Is it me, or is EVERY ebay coin auction way overpriced. I had bid on 75 auctions for coins...and my ceiling bid was what the coins actual value is...and have been out bid on EVERY single auction. Seems to be more about "winning a bid" rather than getting good value.
"Winning a bid" is exactly what its about. Sometimes you can catch a break, but not that often. I have my own speculations as to why the prices seem to go so high, but I'll spare you. As others on the site have pointed out in the past though "the value of something is what someone is willing to pay for it."
It would appear that the value is more than you think it is. After all, isn't value the amount that someone is willing to pay?
Don't know what you are watching/bidding on, but take your time and make notes about recent sales. I recently picked up a PCGS slabbed 38D Walker at below wholesale (CDN dealer greysheet).
Frankly, it's not often that I see Full PCGS Trends realized on eBay, unless it is for underrated dates. If that's what you focus on buying, then you may need to reduce your expectations a bit, as even some dealers like myself stretch well beyond "retail" for certain dates, the scarcity of which many price guides fail to properly reflect.
No offense, but I get the feeling the issue here isn't entirely that eBay buyers are "overpaying" across the board. It's also hard to argue that, if you've lost 75 straight auctions, perhaps you're not truly bidding the coin's "actual value" after all....
That's interesting that you find this to happen. My experience has been the opposite. I have gotten quite coins for much less that what their "value" is, at what I consider a bargain. Though I can say I have let many (hundreds) coins go by because the price has gone too high. I have seen many they appear to be over priced as well, but there are many bargains to be had.
I suppose it depends on your perspective. I usually get the coins I choose to bid on there, but I only bid on one or two out of every thousand I look at. And I look at thousands.
eBay is one of my regular hunting grounds . . . there are others, of course, but I rarely fail to check out at least a thousand eBay coins daily. There are weeks when I buy as few as a half dozen eBay coins, and sometimes I'll buy two dozen in a week. As for auctions, I do not discriminate between fixed price sales and auctions . . . both seem to produce roughly the same results for me. I think the most important thing to do is to have a mission before you begin your search. Knowing your target, and what it is truly worth (to you, and not to someone putting thousands of prices into a price guide) is key to bidding / spending the right amount on the right coin.
Yes, I think it might depend on what you are bidding on. If you are bidding on "hot" coins, the price guides might not be keeping up with current values. My experiences might not be relevant today [I bought most of my coins 40 - 50 years ago, sold 20 - 30 years ago], but some of my biggest profits on resale were on coins that I was sure that I "overpaid" for, but just had to have, and didn't come up for sale very often. One example: some time in the late 60's, I paid $150 for a proof 20c piece; "fair" price would have been $100 - $125. In the early 80's I sold it for $2000. To check if my memory was right, I got out a couple of old red books. I couldn't find ones near my buy/sell years, but did find 1974 and 1976. 1974 red book value: $375. 1976: $750. Doubled in two years! Yes, it really was a "hot" coin in the 70's. On the other hand, if you are looking for things a bit more common than proof 20c pieces, take Aunduril's advice, and be patient until a bargain comes up.
Assuming the 75 coins you targeted are of similar type it seems you just have an unrealistic expectation for what they should be selling for. You either have to pay more than you'd like or stay patient and hope to be in the right place at the right time.
Try bidding at odd hours, early in the morning or late at night. I like to go to "ending soonest" during odd hours, and you can find some pretty good prices this way.
I've also noticed certain sellers tend to get more for their coins. There are some people whose auctions I don't even bid on because I know they will go high. You might have better luck bidding on auctions from sellers who don't have a lot of feedback or experience selling. You're still protected by eBay, but their coins might sell for less.
I've gotten some good deals on EBay, especially for slabbed type coins in the $100 range. However, for higher value items I am interested in (i.e. early type) there often are better deals on Heritage. For example, I just picked up a slabbed VF Pillar Dollar on Heritage for less than I could have gotten it on EBay if at all. They very seldom come up for auction and the BIN prices are in the stratosphere. If you are looking for a popular but thinly traded item, EBay probably isn't the best venue.
For what I target Heritage has been tough in recent months. Maybe I've just become way more selective (definitely have) but seems like things are consistently going for 10%+ higher than what I would expect there and I'm leaving empty handed way more often than before.
You can get good value. Don't bid early. Bid at a time/day when there's little or no action, look for a good deal and put in a bid just before closing, on an item with no bids or one bid from 3 days ago.
