Dang! PCGS is expensive!

I want to get some graded in order to sale. I also want to get one graded that I'm keeping forever

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I just got two coins graded from JCB who was nice nice enough to let me submit two coins for free. Just got the details back and will post them once I get them. Quite excited

 

About 6-7 years ago, NGC used to allow any paid member to make an appointment to deliver their submissions in person. Since I live only 90 miles away, I used to take advantage of this because it would save me $50 or more in shipping and insurance both ways.

Then they changed their policy to allow only (NGC) registered dealers to submit by appointment which was understandable for security reasons. Since I was submitting quite a few coins at that time, I had wondered what it would cost to register as a dealer so that I could continue delivering my submissions in person. It certainly would have saved quite a lot in shipping and insurance fees. I wouldn't have to worry about having anything lost in the mail, and I wouldn't have to concern myself with bulk submissions unless I absolutely needed it.

Chris

 

Send your coins to Rodeoclowns Grading Service, I'll slap a those coins in a slab with a nice "warm fuzzy feeling" grade on it as well to make you feel good about your coins without the high dollar cost that other TGP's provide. :thumb:

Why pay a lot of money for someone else's opinion when you can have mine for a fraction of the price!

 

I live in Sarasota, the home of NGC and Modern Coin Mart. In the rare event I want a coin graded or a scratched slab replaced, I just take it to Modern Coin Mart and they submit it to NGC (they're right down the street from each other) for me at a fair price. You may want to try that, Chris, if you don't mind the 90 mile drive.

 

That's good to know, hugger, but now that I am on a fixed income, my submissions have declined considerably. What few I have any more, I hold until the FUN Show each January and deliver them to NGC in Orlando.

Chris

 

I doubt it.
The more coins they get, the more money they make, regardless of the value of the coins.

 

One way to save money is to get to a show where PCGS is at, and submit in person. Also, sending more coins at once will allow you to save money too.

However, if you think the price of PCGS is high, perhaps you are sending coins shouldn't be graded to begin with...

Some food for thought: In general, most coins valued under $250 are better left raw (there are, of course, exceptions). In a bit more detail....

You should consider sending coins to be graded that have the expectation to go up in price as a result. Think of it as an investment with a return -- if the return is not good (i.e. if price appreciation as a result of slabbing minus the cost of slabbing is negative), then don't do it -- Airtites are a heck of a lot cheaper and do an equally (or better) job of protecting your coins.

To use an example: Let's say I bought a raw 1889 gold dollar on eBay for $280. When I got the coin, I graded it a 64. I offered it to a dealer, and he offered me $500 for the coin. I sent it to PCGS and it cost me about $100 to grade it. It came back from PCGS MS 65, and is almost instantly salable in excess of $2k. Do you still think PCGS is expensive in this example?

The lesson is this: If you think the price of PCGS is "high", perhaps those coins shouldn't be sent to PCGS in the first place. Their prices are what they are.

Respectfully...Mike

p.s. the example above is a true story, and here is the coin:

 

So, Mike, what about the 2 million 2012 bullion ASEs that have been submitted for grading so far this year? Don't let the TPGs find you making rational posts like that or they might send Leroy out to give you an "attitude adjustment" for negatively impacting their revenue.

 

As long as there is not a monopoly I guess it can't be too bad. We should never get to the point where a TPG dictates the coin world though?

 

Why would it effect their revenue?

More to the point: I suspect the same rationality exhibited in my post was similarly used by the people who submitted "the 2 million 2012 bullion ASEs", and the people/dealers/companies I know who submit those coins aren't in it to lose money.

The coin game is completely rational and calculated.

What's irrational, at least to me, is to call their prices "high" or to suggest that the TPGs (or the people who submit to them in bulk) would somehow not view things the very same way I do.

But perhaps I've misinterpreted your post.

 

Could that really happen? People don't have to send their coins in to get graded, it would only take us coin collectors to stop sending to these companies and they'd be out of business rather quickly.

 

If it's a major variety, you really do need the attribution. It's easy to say 'This is a PR65CAM Superbird' (or whatever variety it is), but without that attribution on the cert, it just won't bring the $$ it should, as the potential buyer will bid accordingly (lowball) due to the fact THEY'LL have to incur all those fees mentioned (well, re-holder it vs. full blown grading, plus attribution....$34 vs $54)..not to mention, say, on ebay, if the buyer doesn't see it on the slab, they may just 'walk on by'. I know when I see a coin that is a certain variety, because it shows up on my search (because the seller puts it in the title), and the cert doesn't show it, but the seller puts a sticker on it saying it's a certain variety, and they want the same amount as if it were attributed, I walk on by it, due to their laziness or their being too cheap to have it done.

Granted, the attribution fees are a bit high, but in the long run, most of the time it's worth it...IF it's a major variety. Minor varieties, different story, as they bring minor money anyway, so why bother with those???

 

Wouldn't that be a beautiful thing. The top three TPGs are PGCS, NGC, and RGS (Rodeoclowns Grading Service).

 

It's so expensive because they send all of their coins in their blue hard plastic box most of the time. 1 slab or 20.

 

Not true in my case. My last 3 submissions, all just 4 coins, have come back without a blue box.

 

I feel like, unless I had a coin worth 100's of dollars, that my money would be much better spent in buying more coins or something.

 

I would say a lot are submissions like yours, a lot are people not knowing what they are doing(they have a MS70 morgan or something), then the smart ones like leadfoot, then the crack out artists. Lots of reasons why. I personally think that if you want a graded coin - buy it already graded. The only exception would be when you learn to grade like a TPG and can get the coin for the right price. Of course most of us can't hit the tpg grade. It has to be worth the cost. Just my opinion.

 

Sometimes getting something slabbed will give confirmation of grade especially when a bump from one grade to a higher grade will result in hundreds to thousands of dollars increase in value.

 

And if it had come back as a 63 would it have been expensive?