Offers on Items Sold at Auction

What is Make Offer to Owner?

This is a great way for collectors to acquire rare items that may not otherwise be made available, and an easy, quick and inexpensive option for some owners to re-sell items purchased at auction from Heritage.

Most items purchased from Heritage at auction are included in the Make Offer to Owner program, subject to eligibility requirements. The inclusion of the item does not indicate that the owner is willing to sell and, unless the owner manually sets an amount, the minimum offer amounts default to 25% more than the purchase price (minimum $300), increasing to 50% after 7 days. Please note that the winner of this Heritage auction lot may or may not still own this item and has the option to accept, counter, reject or ignore the offer.

The items fall into four main classifications:

The owner of this item has set an amount that they are likely to accept. These items are included in our Buy Now search results, Wantlists and MyRecommendations programs. This is a great way for owners to sell with the lowest hassle and cost.

This item's owner is actively reviewing and typically responding to offers (though not necessarily routinely accepting). Most owners in this category are still actively buying, and therefore interested only in offers where they can net an amount sufficiently above today's market value (after our 10% fee). Owners in this category seldom counter-offer, and will usually simply reject offers placed at current auction values or lower.

This item's owner would consider the right offer, but isn't actively participating and doesn't respond to most offers.

The owner's willingness to entertain and respond to offers has not been verified, so a rejection is likely.

How does it work?

You make an offer at or above the Minimum Offer or Buy Now amount, and our system anonymously communicates that to the owner via email and through MyCollection®. Our software allows offers and counter-offers, but we suggest making your best offer the first time as most owners will not respond to low offers at all. You will receive a response or no-response email from Heritage within 3 business days. Most owners are unwilling to sell at current market because they paid full market when they purchased the item, then held it for a period of time, and should rightfully be entitled to a profit over today's full market value. While we urge all clients to respond to each offer and provide counter offers, at times some do not respond. They may consider a non-response as a rejection, and are especially unlikely to respond when the offer isn't close to an amount they would accept.

What is Heritage's Commission?

Heritage retains only 10% (minimum $40 per lot) of the total price to offset payment processing, administrative and support costs. This service is free to the buyer (no Buyer's Premium), includes a 7 day return policy with the exception of third-party graded and encapsulated items (NGC, PCGS, CGC, PSA, SGC, PMG, CAG, Beckett, Wata, etc.), and protects the identity of both parties. Because Make Offer to Owner transactions are not auctions and no Buyer's Premium is charged, auction consignment discount coupons are not accepted for this program.