATA for collection purposes. By association, I may go through the route of selling on HA one fine day if the need arises.

2. I believe this end outcome and payment process may be a major factor in why there is a lot of disagreements of how high prices are actually going for. Some are taking the end bids on HA as gospel, others are more reserved in their judgements, whilst others are showing complete disbelief.

So to cut to the chase, I have some genuine questions I wish to seek:

1. How are payments made? Bank transfer, PayPal or...?

2. How are payments confirmed?

3. Is there a time frame in which payment needs to be made by? Or can it be done in instalments over many years?

4. What if payment isn’t made at the end? What kind of penalty is involved?

—————————

Any help with answering the above is much appreciated. Any further questions?

 

[Code Monkey | 2,023]

I tried bidding on something and there was an error with my account. I called Heritage Auctions and they said they had to approve my account for bidding, even though I had provided my payment details already. After answering a bunch of questions, they approved my account for bidding and I believe they have my credit card number if I do buy something.

Also, if you're taking prices from Heritage Auction as the value of an item, remember Heritage posts the price plus their 20% buyer premium so the value you get as a seller is only 80% of that.

[Gulag Joe | 584]

HA will work with you as the seller on all of those things, so they can be catered to each individual case. Typically, payments for anything are paid in full. They do not accept PayPal but do take credit cards and echecks. They have strict rules on bidding as you have to be registered with them to bid and your credit has to check out. Its unlike eBay. They also take 10% of the final sale and also charge a buyers premium, but they have omitted the buyers premium for smaller sales. Again, everything is all catered to your situation.

[GPX | 1,376]

11 hours ago, Code Monkey said:

I tried bidding on something and there was an error with my account. I called Heritage Auctions and they said they had to approve my account for bidding, even though I had provided my payment details already. After answering a bunch of questions, they approved my account for bidding and I believe they have my credit card number if I do buy something.

Also, if you're taking prices from Heritage Auction as the value of an item, remember Heritage posts the price plus their 20% buyer premium so the value you get as a seller is only 80% of that.

I’ve come to accept from several members here that HA takes their bidding via auctions seriously, with identity checks and such. However, even if one can prove identity and some funds in their account, it doesn’t guarantee the bidder will follow through with their end-auction payment.

Let’s say a hypothetical, I won on HA a $50,000 item. I was eager to pay up but then I had a car accident and needed to buy a new car instead. Surely, I would be allowed to change my mind on following through with the purchase? Would I incur any penalties if I changed my mind (for genuine good reasons)? 

[Gulag Joe | 584]

2 hours ago, GPX said:

I’ve come to accept from several members here that HA takes their bidding via auctions seriously, with identity checks and such. However, even if one can prove identity and some funds in their account, it doesn’t guarantee the bidder will follow through with their end-auction payment.

Let’s say a hypothetical, I won on HA a $50,000 item. I was eager to pay up but then I had a car accident and needed to buy a new car instead. Surely, I would be allowed to change my mind on following through with the purchase? Would I incur any penalties if I changed my mind (for genuine good reasons)? 

I'm not sure what would happen in a situation like that. I can only speculate that they might allow  cancelation in that circumstance. However, they may make a Ferris Bueller Ed Rooney request and have you "roll her ole bones down for them to take a look and then they'll dig up your bid contract" type of situation.

 

 

 

 

[Code Monkey | 2,023]

11 hours ago, GPX said:

I’ve come to accept from several members here that HA takes their bidding via auctions seriously, with identity checks and such. However, even if one can prove identity and some funds in their account, it doesn’t guarantee the bidder will follow through with their end-auction payment.

Let’s say a hypothetical, I won on HA a $50,000 item. I was eager to pay up but then I had a car accident and needed to buy a new car instead. Surely, I would be allowed to change my mind on following through with the purchase? Would I incur any penalties if I changed my mind (for genuine good reasons)? 

That's not a good example, if a simple situation like that can put you into financial hardship, you're not very smart with your money. I don't spend my money on anything unless I can afford to take that money and just throw it away without affecting my finances.

If this situation were true though, I would expect them to charge you the 20% final buyer fee and let you off the hook for the purchase price.

[YOURTURN | 1,257]

18 hours ago, GPX said:

Let’s say a hypothetical, I won on HA a $50,000 item. I was eager to pay up but then I had a car accident and needed to buy a new car instead. Surely, I would be allowed to change my mind on following through with the purchase? Would I incur any penalties if I changed my mind (for genuine good reasons)? 

According to their 'Terms and Conditions of Auction' the following sounds like you might not have been allowed to make that type of bid for reasons like your hypothetical question:

Bidders:
4. Any person participating or registering for the Auction agrees to be bound by and accepts these Terms and
Conditions of Auction (“Bidder(s)”).
5. All Bidders must meet Auctioneer’s qualifications to bid. Any Bidder who is not a client in good standing of
the Auctioneer may be disqualified at Auctioneer’s sole option and will not be awarded lots. Such
determination may be made by Auctioneer in its sole and unlimited discretion, at any time prior to, during,
or even after the close of the Auction. Auctioneer reserves the right to exclude any person from the auction.
6. If an entity places a bid, then the person executing the bid on behalf of the entity agrees to personally guarantee
payment for any successful bid.

