Yes, and if you have never held one give it a try at the next big show you attend. They are interesting in both NGC and PCGS. Different sizes for each.
I'm guessing it's either people that overpaid and don't want to lose money or someone who doesn't understand the market. I have a few items that have sat on eBay for a while too (record is around one year) but those tend to be unique (toned coin, low population item with no others available, etc) or are already cheaper than the rest on eBay (but just not something that has much demand).
I'm seeing other stuff offered 30% cheaper or actually getting bids for 30-50% less. So the sellers of that stuff can't possibly be that dumb. I get keeping UNIQUE pieces longer -- you want to get the 1 buyer who will pay a bit more. But on some of the Apollo 11 and Wedge-Tailed Eagle 5 ouncers, I'm seeing folks asking $100-$150 extra on something that should go competitively for $275 give-or-take. Whatever......
For example, a PF70 Wedge-Tailed Eagle 5-oz. sold for $208 on Sunday. I see BUY NOWS for $250-$350....and then a few for $600-$850 !!! I mean....the $250 has a shot, but $300+ is way over market. And the $600+ listings must be for when silver sells for $60/oz. !!
I did recently see a post that could be another answer (although again unlikely in most cases). One guy posted on CU that he has an overpriced roll of silver eagles on his account because he believes that will prevent eBay from enrolling him into managed payments (the new payment processing system that takes over from paypal-the big issue being that they don't allow coin sales to be processed at the moment).
@GoldFinger1969 here is an article about several 10 Kilo gold coins being slabbed by NGC! https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/7290/massive-gold-coins/
Anybody know what it costs to get those 5-ounce slabs...must be $20-$30, right ? So with silver at $25/oz....and throw in $25 for the slab....total raw cost is $150. So paying $175, even $200, isn't obscene if you like the design, the convenience of the 5-oz. slab, and the metal and holder. Not saying it's a substitute for "stacking" or cheaper forms of accumulating silver but there are some relative bargains for those of you who like the designs or 5-oz. coins for size.
According to their fees page, it’s an additional $20 on top of the normal grading fee (at least $17 for the cheapest level). So a minimum of $37. Dealers who submit in bulk get discounted rates (not sure what those are). https://www.ngccoin.com/submit/services-fees/ngc/
Thanks ddddd.....so I am in the right ballpark. I love the Apollo 11 coins...just waiting for them to come down in price.
FYI...I'm seeing some 5 ounce silvers for $175 and less from time-to-time online....with silver at $24/oz. and with a Giant Slab costing $25 or so....you're getting 5 ounces for only 10-15% premium or so to bullion. I understand even the 1 oz. ASE's and other coins don't sell for bullion even if you buy from a great dealer who deals with The Mint.
When you can find one close to bullion, it's a solid deal. I've owned a few before but personally don't like to. They take up a lot of space (I don't have any of the oversized slab boxes-which would be an extra fee), and for some reason they were often slow sellers when I wanted to get rid of them (at market rates)-maybe I was just buying the unpopular series though.
I only have a few and I got myself some velvet pouches to take care of them. Can't see myself getting more than a half-dozen in the next year or two, so don't need a box I think. Cheapest I see the coins -- aside from the ATBs from a few years ago -- is about $160 which is a 33% premium to silver excluding the cost of the slab. But I think you have to take that into consideration. If silver is $24/oz. MAYBE you can buy 5 ASEs for $24/each (?) but if you have to buy them slabbed and MS69 or MS70 (or PF 69/70), its gotta add $10 per coin to the cost, at least, maybe more. Since I'm looking at the 5-ouncers as 1-time purchases per coin/style....I don't worry about the price so much. But I try not to pay 100-200% premiums if I can avoid it (i.e., Apollo 11's).
The Wedge-Tailed Eagles are popular, Australian Koala's are not. I see them go begging for bids whereas the WT Eagles have active bidding and go for an extra $60-$80 or so, an extra 40% approximately. Apollo 11's a bit more so.
Just got a 5-oz. PF69 2013 "Year Of The Snake". Price was right, but design isn't as nice as the Wedge-Tailed Eagles. A nice thing about buying older silver is if "milk spots" haven't taken hold within a few years, they probably aren't likely to.