Question for dealers/sellers: Blue book prices

I know this is a really general question with no definitive answer. I ask only because I personally have found the Red book to work surprisingly well on most coin prices throughout the year. The prices are usually within 5-10% if not dead on, compared to what I'm seeing coins go for on ebay. For all except the hottest movers such as early Lincoln prices.

That being said, is the Blue book in general, relatively as close to what dealers are actually getting at wholesale? The only reason I have a blue book is because it came free as a promo with an order I made. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have ever purchased one but I'm glad I have it now.

For anyone that doesn't have one, as a buyer, it has given me a lot of confidence in negotiating coin prices and not feeling guilty about it. It's interesting to see how something such as $5 gold Indian half eagles don't appear to have that much mark up compared to other denominations which seem to have huge mark ups!

Short story.....

There's a buyer that I have purchased from in the past. Recently I found a coin they had that I wanted. It was a buy it now or best offer. The grade given was a 100% price jump from the next lower grade. I graded it myself and did not come up with the same opinion, being fair about it, using my ANA 6th edition and Heritage auctions as a reference.

I discussed my findings and the seller ended up letting it go to me for 35% less than the buy it now price. I believe it's still possible that it wasn't a great deal for me. If the blue book is any indication of what this person got it for, even ball park, they STILL made good profit on this sale.

Even though I love this coin (and it may be my new avatar soon) I would not have purchased it for any more than I did and I feel it was more of a fair price than a steal, at 35% off. Maybe in a better economy, this transaction wouldn't have happened? I know dealers need to make money too but I think there's a difference between being reasonably fair, and being ruthless.

Bottom line, how reasonable of a guide is the blue book for the average series? (Realizing that prices listed go out the window if a certain series gets hot over the course of the year.) If I can get an honest answer.

 

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Good question Vess , I always wondered the same thing .
rzage

 

the greysheet is a luxury I can't afford at this time .
rzage:eat:

 

Doug , can I borrow $3 JK
rzage

 

I just bought the Nov. 21st issue. Although I don't know if my coin will be in it. I'll at least be able to look at what it does have.

That was a good idea. For some reason that never occurred to me. I guess I never thought about it. It would be handy to have before making a major purchase.

 

What does one get for $3. Just the Weekly Newsletter or do they also get last month's Monthly the the just-out-of-date Quarterly I, II & III?

(I'm just curious. I don't need them because I subscribe to CDN.)

 

what is a blue book?

Ruben

 

Similar to the Red Book (retail prices) except the Blue Book is for wholesale prices.

 

Blue book can be helpful but like the Red book it's a once a year deal. Things change in a year. A person that walks in with a large collectin and a Blue book will tend to get better dollar for that collection. It could also be helpful on the buying end although I don't see it as often.

Greysheet is the one used by dealers as Doug pointed out. That and the internet. When we get a coin in that is not even remotely shown on Greysheet we tend to consult the internet for past auctions or contact other dealers with more knowledge/experience on a particular piece.

Experience and knowing your dealer is a top tool IMHO. I rarely pay over Greysheet bid anymore and usually less. Of course that's with dealers I know.

If it's a show and I REALLY want a coin I will go somewhere between bid and retail if I don't know the dealer but like the coin. Different circumstances call for different buying patterns is what it boils down to.

 

The blue book is a Red Book with all of the prices divided by 1.3.

Only kidding. The nasty part of me thinks the Blue Book is published in the hope that collectors will believe this is a reasonable price to sell coins to a dealer. So it's a tool to facilitate low-balling. For example, I've seen many coins listed below melt value.

 

Thanks for a little insiight on how it's done .
rzage

 

Yeah - I'm so stupid with purchases. I fall for a coin and buy it knowing that I'm not getting a good price. I need more discipline, but I do have a lot of coins I dearly like.

Ruben

 

I think that the redbook is quite high, except for certain situations like the really hot items at the moment.

 

A lot of stuff such as Morgan dollars and Peace dollars and many many others show up at half of retail. 50% looks to be the norm. I never would have guessed it would be that much of a difference.

The coin I mentioned originally here, I was able to get 35% knocked off the price. But if it is indeed EF45 as I suspect and that's what the dealer actually paid or close to it, then he still made a 200% profit on the coin. It has a really nice toned edge which bumps it up some. But a basic coin of this type, no frills, going by NGC's retail price guide at EF, is very nearly 3x the price that is listed in the blue book.

If the blue book prices are within 20% +/- what dealers are paying (which I'm sure is well within that range) there's still a huge profit margin selling just about any coin at normal retail.
It's no wonder people get low ball offers when they go to sell. I'm not accusing anybody. I just think it's good for everyone to realize, especially maybe some of our newer members that prices can be negotiable if you really want something and you're a good customer, willing to put in the time. And be respectful about it.
The grades that people list on ebay mean less and less to me. Some are decent about it but others are really pushing it. You almost may as well count on everything being listed as a grade high, if you really want to study it and compare with slabbed coins on heritage.

 

I don't know, I think it's pretty reasonable in most instances yet. At the coin show I went to, I got a NGC 1935 MS-63 Peace dollar. Price was 125.00 Red Book lists them at 135.00. That's pretty close. (Blue book lists one at 65.00 )

I've watched a lot of Morgans sell on ebay at exactly red book price. Even recently. And I'm talking many times, bids coming in at the last second, ending at RB prices. Watch some go some time. I think everybody would be surprised.

Even though the book is quite dated now, I think it's still a valuable tool to get you in the ball park on 90% of the coins listed. That's not bad.

 

Sorry, being a car dealer I have a hard time taking anything called "Blue Book" Seriously

I thought Greysheet was the standard used by dealers?

 

For anyone that doesn't have the 09 RB and BB, here's some examples. Keep in mind, these are just rough guides, but telling none-the-less. Even if these prices are just ballpark, there's got to be major profit involved.

But also keep in mind, that for your brick and mortar stores, you're paying for wages, and the bills as well for having the convenience of them being there. I guess we can't forget that.

1934-S Peace Dollar in AU50

Red Book (your price) $650.00
NGC price guide - $450.00
Blue Book(dealer price)$295.00


1888-O Morgan Dollar in MS65

Red Book- $450.00
NGC - $475.00
Blue Book- $210.00


1949-S Franklin Half in MS60

Red Book- $60.00
NGC- $69.60
Blue Book- $25.00


1810 Capped Bust Half in F-12

Red Book - $100.00
NGC- $ 90.85
Blue Book- $ 35.00


1924-D Standing Liberty Quarter MS63

Red Book- $350.00
NGC- $368.75
Blue Book- $175.00


1859 Indian Head Cent in EF-40

Red Book- $110.00
NGC- $100.80
Blue Book- $ 55.00

As you can see, just about anything I can pick out at random is going wholesale to dealers for about 50% of retail or worse. This is valuable information to know and take into account. I look forward to receiving my grey sheet.

 

It is. I just ordered a recent one to see how it compares with the blue book. Maybe it won't compare at all. Or, maybe it'll be worse.