Now lets say that you did clear this hurdle. And lets say that the $50,000 (USD) is tied to a new car, rental of select medical equipment, and other factors that might not be covered by your insurance. Based on what I have found this is what I have found under 'Payment' when it comes to your hypothetical situation:

25. Payment is due upon closing of the Auction session, or upon presentment of an invoice. Auctioneer reserves
the right to void an invoice if payment in full is not received within 7 days after Auction close. In cases of
nonpayment, Auctioneer’s election to void a sale does not relieve the Bidder from their obligation to pay
Auctioneer its fees (seller’s and buyer’s premium) on the lot and any other damages pertaining to the lot or
Auctioneer. Alternatively, Auctioneer at its sole option, may charge a twenty (20%) fee based on the amount
of the purchase. In either case the Auctioneer may offset amount of its claim against any monies owing to the
Bidder or secure its claim against any of the Bidder’s properties held by the Auctioneer.

In all cases if you were to talk to the auctioneer about said situation, and they did agree to void the sale, you are still obligated to pay all fees that said auctioneer you still owe. Meaning that you'd still owe an ~$10,000 (USD) for all damages your request has done.

And overall everything states that unless said auctioneer gave you a 'one time pass' after you paid said damages, you might be barred from future auctions that involve them.

[GPX | 1,376]

15 hours ago, FenrirZero said:

According to their 'Terms and Conditions of Auction' the following sounds like you might not have been allowed to make that type of bid for reasons like your hypothetical question:

Bidders:
4. Any person participating or registering for the Auction agrees to be bound by and accepts these Terms and
Conditions of Auction (“Bidder(s)”).
5. All Bidders must meet Auctioneer’s qualifications to bid. Any Bidder who is not a client in good standing of
the Auctioneer may be disqualified at Auctioneer’s sole option and will not be awarded lots. Such
determination may be made by Auctioneer in its sole and unlimited discretion, at any time prior to, during,
or even after the close of the Auction. Auctioneer reserves the right to exclude any person from the auction.
6. If an entity places a bid, then the person executing the bid on behalf of the entity agrees to personally guarantee
payment for any successful bid.

Now lets say that you did clear this hurdle. And lets say that the $50,000 (USD) is tied to a new car, rental of select medical equipment, and other factors that might not be covered by your insurance. Based on what I have found this is what I have found under 'Payment' when it comes to your hypothetical situation:

25. Payment is due upon closing of the Auction session, or upon presentment of an invoice. Auctioneer reserves
the right to void an invoice if payment in full is not received within 7 days after Auction close. In cases of
nonpayment, Auctioneer’s election to void a sale does not relieve the Bidder from their obligation to pay
Auctioneer its fees (seller’s and buyer’s premium) on the lot and any other damages pertaining to the lot or
Auctioneer. Alternatively, Auctioneer at its sole option, may charge a twenty (20%) fee based on the amount
of the purchase. In either case the Auctioneer may offset amount of its claim against any monies owing to the
Bidder or secure its claim against any of the Bidder’s properties held by the Auctioneer.

In all cases if you were to talk to the auctioneer about said situation, and they did agree to void the sale, you are still obligated to pay all fees that said auctioneer you still owe. Meaning that you'd still owe an ~$10,000 (USD) for all damages your request has done.

And overall everything states that unless said auctioneer gave you a 'one time pass' after you paid said damages, you might be barred from future auctions that involve them.

Thanks for this. It’s given me a bit more clarity on the situation. Though I’m now more intrigued on the scenario of when nonpayment occurs! 2 further questions that come to mind:

1. Has HA ever relisted a game through auctions before? Because I genuinely find it hard to believe there’s been a 100% strike rate with payments of all winning bids. 

2. Do HA make it known to public if payment doesn’t occur in due time? It might be a scary situation whereby if it’s a cancelled purchase, and the public are assuming it as a genuine sale. I can see a chain reaction where people would be using the end-HA prices as leverage for sale of items in the public domain outside of HA. 

[YOURTURN | 1,257]

On 12/7/2020 at 1:12 PM, GPX said:

Thanks for this. It’s given me a bit more clarity on the situation. Though I’m now more intrigued on the scenario of when nonpayment occurs! 2 further questions that come to mind:

1. Has HA ever relisted a game through auctions before? Because I genuinely find it hard to believe there’s been a 100% strike rate with payments of all winning bids. 

2. Do HA make it known to public if payment doesn’t occur in due time? It might be a scary situation whereby if it’s a cancelled purchase, and the public are assuming it as a genuine sale. I can see a chain reaction where people would be using the end-HA prices as leverage for sale of items in the public domain outside of HA. 

You're welcome and sorry for not replying sooner. As for your additional two questions I can only answer what they offered in their 'Terms and Conditions of Auctions' PDF file (which was odd since the one for "sales" was on their website.

1. I have no answer for that because I do not use their service. So going back to what their terms say, it sounds like the auctioneers in cases like those either offered said win to the next highest bidder or placed said items up for sale. Both being done after the penalty phase was initiated.

2. Based on what I have found, I do not think so. And if they did, I doubt sellers would reference it. Because in the end it sounds like they want to do what it takes to make a final sale. Which I can only guess is one of those things most VGA and Wata sellers want buyers to ignore.  Which makes me glad we don't have those types here.                   

[GPX | 1,376]

Bumping this thread. Curious to know if anyone here has actually sold stuff on HA personally? If so, was the payment process smooth and how does it differ to the payment process of an eBay transaction?

And another question, what price of sales is considered mandatory to report for tax purposes?