HSN Vs. eBay - Interesting Spread

Okay, so I was board and was thinking about the fact that I often DVR the coin shows on HSN, and other outlets for the entertainment value. I actually enjoy watching them sometimes and have even picked up a few nuggets of information that was actually useful.

I got to thinking that most of us on CT, or those of us involved in any depth in the hobby or business, know that these types of shows are a lot of hype and fluff, and usually are on the expensive side when selling coins to the public. You often read, or hear about dealers who have a customer come in with a hoard of TV purchased coins looking to sell for a profit, only to be told that they paid way over retail, and will be loosing money - not making money.

Well, I decided to do a quick and dirty - totally non scientific - analysis of a random selection of coins from the HSN web site, and compare them to the actual selling price (average of completed auctions in past 30 days) of the exact item on eBay. I must say that I expected a disparity, but was surprised at the actual gap in price. I would say that IMHO that purchasing coins from HSN will cost you roughly double the price that the item can be purchased for on eBay.

Here is a sample of my analysis:

Item ---- HSN Price $ / eBay Price $
2008 Proof Set - 129.95 / 65.00
2008 Mint Set - 69.95 / 48.00
2009 Proof State Quarters Set - 29.95 / 9.95
2006 Proof Set - 59.95 / 18.58
2009 Van Buren P/D/S Set - 17.95 / 4.25
11 Piece Ike Proof Set - 249.95 / 185.00
2007 Mint Set - 54.95 / 25.00
1999-2008 Quarter Proof Sets - 399.95 / 215.00
2007 Proof SAE (OGP) - 99.95 / 76.00
1978 Proof Set - 14.95 / 9.00
2008 Alaska SQ P+D OBW Rolls - 39.95 / 30.00
1881 S Morgan MS63 (ICG) - 99.95 / 48.47
1938 D Buffalo BU - 39.95 / 4.25

For the purposes of full disclosure, I have purchased other items from HSN, but never coins. :whistle:

 

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Of Course Sky High due they are paying too many Dollars on AIR Selling their Products IT BUSSINESS. If you don't like it! STAY AWAY ON IT! By the ay How much cost to advertise 30 seconds ADs (on AIR TV)on National Football Championship?
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Nice work. Now buy a commercial spot that airs right in the middle of the HSN coin segment, and post your information there for everyone to see. An educated consumer is a good friend.

 

Nice to see the actual comparisons... thanks for posting.

 

So let's buy on E-Bay and sell 'em to the guys at HSN !!! :whistle:

 

How do you know that is not what they are doing?

 

Ding Ding Ding we have a winner....

 

I often wonder if the casual seller, and potential casual and/or first time buyer is not influenced by the pricing that they see on these TV hucksters shows? Do they try to emulate their pricing?
Of course, all of you here are educated and understand how to fairly evaluate and value a coin or coins!

And based on the knowledge I have obtained during my short time here at CT I can honestly say that I have heard these TV hucksters mis speak and provide inaccurate information about a significant number of the coin products they are selling.

 

excellent analysis!

I don't think it should surprise anyone that they have a huge mark-up. Do you think that a tv station runs for free? They gotta pay for it somehow, and that's exactly why I advocate NEVER buying anything from them.

 

Very good work on the pricing. Of course there is another difference that favors HSN in some instances and that is that you will probably get what you are paying (actually overpaying) for from HSN. The problem with EBAY most times is not the pricing but the authenticity and quality of the coin you receive. With that being said if you told me that I had to buy from only one of these two services I would roll the dice and go with EBAY.

By the way I'm watching Otter do his schtick on HSN right now. They are selling the new Disabled Veteran proof coing for $149.00. Quite the mark up from what I believe is the $39.00 price the mint is selling it for. To be fair the coin is graded by ANACS at 70.

One other amusing thing is that Flounder is not out there with Otter in one of his signature sweaters. There is this crazy lady that may be a salesperson from another sector of the network helping Otter in Flounder's place and it's so obvious that she is driving him nuts. She keeps making weird noises as he talks

 

Neither!!

 

HSN overpriced garbage.
eBay underpriced garbage.



