Where does GSC get their coins from?

No matter what reservations one may have of Great Southern Coins (GSC), they seem to be churning out some really rare or otherwise high dollar value coins on their auctions on a consistent basis.

So where do they get their coins from? Do they themselves simply go to large auctions and buy those lots? If so, which auctions? And, it's not just GSC, there are a number of other sellers on the 'Bay that consistently auction off some rare varieties. I have a feeling that it's more than just a large hoard or two that any of these sellers came across.

Thanks in advance!

 

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This is secondhand info, but I was considering buying an AU details bust half in an NGC cleaned holder at the Baltimore show several years ago. The dealer said, "If you don't buy it, I know the buyer for GSC will. They buy all my problem coins, crack em out, and sell em on eBay raw."

 

Beat me to it.

 

Yup, no other reasons to sell any $1K+ coins raw. All their pics look good, buttt...

 

Holy conspiracy batman!

Now it all makes sense.

 

I'm not saying it's necessarily true, but that's what the dealer at the show told me to my face, and I'm not a liar.

 

I wonder if they also have an arm that rents out hotel conference rooms with granny ads in local papers.

 

It seems that a lot of people are in agreement that GSC is committing a conspiracy to deceive buyers - didn't mean to antagonize

That system of acquiring new coins makes a ton of sense. It's not like they come upon those hoards on a regular basis lol.

At the next coin show, anyone of us can bring them a slabbed problem coin and see if they want to buy it. And bring them a really nice graded example, and see if they want to buy that one, too.

 

I find it interesting that their estimated revenue is only $120k... seems like they sell a lot more high value coins than that from ebay sales. Bad margins? too many returns?

 

That figure has to be erroneous.... unless that's the amount they raised at a brick and mortar location (if they have one). Anyway, that figure is the revenue, so costs wouldn't be deducted. Tax avoidance? lol

 

Canceled sales? ...? Manta has about the same estimate, and I'm assuming these numbers are based on taxes paid (not self-reported). I just find it strange and have been wondering since I first noticed. Maybe, they aren't doing as well as outward appearances make us believe..

 

Those on-line estimates are hard to trust.

 

Has anyone noticed how they no longer do 99 cents no reserve all the time anymore? They have minimum bids on some of the nicer stuff now. To me that means they're trying to stop losing money in a down market. That would also mean they don't shill bid as much as people think they do/did.

 

I didn't take it that way at all. I'm just covering my butt so no one can cry, "libel!"

 

Or maybe eBay cracked down on them for shill bidding. They're a big producer for eBay so a suspension is not likely to happen but like they told NNC to start blacking out their grades last year, maybe they told GSC to knock the shilling off.

 

"To win a defamation case, a plaintiff must show four things: 1) a false statement purporting to be fact; 2) publication or communication of that statement to a third person; 3) fault amounting to at least negligence; and 4) damages, or some harm caused to the person or entity who is the subject of the statement."
-https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/defamation

I think you'll be ok ;p

 

Haven't made any coin searches on eBay in probably close to 5 years but "GSC" is so ingrained in my mind that I knew exactly what this thread was going to be about. The logo, the over saturation, the convenient use of the black/white filter, the light glare at just the right spot, it's all coming back.

Thanks for the anecdote @C-B-D! I'm storing that away in my memory.

This may give a good chuckle to someone, from the GSC website: "Our buyers travel all over the country searching for unique investment opportunities for our clients. Because we buy such volume, we are able to pass on our discounts to our customers."
https://www.greatsoutherncoins.com/about-us

 

No, no, I meant the cries of libel from armchair CT lawyers lol

 

Oh boy. You don't know what you missed while you were away tommy, with a guy thinking he cherrypicked an 09vdb matte proof from GSC a few months ago.