When not-so-rare coins are mispriced

I am curious of members opinions as to why supposedly rare coins, such as many of the Carson City Seated Halves, are in such abundance but the asking/start bid prices so high? For example, eBay lists thirty nine 1872cc halves, all with what I consider high prices. In comparison, looking at sold items for a Philadelphia Mint 1841, not only have very few changed hands, but one fetched just a smidgeon over a hundred dollars. Is this a case of people paying too much for something that in reality is not so rare, and then trying to re-sell at a correspondingly high price? Or is this a case of many of the price reference guides being out to lunch? Or am I not noticing something?

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

They are trolling for a sucker. You get a lot of "bidiots" on ebay that see something, don't really research it, pay way too much for it, and don't know that they got a bad deal. They might see a high value in a price guide, or they might just trust a dealer who says its "rare."

 

You're factoring the knowledge that 1872-CC is a key date for which a VF is a $1000 coin and a slabbed VG should cost $300, right?

 

The idea is a "CC" anything is worth $$$$. Condition doesn't matter, neither does mintage or anything else. Buy it! It's a CC. A sucker is born every minute.

 

Actually heard one seller say for ebay he always over prices to start with and then slowly backs down. He even mentioned a couple of times he raised the prices and then got bites(and not just coins). Another reason to know your stuff before using ebay.

 

Any savvy dealer with a sales presence outside Ebay ups the price for coins listed there to compensate for the additional overhead. And a little bit for the bidiots.

 

Ebay has this really cool feature where dealers can put their coins "on sale" for some discount over their buy it now price. Everyone is a sucker for a sale! Even though the on sale price is still quite high, you feel like you're getting a really great deal because it's 5% off what it was before!

Whenever I see a coin that I want on Ebay, the first thing I do is find out if they have a website elsewhere (where the coin is invariably listed for a lower amount). I then contact them through that website, and they are often willing to make a deal.

 

Actually what he said was if he knows he could sell it for 50 dollars he lists it at 100. Then backs off slowly - at 60 or 70 he might up it 5 dollars. He does not mind playing games to get stuff sold. It was funny some of the stuff he sold - the key he said is knowing the shipping costs when selling pure junk just in case you sell it. And if you can't sell it there take it to the flea market on your next visit.

 

Of those 39 on eBay only 15 are VF or higher and 8 of those are details coins. That would be slim pickings for only 7 straight graded at VF or higher. CC anything will always be popular, but finding a real nice 72 CC isn't an easy task.

 

This.

 

It is a case being able to ask whatever you want without having to pay listing fees.

 

I just camp out at the newly listed BIN section and refresh every few minutes or so. All it takes is the one guy who isnt a dealer or knows anything about what they are selling. It's that kind of seller im looking for, then I go look at what else they are selling. IMO you find better deals and better cherrypicks from the guy with 10-20 listings rather than the guy with 1000 listings cause they probably know what they are selling, usually.

Overall I stay away from big dealers on ebay, unless it is a coin I really want and am okay with over paying for it.

 

The highest-volume dealers are among the best candidates for cherrypicking varieties. They handle too many coins to be able to study every one in detail, and in any event they can't be experts on all of them.

 

Well I have quite a few big dealers in my favorites list and I look at what they have, I just have better luck cherrypicking from non dealers.

 

It's entirely possible we're looking for different things, as well.

 

As @SuperDave teaches, an impressive amount of money can be saved by spotting a coin on an eBay site, then buying the coin off the dealer's own site. Those savings quickly add up.

 

Very true.

The one cherry pick I have been after for many years is a matte proof lincoln being sold as unc. Sounds like a long shot, but it has happened before. I came close with my 1915 but I dont think it is.

 

The fact that there are only two 1841-P listed on eBay tells me that generally speaking, that particular date is more scarce than the 1872cc. I have searched many online stores and LCSs and found pricing and availability is generally the same as what I find on eBay. I have been working on a set of Seated Liberty half dollars for several years and have found that the pricing guides are oftentimes off the mark. Rarity in a perfect world should be reflected in price. I believe this is not the case for many coins.

 

FYI, if the price listed on the dealer's site isn't at least 15% lower than the eBay price, you've almost certainly got further room to deal.

 

I know exactly how you feel. I saw this the other day and looked at a dozen other photos of proofs before concluding, reluctantly, that the rims were not squared-off enough.

Oh well, we'll both keep looking.