Selling A Small Collection

I am looking to sell almost my whole collection to pay off some debt. I really hate to do it, but it's necessary at this time. It's value is just under $10k, so nothing major. I have about 50 slabbed coins that range from $50-$700, some are semi key dates.
I know there is no one best answer or right answer, but I want to ask everyone's opinion. What route would you take to sell them: Heritage, Great Collections, Ebay, etc.? The good thing with the auction houses is they take care of photography, advertising, and shipping the coins to the customer. Basically once it's sold, I am done. With ebay, you always worry about fraud, returns, missing packages, etc. I have found that I almost have to give away coins on ebay many times. I watch the prices on Heritage and they seem to do pretty well. Thoughts?

 

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Follow your heart.

 

All venues have their ups and downs. make a pros and cons list.

 

I am not a member on NGC or PCGS forum. Can I immediately post on those sites to sell items with no history?
Posting here is very limited on pics. Hard to get enough in to make it worth the time it takes to post.

 

Limited on pics means I can only fit about 10 pics per post, and can only post once a week in the BST forum, so it would take a while to post good pics of all the coins.

 

Agree about posting here if you have the time and are capable of taking picks. I also like the 2 weeks to see what moves then move the rest quickly.
Instead of trying ebay though, for a larger batch of coins like that, I would try going to a local coin shop. They may come in low, but if you figure the fees and shipping that ebay will cost, they are not that far apart at the bottom line. If they are too low, you can always still do Ebay, but give them a chance at it, see what they offer. Also, you will be done and have cash in fist.
With albums, it would be worth your time to identify higher grade coins, key dates, anything that has a higher value, and be sure to point that out to any prospective buyer to get fair value.
and of course, if you are lucky and there happens to be a coin show close by in the next couple of weeks, that would be a really good way to go. You could get a couple of offers and take the best.

 

You might find a local auction house with a lower commission cost. I have one in the Greater Chicago area and even a local dealer who has auctions twice a year. The local dealer, like Heritage, will offer to buy them out right if they appeal to him. Most large auction venues have certain conditions which you will have to meet. That's why you don't see tons of average coins being sold on their sites. However, it sounds like your coins have nothing special going for them.

 

Since it is 50 slabbed coins, I'd open an eBay store for $15 bucks. List all 50 coins within 1-2 months at competitive prices (unsure if $10k is at FMV). Use ship and insure or Hughes Policy to insure them.

You'll end up losing 9% in fees. Lots of variables but I think this is your best route.

+1 to posting on here, NGC, and PCGS. I have sold some coins to members on those forums.

 

Tread lightly on posting a list of coins that you have intentions of selling or you will get your hand slapped.

 

What is BST?

 

I think it means Buy/Sell/Trade. Either that or I don't know what I'm talking about and I've been misinterpreting most of this thread.

 

I understand your concerns. The best way to sell them sometimes is just take them to a coin show so you don't have to worry about fraud or lost packages. Of course you won't get as much for them but you get your money right away and they get the coins.

 

Do you want to do all the work and pay 15% (ebay)

or

Let someone else do all the work and get payed 90-95% (auction house)

 

Buy Sell Trade

 

Actually it depends on how quick you need the money.

If really quick - like weeks. Then you could sell to a LCS - but that gets you the least amount of money, but you could have it in days versus months.

You can also consign to some sellers. Usually depending on the value of the coin they charge anywhere from 5% to 10%(usually). Again a slow option because you have to wait for the coin to sell.

If I was you I would talk to heritage, then you talk to Great Collections. Not sure when Heritages next auction is - semi-keys might make it to like the platinum night, the others might not. You need to talk to them to see what they might do. Coins not on a plantinum night might realize less than ebay. This will not get you your money very fast - could take 3-4 months or longer. Ask lots of questions, sent them a list and see what they say.

I have used the above three methods - first was quick, but got me least amount of money. Second worked good - but was slow and took longer, but did net me the most. Third worked really good - was charge 5% and it did net me a good amount of money. Still it took about 3 months from start to finish to get my money.

Then talk to people at great collections - see what they can do. My only concern, as mentioned - is the amount of traffic. So you should probably ask about reserve prices, etc. Again do not know how quick you get money from sales. Never used great collections, but I would not hesitate to contact the to see what they would offer.

 

Do you have a local dealer with whom you have built a relationship with and who you trust?