Hoardesr at coin auctions.

Most of us coin collectors don't buy a whole bunch at a time, not unless we can get it dirt cheap.

If I buy a couple pieces, John buys a couple pieces, and Dave buys a few pieces, it works out well.

However there is this couple in their 60s that has been hitting auctions for the past two months.

These people are rich, and have millions of dollars, farms, houses, etc.

You would think someone with millions would just go to a coin shop if they want a coin.

But no....they go to almost EVERY auction in the area that has coins.

They don't buy one piece, they buy EVERYTHING.

They do not sell it, they do not have a shop, they just buy it and pack it away.

Getting back to what I originally said, if one collector only takes a few items, things turn out well, because everyone gets a chance.

These people are simply greedy. They always want the 1st bid so they can suck up everything.

Tonight they had 20 peace dollars.

I ran them up to $30, and took just one I liked.

Next time they sold for $27. They took 18 of them, $486 in a blink of an eye.

They always want the 1st bid, and they will drive you out because they will often bid over value. Once they have that 1st bid, they take it all usually.

It's really starting to tick me off, because they keep buying more and more.

All I can do really is just keep bidding against them, if they want to paying high prices, I will gladly make them pay it.

 

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And thats why they're rich. They hoard the more valuable things so other people can't get it. When prices go up they sell them to get more money. And also why would they go to a coin shop? You can say they have money but that doesn't mean a thing to them. They still want to get things as cheap as possible to save money or to maximize their profits.

 

Well, I'm glad you got all that out of your system and I can feel your frustration. All I can say is do something different that your buying competition isn't doing. You're not missing out, you're just finding better opportunities elsewhere. There's no sense having a mental constipation over it.

 

Seriously, another post crying about being outbid at auctions?

You're starting to sound like these people have it in for you. Accept it, some people have more money than you and are willing to spend it. $30 for a common date Peace dollar is not unreasonable. Neither is $27.

Why would you say they are greedy? Let me relate my perspective on collecting. I fell into the hobby a few years ago when my mother-in-law passed away, and left my wife and I several boxes of what she described as "old money". This was the first time I had seen (or even knew about) Morgan and Peace dollars. As we assessed and valued the contents, which worked out to a couple thousand dollars, we decided to keep and add to the collection rather than go through the hassle of trying to sell. We did not need the money. Since that time I have added to the collection and discovered another benefit. My grandaughter (4 y/o) loves to sit with pappap and look at money. She can't read, but she understands how to handle coins, and even knows how to put them in 2x2's. I hope she aintains the interest throughout her life.

Back to the couple you're complaining about. First, where does their money come from? I would be willing to bet they worked for it over the years. You said they are in their 60's. That's a llot work and effort over the years. Why can't they enjoy their money? Let me tell you what I think about this from my perspective.

I am in my 50's, still working at a career that spans almost 30 years. I am by no means rich, but make a comfortable living doing what I do. My family knows that when the time is right, my collection goes to my granddaughter. She'll be free to do what she wants with it. She can continue to add to it or sell it. She loses no money by selling, as she has nothing invested. The selling priice is pure profit for her. So maybe the couple in question is doing exactly that, saving tangible assests for the grandkids, who when they get the hoard and sell, make 100% of the selling price on the items.

 

A nice brie or camembert will go nicely with your whine.

That's the name of the game in auctions. Those who pay the most wins. If you were the person who put these items up for auction, these are the exact people you want bidding on your stuff.

Your time will come. Increase your knowledge, fatten your wallet, then go out and play the auction game. With added experience, you'll be buying quality and not quantity and you might find a treasure that no one else there knows about.

*I went to a junk auction where it was household items eg. tupperware, dishes, garden tools etc. and I bought a box of "camera parts". This box of "camera parts" turned out to be two 19th century view cameras complete but disassembled. I paid $5 for the box. I sold the two cameras a year later for $3,500.

 

I sort of agree with omaha.... most people attend auctions with the idea that they can something for less than fair market value, even "dirt cheap". I've only attended a few "live" auctions, and I can understand the OP's frustration. During that time, I kept thinking "if only so-and-so hadn't been here, all these coins would have been mine." And it's nice to be able to walk away with bargains. But getting into a bidding war to satisfy one's ego can become a financial hardship unless you have deep pockets, which this couple obviously has. Again, keep in mind the maximum you would pay, and then stop bidding at that amount. I think driving up the price just "to make them pay" is the wrong philosophy.

 

Indeed, this constant whining is growing tiresome.

 

I think I have put on more coin auctions then I have actually attended. For some people it's like a gambling addiction... They can't stop... I would much much rather buy coins through a dealer... Not to mention all the counterfeit and problem stuff that gets fenced at some of the auctions.

 

I second this loudly! Other than Heritage and maybe teletrade I mainly buy from dealers. I only use ebay rarely to look for varieties - and I don't think I have bought off of it in months.

 

I doubt this couple is overpaying. If they are then you can profit by becoming a seller.

 

I hear what you are saying OP but I have done exactly what you described. I am not sure about the price point for the coins you are talking about, but I have gone to an auction and bought 70% of the coins there. I have also found a seller on Ebay who had a mini hoard of coins, and I bought every single one. I bet other Ebayers thought I was a greedy little pig, but whatever. When I can buy Cleopatra VII bronzes for less than $20 a piece, yes I am buying every single one. I simply don't care I now have about 25 of them, $20 is too cheap.

