eBay vs rest of the coin selling world

HA! poor Doug... This is a private board and activities here can be ran anyway who ever is in control chooses.

IMHO - As a new collector, I look to those who moderate or administer on MB's for direction as I am sure many other noobs do. I don't have a problem with mods posting their opinions as long as they are qualified as that. Matter of fact, I appreciate a spirited discussion.

It's not just Doug, he just happened to be an easy to target victim for my whipping post!

 

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This is where you loose me.. Technology today can do far more than any human can do with more accuracy more consistent 24 hours a day. To use your thinking there would still be thousands on the auto assembly lines.


Yes lets revisit please, because the advancements in just the last year have given me enough trend info to know where this hobby will go. I can start with how easy and relatively inexpensive it was for me to learn to image coins at a professional quality level . as processors get faster and bands get wider, virtual coins in hand are not that far off.

I contend it would be here today if there weren't so many "stuck in their old way" codgers running the show.




caveat. I bought a PQ coin at full retail based on reccomendation sight unseen. while I was waiting the 20 days from inception to delivery, I sniped 2 other examples at the same grade. One was nearly HALF the price and better looking than the dealer PQ. dumb luck?

 

Thanks.

I would suggest it also, in some instances, makes the new recruit do the research to figure it out for themselves and form their own opinion.

 

Computers don't assess subjectivity well, and I doubt that will change with today's technology. Sincerely, The Computer Scientist

 

date - 1875,,, philly. no S or CC.
NCG or PCGS or ANACS - AU50 to MS63 (if you can use a range)

 

The prices on fleabay can be lower for a host of different reasons just to name a few
1. Seller has no or low feedback
2. Seller takes a bad picture of coin
3. Seller has outrageous shipping fees/demands
4. Dealers DO dump their over grade unattractive coins on ebay, knowing that there are so many newbies that buy the holder and not the coin.

 

The bottom line is , members can always accept or reject any opinions expressed in this forum. As for any member feeling a personal " beat down " from Doug , is simply a matter of ones own choice. There is no one on this forum that intimidates me, regardless of whatever level of the administration they sit . This is not the end all of Numismatic related forums. There will always be differing opinions wherever you go to discuss Numismatic issues. It's simply an exchange of opinions, most of the time. I will agree, some moderators have been extremely over zealous in some threads and truly need to learn to temper their opinions . But ultimately , it's up to you, the member to accept or reject an opinion . In any situation, you have the option of walking away from it .

There are many new comer's to Coin Collecting that find this forum . Some young, very hungry to learn from an older well versed , astute collector . Than there are some young collectors who simply refuse to digest the opinion , accept it or reject it in a non combative style response . To do so is clearly an overt indication of immaturity and severely lacking not only in social skills, but experience as well.

This forum is here for one purpose and that is to facilitate learning in the field of Numismatics . Unfortunately, there will always be those individuals that from time to time will use this as their own personal playground to detract from that goal . This forum is, what WE collectively make it . That should be an enjoyable learning experience and an exchange of relative information to young and old . It's not Young vs Old , as some clearly attempt to interject .

It's up to you.

 

A computer cannot grasp the concept of eye appeal, beauty, aesthetics, feel, or emotion...all things a collector whether seasoned or novice use in their pursuits, rather they be coin collecting or collecting works of art or culture. A computer cannot do everything and anything a human can do better, or you and I wouldn't have a job, would we? Finally, telling the truth and actually knowing the truth are not the same thing.
Guy

 

I deal with technology on a daily basis - yes it is amazing what it can do. Especially the recurring and repeatable tasks. I personally do not want to rely on a computer or even a tpg. I want to do it myself and then pick out the choice coins myself. And grading is something I keep working at - don't see where I will ever stop learning on this. In my opinion I am getting better, but still have aways to go - smart enough to realize that there are others that still know way more than I probably ever will.

Can't answer that question. Really hard for me to buy coins sight, unseen - I have, but difficult. As a matter of fact the only person I have done this with is the Pennylady. Yet it still makes me nervous, but has always worked out. Now for the other two examples I don't know if they are PQ or not. I will say that I do not limit where I look for coins I consider PQ - keep in mind PQ is also an opinion. It would also depend on the type of coin - I am not familiar enough to say PQ on some types of coins. I skip a whole lot of graded coins on ebay just because I think (based off the pictures) they do not stack up. Again - my opinion only.

