Ever jump the gun and purchase a coin, only to read up on something while waiting for it to arrive and realize it was not a good buy?
I am still new to collecting and think this was not a good buy with all the reading I have done regarding toned peace dollars http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=110920438201
Ewww! That is one butt-ugly Peace Dollar. It has none of the characteristics a naturally-toned Peace Dollar would have. (Keep in mind that Peace Dollars are not known for "monster" toning.) If you plan to continue to buy toned coins you should educate yourself on how to tell the difference between NT (natural toning) and AT (artificial toning).
Good advice from rodeoclown and Hobo xtent. It's frustrating at times, but you have to make the time and effort to educate yourself on anything you collect before you buy. It will save you a ton of money and heartbreak in the long run, and also give you a sense of confidence that what you're buying is the real thing. Good luck. Bruce
Red flag #1. Could be true, but more likely it's a sob story for marketing the coin, which looks to be worth melt, not $50.
What works for me is to search for items several days ahead that interest me and put them on my Watch List. Then carefully read the description and based upon what I see decide on a max bid. Then let the items set for 2-3 days; that kills the desire to impulse bid. Later I revisit my Watch List, delete the items that no longer interest me and put my max bid on those that do. For me that process helps me avoid stupid bidding.
Making mistakes is only natural when it comes to starting off. The most important thing is to learn from your mistakes. Read through others advice, google is your friend and books are a must buy. Also, keeping an open mind is a must. Been stubborn will do nothing but impede your learning and coin collection. My 2 IHCs.
Although I am new to coins, I have only have had a couple instances where I expereienced buyer's remorse. I read online that a good place to find silver coins is at antique stores and flea markets since they are marked once and this price doesn't really change even though market rates do all the time. I thought this one antque flea market would be a good combo of both. I walked in toward the end of closing on a not so popular day when anotherr big flea market goes on. I encountered a guy selling coins. He had some plastic slabs with common date wheat cents he was selling for a dollar when he told me he knew they were only worth 3 cents a piece. He tried to sell me a VG 1927 standing for $15 and was selling dateless buffalo nickels for a dollar a piece. As you could tell, he was grossly overcharging for everything. Of course I bought a couple foreign coins that looked silver and he oftered me a deal 7 for $5 not including the dateless buffalos. Of course I went back and got more for that price. Turns out those coins are only worth $1.50-$2. He looked through the coins and said "this one was good", speaking of a 1921 Finland Pennia worth 50 cents to a dollar, the only one anywhere near worth what he was charging. He knew they weren't worth anything and to think I was going to get silver from someone trying to jip the general unknowing public was kind of ridiculous. I think it is ok to buy something you don't know much about from a seller who you consider fair but you are not going to get a deal like silver at a cheap price from someone who wants to overcharge. He certainly can overcharge some people but once they figure out they were worth they are just not going back. I should have known better based on what he was charging for things I knew about. The other time I experienced buyers remorse was on a Barber quarter and dime from a local B & M shop but fortunately, he allows returns and exchanged them. I also bought this ugly Barber quarter at melt from the junk bin and he let me bring that back to. He had some quarters in his 2X2s that hadn't been priced in a while and got 2 much nicer quarters at close to melt, the same price as the ugly quarter. One good thing about a B & M shop is they are there all the time and do accept returns.
For small value coin purchases, I've done it a couple of times. But who cares if I spent $1.60 on a coin that is only worth $1.20?
1300 regular pounds of silver would be worth almost $500,000. If gramps really was dying of cancer, wouldn't you think they would sell it all to a dealer in one lump sum, instead of selling it slowly, bit by bit? I agree BU...made up sob story.
Of course you are talking though about coins bought online. I think though it is easier to have buyer's remorse in person since you don't always have a ton of resources at your fingertips to have an idea what something is worth. I tend to plan bids using guides that are on the low end and downgrade them a little just in case of an issue I am unaware of.
I've overpaid quite few times. I do my best to try and learn up on coins, but sometimes I go to auctions on spur of the moment. Usually I can look coins up on my phone, but not all places have good signal coverage, which has lead to some bad purchases. At what I have seen some coins bring @ auction, yes, a lot of people need to learn. Red Book is good advice, but not good pricing. I've seen a lot of people bid red book prices on coins. Always check complete eBay/TT/HA auctions for an accurate price. I can buy coins listed in the RB for $20, for $5-$10.
Yes really, who cares if you pay a tiny bit more? I overpaid a few cents for a couple of 40% halves worth melt. I no longer overpaid that since silver is up today so now I paid a little under melt.
Even Ebay can be a bad reference since people pay more for some coins there. I bought VG common date Barbers at a PM shop for melt and VG standing for $6.50-$7 when melt was $6. Even when the dealer said that the quarters all start at $7 and dimes at $3 when I encountered a mercury dime priced 50 cents under melt his prices were still more reasonable than Ebay. Then again, I went back a couple months later and got another VG Barber at melt but some in the books were marked a little too high, especially a heavily cleaned, common date, VF dime that was $6. Then of course there was another guy there, using the gray sheet on junk Barber halves in the junk bin. Prices can be really subjective.
This coin is listed at $2 on Numismedia and I paid $2.75 but to me, it is worth the extra 75 cents. Maybe I could get it at a show cheaper but not really since you have to pay admission. Like people say though, I don't care about 75 cents.
Got caught up bidding on a few coins at live auctions a few times, but I've learned to set a limit on any coin that I want and stop there.
Good heavens yes. I've done stupid with 0's on the end. All you can do is shake it off, learn from the mistake, and not make it again. Sounds like you've learned, and this one didn't have too many 0's attached.
