HomeAuctionsThe Coin Analyst: David Lawrence Rare Coins Eliminates Buyers’ Fees for Coin...

The Coin Analyst: David Lawrence Rare Coins Eliminates Buyers’ Fees for Coin Auctions

by Louis Golino for CoinWeek…..

John Feigenbaum of David Lawrence Rare Coins & AuctionsJohn Feigenbaum is president of David Lawrence Rare Coins (www.davidlawrence.com), a retail and auction rare coin company founded in 1979. Mr. Feigenbaum is the author of books on Washington quarters and one on Barber coinage, written with his father, David Lawrence.The company holds online auctions on Mondays and Thursdays.

This week they announced that they are dropping buyers’ fees for auctions at a time when other auction houses have been increasing fees charged to buyers. Among the larger auction companies, some do not charge sellers’ fees, or not above a certain amount, but most except e-Bay do charge buyers’ fees.

I recently interviewed Mr. Feigenbaum about the no buyers’ fee announcement.

1.) Can you tell CoinWeek readers what drove you to drop buyers’ fees for your auctions? Did the recent moves to increase fees at companies like Stack’s-Bowers play a role?

We had been considering a move to lower out auction rates in the past year or so. When I saw the major auction companies raise their rates to 17.5% I knew immediately that this was time to make that move, and take our fees in the opposite direction. We first contemplated 10%, but then we had a crazy idea… Why not make it 0?

Everyone knows a company has to make a profit but a “buyer’s fee” now feels like an unnecessary tax to me; it almost seems anachronistic in this day and age of the internet.

We’ve been selling coins for over 32 years and I like the idea of being out front with positive (industry) change. I hope others will follow…It’s better for the buyer. And what’s better for buyers is ultimately better for sellers, and the marketplace as a whole.

Also, I don’t think people have an easy time figuring out how to calculate an accurate bid with a 17.5% commission. How do you do that? I worry that bidders will round it to 20% in their heads and bid less…which can drive prices down, thus hurting consignors.

2.) Will there be any changes to your other auction terms as a result of this?

None other than the elimination of buyer’s fees. We already offer free shipping and allow credit card payments up to $10,000.

3.) For example, will seller fees be affected?

We will derive our revenues from our standard commission structure of 10-15% per lot. This makes it much easier for buyers and sellers to do the math and understand exactly how much they are paying and will receive. Also, we never change buyback fees.

We offer the same deals for all of our consignments. We feel that we have the best offering out there because, unlike other auction houses, when your coin(s) fail to sell in auction, we immediately offer them for direct sale on our web site, and other channels like eBay. You get three selling venues for your coins. Nobody else does that.

4.) How do you see the coin auction platform evolving in the future?

I think that technology will continue to improve the experience in many ways. I think it’s a better discussion for another article, but simply put, I feel that auction is a very important part of coin trading — but not the end-all. We still sell many coins by private treaty. It just depends on customer preference. Some folks like the action of bidding and others can’t be bothered — they just want to make a quick transaction without risking losing the item. As a seller of coins to collectors, we try our very best to design a platform that accommodates everyone.

5.) Since you are someone who has a lot of experience dealing with rare coins, what is your brief assessment of the state of the coin market?

The coin market is a little soft right now but still robust. We’ve managed to stay active by cutting our margins and being creative. I think the 0% buyer’s fees is just one more step to stay one step ahead. I also foresee the market being on the soft side until the general economy gets sturdy again, and/or bullion prices pop up. Either would be great for us.

The good news is that this is a great time to buy at the moment. Despite what I’ve been reading in some blogs and articles, I am finding great inventory right now at very attractive prices — and collectors are benefitting from these opportunities. Better now than after prices rise again.

Louis Golino - WriterLouis Golino is a coin collector and numismatic writer, whose articles on coins have appeared in Coin World, Numismatic News, and a number of different coin web sites. His column for CoinWeek, “The Coin Analyst,” covers U.S. and world coins and precious metals. He collects U.S. and European coins and is a member of the ANA, PCGS, NGC, and CAC. He has also worked for the U.S. Library of Congress and has been a syndicated columnist and news analyst on international affairs for a wide variety of newspapers and web sites.

Louis Golino
Louis Golino
Louis Golino is an award-winning numismatic journalist and writer specializing on modern U.S. and world coins. He has been writing a weekly column for CoinWeek since May 2011 called “The Coin Analyst,” which focuses primarily on modern numismatic issues and developments at major world mints. In August 2015 he received the Numismatic Literary Guild’s (NLG) award for Best Website Column for “The Coin Analyst.” He is also a contributor to Coin World, where he wrote a bimonthly feature and weekly blog, and The Numismatist, the American Numismatic Association’s (ANA) monthly publication, where he writes a monthly column on modern world coins. He is also a founding member of the Modern Coin Forum sponsored by Modern Coin Mart. He previously served as a congressional relations specialist and policy analyst at the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress and as a syndicated columnist and news analyst on international politics and national security for a wide variety of publications. He has been writing professionally since the early 1980s when he began writing op-ed articles and news analyses.

Related Articles

6 COMMENTS

  1. This is great news, the high buyers fees have gotten ridiculous. Ultimately the buyers fee has to be calculated as part of the cost and that means lower bids.

    • We take consignments between 85-90% of hammer realization. Coins over $250 or so with a reserve. If the reserve isn’t met at auction the coin(s) are offered for direct sale on our site and on eBay and other multi-listing web sites, etc. We try to be as transparent as possible. Thank you.

  2. This is great. A big turn off for me to go to auctions is the 15-20% buyer fee, then the 7% state sales tax. Whopping 22%-27% tax for just buying something.

    Im grateful your company has taken this very unselfish step

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Stacks Bowers Auction

L and C COIN New Coins

NGCX Holders and Grading