 

Exactly why I said revist this thread in 5 years, 10 years. Yep - been a few things I did not agree with over the years(not just you but others also), especially at the start that caused a few painful(but survivable) lessons. I am sure there are others waiting for me.

 

Not having a lot of experience I couldn't tell you EEW if they are better than not. However, what Doug said about averaging out sales prices is extremely true. I have seen "one off" bids or sales repeatedly, and those coins may have had a special attribute that I didn't know about, or two really determined bidders. You can never hang your hat on just one or two datapoints, but an average, throwing out outliers for every venue.

As examples, 20 years ago at two different sales I saw a 1877 IHC go for $80 and $400. Both of them vg or so. The second auction I found out later was two relatives of the deceased owner, the first was an auction where there was a snowstorm and only about 6 of us showed up. You never know by just number crunching what a price of a coin will be.

If it helps I would agree with you that if Doug doesn't have a lot of experience with TT maybe he shouldn't have assumed its a better venue than Ebay. I honestly cannot answer, but yeah, I wish I would have been the one who bought that 77 that day.

Chris

 

IMO each coin has its own merits and that's why one coin in a pcgs 65 holder may sell for much more than another coin in the same holder. This goes for all the top three tpg's. And i also don't believe that only people who " don't know coins" are the only ones over paying for a coin therefore throwing off the averages. Plenty of collectors in the know overpay in an auction format simply because that venue is easily to get emotionally involved in. That's why its called an auction.

 

Trust.

 

Last 90 days - search criteria is bolded

1875 20 Cent PCGS

October 11, 2010 - January 08, 2011
Avg. Price:
$359.07
Start Price:
$83.98
Listings:
16
Sell-Through:
31.25%

1875 20 Cent AU

Avg. Price:
$292.89
?
Avg. Shipping:
$8.00
Listings:
17
Sell-Through:
23.53%

1875 20 Cent NGC

October 11, 2010 - January 08, 2011

Avg. Price:
$322.33
Start Price:
$0.99
Listings:
8
Sell-Through:
37.50%

1875 20 Cent MS Nobody wants to buy MS coins on eBay

October 11, 2010 - January 08, 2011
Avg. Price:
$0.00
Start Price:
$0.00
Listings:
10
Sell-Through:
0.00%



I can refine the search criteria. I am not familiar with that coin so I don't know how it is typically described in titles. You can subtract stuff when listing like when I look for 1909 VDB I type in 1909 vdb -s that gets rid of all the svdb's

 

:burger-flip: I could not find the popcorn

 

EEW,

I almost hesitate to type these questions because I think they might blur the message you should take away from my posts to this thread...but what the heck....

Are you looking at the actual auctions? Asked a bit differently, what's to say that there wasn't a listing called "1875 20 Cent AU details corroded" in your average?

Curiously yours...Mike

 

I agree, have gotten several coins from TT that were not as spectacular than in the picture. I have flipped some items buying from TT and selling on Ebay - so it just depends on the item and when you buy it.

I don't buy from TT very much anymore because I moved to CA and now have to pay tax on top of shipping and buyer's fee.

 

I think it is the other way around. I think you are looking at it from a sellers perspective. In this discussion there has to be a control. I don't know if TT sells raw coins so lets only compare TPG coins.

TT does not have seller performance standards that have to be adhered to. - no feedback
TT images of coins are crappy - IMO another indicator that is eyebrow raising
TT buries extra fees in fine print - IMO that alone is an unscrupulous indicator
TT charges a minimum mark to the buyer up of $8 per lot and then adds shipping on top of that thats outrageous comparatively. I had a $1150 purchase that some how turned into $1438.

LOL! i remember that debate back in the 70's when we learning to write BASIC from the unenlightened. It didn't take long when learning FORTRAN AND COBOL to find out that computer created jobs.

I trust the seller I can talk to about the coin they are selling not some third party with crappy pictures and hidden fees. SOunds like I am talking about eBay, doesn't it?

The statistics don't lie. on the average a collector will do better buying certified examples on eBay than anywhere else. I could post percentages and couple with pictures to prove not only is the average price better, so is the quality. but it will take many hours..