Any eBay success stories out there??

Why limit it to ebay - you can get good deals and steals on other auction sites also. One of the few coins I have sold was an MS-63 1882 snow 6 IHC. I bought it for $105 on Heritage as plain 1882 MS-63 brown coin and it sold 4 to 6 weeks later(by Rick Snow) for $1500. So even on other auction sites you can get steals.

 

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Yes, yes, yes!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nice, Mark

So there is hope for someone like me who likes to collect coin but who also loves the thrill (and profit) of buying low and selling high!

Could u explain a little further why/how you were able to buy so low and sell so high. Sorry for the ignorance.

 

a 1989 mint set for $4.85 shipped
2009 S US Mint Presidential Dollar 4 Coin Proof Set sealed for $8.50 shipped
AND
13 mint sets lot
1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1968, 1971, (2) 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, and the Special Mint Set of 1967.
the 1961 and 1963 sets have never been opened
so that's 8 90% silver halves,8 90% silver quarters, 8-90% dimes and 3-40% silver halves

I got my figure of 6.1303 ounces of silver in this lot from coinflation.com

taking this figure of 6.1303 oz x $14.75 an ounce = $90.41
so I paid about $1.51 for these sets 1971, (2) 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978,
all thanks to the price of silver

althought I don't plan on selling this silver it's just a nice pat on the ack I get for looking aroiund fee-bay as a bidder...

the only way you can get treated good on fee-bay

 

As I said, "It was my fault". I had no business bidding on an item I wasn't familiar with.

If I were listing the coin, I would list it as indicated on the slab and explicitly differentiated it from the "well-known" variety.

...but that's just me. Ethics are subject to interpretation.

 

Well in this case I keep the Cherry Pickers guide right next to the computer. When searching coins on line for sale - I check the cherry pickers guide for varieties. Then in this case I knew what Rick Snow had for sale and what he had sold one for. So I bid about $50 dollars higher than what the typical 1882 ms-63 brown sold for - I got it for about 25 more than usual. As it was even Rick Snow questioned me on how I got it - evidently all the big auctions he attends. I believe this was the online only Sunday auction - who knows he maybe searching them now. I do the same thing for a lot of the busties(cents and halves) that I search - using different books to attribute the coins by. There are a lot of people doing this and scoring one is great. I believe toad got an NC(essentially so few of the variety they are non-collectable) large cent doing this - I believe he sold it for a good profit also. I guess the real key is research on the varieties and then searching and more searching. I have heard the 1858/7 Flying Eagle cent is one of the varieties dealers do not look real hard for - I hope to cherry pick one of these.

I am not sure how often these type cherry picks are available and some of the varieties require a demand. For example there are a lot of varieties of shield nickels, but demand is low - so even some of the dates that are proof only are still at acceptable prices(in my opinion). I mean the 1879/8 proof only coin has a potential of only 3200(total proofs for 1879) - yet you can still get them for $500 or more (depending on the grade). This coin is truly rare compared to the 1909 S VDB. So varieties and demand is what drives the price. All you can do is gain knowledge and do a whole lot of searching.

At the same time I see people sell common die cracks on modern coinage on ebay - making a good profit. These are not worth extra-money in my opinion, but some of them are cool. Go figure.

 

Been there done that - but then again a lot of us have. Recently I bought a large cent that I was convinced it was a rarer variety - turned out in my excitement I missed some obvious clues even though the pictures where not the best. In this case I know my varieties, but flat out blew it - and of course toad corrected me. I emailed him right after the auction to double check my attributions.

 

I really miss the days when the bay was a free for all. I got some great coins in the old green 10 digit PCI holders. I think my best coin was a 1928 peace MS63 in one of those holders. I've never seen hairlines that boldly struck.

Search tips? Search in all categories, but refine your search phrases. ALWAYS CHK sellers other items! Someone else said that and I have found some great coins that way.

thx cjh1985 for the thread

 

I picked up 2 1970's proof sets for .99 cents a piece, and put together a 50 year run of proof sets for less than $400.00 off of ebay. Now I am working on 50 years of mint sets!!!:hatch:

 

I have had some limited success on ebay with winning some 1970's 1-oz silver art bars for $4 over spot silver or less. Patience, DYODD, and setting a max. bid limit helps you "win" on ebay at a decent price over spot.