Would never buy coins from HSN...would rather buy them off of eBay, Teletrade, Heritage, the BST at CU, the Open Forum here, etc...

 

Your so right my friend!!

 

When I watch these shows, my heart goes out to ALL the unsuspecting and unknowledgable collectors....

They are theives of the HIGHEST order...Flim-Flam men, I just pray no one orders, but I know there is someone out there calling in, and ordering...

This goes for watches (and many other collectables) being sold on another channel...I have always told my children,.. The guilabilty and stupidity of this great nation will make you a millionaire.....AND you can do it Fair and Square....Both of them are well off to this day....and they do it Honestly.!!

One is in the Cell phone business and the other sells computers....neither are millionaires , but they see what I told them in everyday transactions...

 

Instead of wasting a bunch of time quoting people I'll waste time typing and recapping.

Big advertising dollars involved. A given.

Can the average person buy off of ebay and sell to them? Nope. They post on dealer networks and if they need it pay top dollar but can be slow to pay.

Do the coins they sell appreciate if brought into a dealer? I can't begin to tell you how many people I've "insulted" with offers at work. This happens a lot with ebay purchases too by the way.

Now a biggine IMHO. They sell in LOTS as in we have a LOT of 100 of these and once they're gone they're gone. Whoopededoo!
When was the last time you saw a lot of NGC G4 1909-SVDB Lincolns? 16-D Mercury dimes? 1877 Indian Cents? Shall I go on?

Point is, on the RARE occasion they sell an older coin it's common as heck, in a "grab bag" or silly set.

Ebay has a much bigger variety but a much larger chance of fakes and overgrading or just plain seller rip off. HSN has an audience of uninformed people taking their word for garbage in most cases.

Coin shops and shows sell coins and you see them as (hopefully) informed buyers. Give me a face to face transaction any day. I can always walk away.

 

I am not a fan of HSN for coins. I do like this thread though as it really emphasizes just how overpriced they are compared to other sellers (especially on ebay). This is not an attempt to hijack the thread but to expand on the OP's topic:

Has anyone ever purchased (or heard of someone purchasing) a coin on HSN, etc. that significantly appreciated over time so much so that it actually became worth what you spent or you were able to sell it at a profit?


TC

 

This is an example of why Cointalk is great. We share our experiences, our knowledge, our opinions, and our observations. Then we watch HSN for a good laugh at the end of the day!

 

Both companies are a joke IMO and any price comparistion listed can be beat at any coin show with a little leg work.
HSN is so bad a joke it should not even be considered as a possibility and eBay is not much better - they both serve to play on the fringes of true coin collecting and are not supported by me in any way.

 

SpaceforRent,

Great job. I've run comparisons using Coin World or NumNews for my wife who does shop on HSN the numbers were similar. However, I really like your approach.

HSN: You do get what they are offering and don't have to worry about fakes and other buyer bs. However, the real damage they do to the hobby is when someone tries to resell their stuff to a local coin store and gets all upset at the offer price. They end up thinking the coin dealer is the crook.

EBay: Fakes, counterfits and replicas. Hell, do they even sell real coins anymore?

alas,

rono

 

There have been a number of interesting replies to my OP. I think we all can agree that watching HSN Coin Vault is like passing a wreck ... you just have to slow down and look, but you end up with a real queezy feeling in your stomach and are a lot more cautious for a while.

This analysis was not meant to indicate that eBay was a better buy than HSN, or any other venue or shop of any kind. Although I have had positive experiences with PayPal and eBay, it doesn't mean that everyone has had the same experience - "buyer beware" regardless where you buy!

I will say that I agree that HSN is at least selling what they say, they are not pushing counterfeits, cleaned coins, etc. But - due to the fact that for the most part they sell to an 'uniformed' public, Joe Blow ends up 'thinking' he has something valuable or special, then assumes the Coin Shop (and the hobby by default) is trying to rip them when they hit hard times and try to cash in their HSN numismatic nest egg.

That and their 'special' relationship with the mint that allows then to have PR and MS70 slabbed coins for sale prior to them being released to the general public. That is just typical back room dealing to me and leaves a bad impression of the Mint and the Treasury department IMHO.