I happened across this BIN lot soon after it appeared this evening: Lot of 4 U.S. Silver Half Dollars: dates from 1869 - 1908 I spent the next few minutes dashing back and forth among eBay sold listings for the date, NumisMedia listings, and the large images, trying to figure out whether there was any way that that 1896-S Barber was worth less than the $290 BIN price all by itself. I had just about convinced myself that it was a sure thing, even if it turned out to be cleaned -- but someone else was a little more self-confident, and snatched it out from under me. I haven't been buying nearly as much over the last few months, mainly because my usual tactic of camping on new BIN listings hasn't been turning up anything worthwhile. I'm feeling some pretty powerful regret about letting this one slip through my fingers. Maybe this will make it easier for me to move decisively the next time an opportunity comes up. I hope it doesn't make me too risk-happy...
I've been there my friend. Many times I've seen a 'buy it now' pop and I think to myself, I'm pretty sure that's a good deal, but let me just double check. A minute or two goes by, and it's gone. The silver lining is that you'll make fewer mistakes by double checking. In essence you didn't lose money by not buying. I know I've pulled the trigger too fast once or twice thinking I needed to snatch it up before the next guy sees it, and wound up regretting it. So the couple of minutes it takes to verify can also be a good thing.
Oh, I've made very few mistakes in that time -- but I've also made very few purchases. The easiest way to avoid losing money is never to risk any. But it's so boring...
Similarly, I can ensure that I never say anything stupid here by never posting. But I already do that on millions of other sites. Come to think of it, I've never lost money on a boat, or a horse race, or a divorce...
I saw a 2004 proof ASE that was not in OGP for $33 on a BIN. I was going to buy it when 20 minutes later someone else bought it.