 

I posted a while back about me striking gold on ebay.

by far that set of arkansas commems is my biggest find on ebay.

If you are buying slabbed coins, they usually go for market value. I have had really good luck on buying raw coins on ebay, especially overlooked issues like the Booker t Washington commemoratives.

I also miss the days of PCI coins, you could buy them for way under bid... and most of them i sent off to pcgs or ngc came back at the same grade. instant profit (if i could ever sell them...)

 

My most recent one was a raw 1831 capped bust quarter that I paid $270 for. I showed it to my dealer, and he thought it was problem free and would grade AU-55 or 58.

 

ike set

I have done a few deals on ebay.

I bought a mint 2008 barnish Eagle shipped or $15.00.

This past week I was watching a Ike complete set.
Set was listed $200. or make offer.
Coins were proof and bu.
I offered him $170 shipped, he offered back.
To make a long offer story of back an forth I got the beautiful set shipped for $180.00.

 

I picked this up recently:

http://www.napoleonicmedals.org/coins/dhwarwick71a.htm

There are two listed there and the one I got is Edge #1 variety, with 9 now known (I found #9). Seller's pics are below.

Ribbit

Ps: I'll post better pics in a separate thread when it arrives, including pics of the edge inscription.

Pps: I paid $20 for it.

 

My bad story was not with Ebay, but with Officemax.
Talk about slow "free next day" shipping - ordered on the 4th - is booked to get to my house on the 18th.

To top it off - it was an order for a client and it came to almost $700!
I'm making reports and maybe just maybe we will get the item for free!

Speedy

 

I have done hundreds of deals on ebay. It is not bad. I've only been burned twice and those were pretty small ones. Better than my record at auctions, coin shows, and coin shops.

 

I'm doing much better now that I've stopped buying stuff I don't know much about. :goofer: I pretty much stick to the stuff I know and I'm picking up a lot of great deals.

Ribbit

 

Cool Ha'penny...way to go! :bow:

 

Any pointers to picking up those great deals? Do you buy from certain people? Buy raw coins or slabbed? Do you bid in a certain way? Do you always buy from auctions or do you make "offers" etc. Thanks!

 

Deals on Ebay.
Not many. Ebay is a forum that unfortunately drives up prices. It's not even sometimes benificial for sellers because fee's are so high and shipping must be figured in. My local coin shop is much cheaper. The only way to use Ebay is to filter your search for sellers who accept "Best Offers" I have thrown som offers and have been fortunate sometimes to get "Big Deals". Usually if someone is open to offers they want to unload.

 

I believe the key is knowledge. :thumb:

For one, I try to learn about ones I like but are also doable by me. So US, Canadian/French, & English/Irish coins are what I concentrate on. I'm currently wanting to learn more about Canadian coins, since I run across so much Canadian coinage and I'm constantly learning more about US & English/Irish coinages, but all are primarily pre-1800.

Conder Tokens are an excellent series to collect but a copy of D&H will set you back a couple hundred or so and I'm on the prowl for a cheaper copy now. I'd like to get more into them but books are necessary and I figure I'll have to start picking up books on Canadian coins too but I can make back the money from the profit I make reselling the "steals" I find. hya:

Another key is to scour the obscure areas of Ebay for the lost treasures hidden in those sections. Weekly, I will usually find at least one good one in the obscure sections and I usually get it dirt cheap.

In my beginning days on Ebay, I went after the normal stuff (Morgans, IHC's, Buffalos, etc...) but soon I found out too many peeps know them well and I would get out sniped most of the time. I'd find the small motto 1864 2-cent copper but so would others. I'd find the type-2 1913 D or S Buffalos, that weren't listed with a mint mark, but so would others. I'd find the 1864-L IHC's, but so would others. I'd find the 1888-O Hot Lips Morgans, but so would others. So what I finally did was find stuff others aren't finding and then I started picking up steals all over the place.

So if you are looking to pick up some awesome deals, then figure out what's getting missed by others and snab them while the getting is good! :thumb:

Ribbit