Again just gets back to knowledge. Maybe they are overpaying for these. Maybe they saw a good coin in that group and wanted to buy all of them to make sure they got it, I just don't know. If the prices are too high, go to a local coin show. Less stress, more coins available, and you can actually learn a lot talking to the nice dealers.

Just my 2 cents.

Chris

 

So, stop whining and getting mad, become filthy rich and go buy every coin you possibly can.

 

"I hear what you are saying OP but I have done exactly what you described. I am not sure about the price point for the coins you are talking about, but I have gone to an auction and bought 70% of the coins there. I have also found a seller on Ebay who had a mini hoard of coins, and I bought every single one. I bet other Ebayers thought I was a greedy little pig, but whatever. When I can buy Cleopatra VII bronzes for less than $20 a piece, yes I am buying every single one. I simply don't care I now have about 25 of them, $20 is too cheap." -Medoraman


+1

I've done the same thing. You play the averages. If you start out buying everything, that knocks out some of the other bidders and you can pick up a some bargains. Doesn't always work but when it does, you can score big.

 

I dealt with a customer a few years ago who bought coins at action pretty regularly. Specifically one place here locally. He had decided to sell most of his collection because he was retiring and wanted to buy a new house. He came in several times with generic silver dollars and coins.... common silver value based stuff... as he got to his "better stuff" I quickly noticed that most of the stuff he bought was either cleaned or problem in the type coins... I explained the reasoning behind my pricing and went on. The last thing he pulled out was a bag of gold coins. There were 23 coins he had bought from the auction over time ranging from gold dollars to 20 gold pieces... most of which were still in this particular auction house's holders... I noticed right off the bat that a lot of the coins were suspicious and were most likely counterfeit... I explained to him that it would be in his best interest to have them certified before we deal on them because from what I see and as the coins were (certified)... I was going to buy them for scrap because they looked bad. He had bought these as all originals from the auction of course... NGC determined that 19 of his 23 coins were counterfeit and the other 4 all went into genuine cleaned holders... He has not happy.

 

I bet he wasn't happy but I'd have zero sympathy for the guy either unfortunately. I don't feel bad for people who make poor buying decisions, especially when it comes to high ticket items. Educate yourself before blowing your money away I always say.

 

+1

Knowledge is power!

 

Great story Matt.

Listen, I know everyone wants bargains, its human nature. But coin collecting is also a learning curve. Starting the curve you REALLY need the help of a good dealer to show you a good coin versus a bad one, how to buy, etc. They may SEEM high, but that is the value of a good coin. Once you get a few years under your belt, then you can go to places like you describe. Trust me, when you go back to a lot of these places you will instantly see how much of what they sell is junk, and you would not even consider buying them at any price. Yes, occasionally you can get a good coin, but I have walked in to local coin auctions, spent 5 minutes looking at lots, and just walked out. This was a 350 lot auction, and simply nothing there I wished to own. Other times I got lucky and few people showed up, and they were nice original coins, so I bought most of them. Those kinds of auctions are RARE. Most are the first variety.

Point is, Matt is on target. This seller skipped the part of learning to know good coins, and simply led face first with his wallet. Many people do the same, thinking they don't need to "overpay" at a dealer. I had told this story before, but my favorite dealer growing up had a standing order with a local auctioneer. He bought about 2 rolls of crummy silver dollars, a scattering of "problem" type coins, and a cheap, crummy gold coin. This was EVERY SINGLE WEEK. The prices back then were about $5 per silver dollar, (they were really crummy). I went to the auction one time and all of them sold for between $10-15. The dealer knew this was going on, but told me, "Its not my problem people want to overpay. I cannot educate anyone if they refuse to buy from me".

I know this advise is repeated OP, its just we are trying to help. I have a bunch of crummy, cleaned coins I bought when I was younger because they were "deals". Well, today they are still crummy coins that I don't like, and never will. I did buy some good coins from that dealer, and I still cherish them.

 

I agree with mostly everyone's comments.

I too hardly ever see good coins at auctions. It usually if a elderly couple dies, and their contents get auctioned off.....if your lucky and the family doesn't take it all (which is their right).

If I can get coins cheap, to make a profit it on, I will buy them. This is usually stuff that just clutters up a safe, worn to nothing silver coins, cleaned pennies, etc.

I'm not mad one bit. It just kinda sucks that these people are eliminating good deals.

I don't ever go to an actual coin auction, meaning nothing but coins, but I go to estate auctions.

Usually if a real coin auction takes place on the same weekend, all the dealers will be there, and not at the estate sale with coins.

All I can do is make them pay more, and then maybe they might back down a little.

I'm not greedy, I just want a couple coins. If I had millions to blow, then I would buy coins off the internet or something. Who cares about saving a few dollars on coins when you have 7 figures in your bank account?

I am learning, albeit slowly, on how to tell the bad from the good.

 

I have to disagree with some of what has been said in response to your OP.

Don't stop putting messages like your OP on this board. Check out the responses... A lot of good information is in those messages. This kind of discussion is how I learn.

I went to an auction many years ago with the intention of bidding on some silver dollars that were advertised as being up for bid. When the first one came up, one guy bid. No one else did. I waited because I had no experience. I wanted to see how it worked. Before I knew it, the auctioneer says something along the lines of - as long as no one disagrees, I'll sell all of the 20 silver dollars to John for his bid price (in other words it looks like John is the only one bidding on the coins). I was in the back of the room and froze - afraid to speak up. I missed out on all coins.

Chalk that one up to experience. Learn from it...