Coin valuations/pricing

I Research with CDN app, TPG holder scan bar code, and coin facts.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I compare prices on ebay for coins I'm looking for with dealer websites. I have NOT seen dealer websites selling any cheaper than ebay. Not at all.

 

Really? How often do you sell coins on E-Bay? I sell hundreds of coins per year and I would not characterize it as "downright great for sellers!" E-Bay is a good source to sell coins that are priced under $500. There are a ton of tire kickers, chronic returners, and downright scam artists on E-Bay that sellers need to navigate through. Above $500 per coin, the buyer pool on E-Bay disappears. When I want to sell high value coins, I would rather consign them to Heritage. After all, the consignment fee really isn't that much higher than E-Bay fees and you are guaranteed that the coin will sell.

As for how much I am able to sell coins for in relation to price guides or auction archives, I find that my sale prices are pretty much in line with the previous auction prices realized and that there are plenty of knowledgeable buyers on E-Bay. Claiming that E-Bay sellers are basically fleecing the ignorant and achieving drastically inflated prices is not based in reality.

 

I hope it can say that you've learned to look past the crap listings, and you can buy occasional treasures there because the Knowledgeable Collectors overlook them.

It can also say that if you can consistently buy at X in venue A and sell at 1.5X in venue B, you've got yourself a business model, whether eBay is venue A, venue B, or both.

 

I check multiple sources including several price guides at both "wholesale" and "retail" levels, various auctions, and several other resources that may or may not be pertinent to the object of desire. And, of course, what I check depends upon what the coin is, it's general value level, and how dependent the value my be on small variances in quality, grade and eye appeal.

Yes, without question, there is much questionable pricing which is why self-education is so important. But to blanket state that the only pricing information that is even worth looking at is auctions and all others are so much bunkum is too narrow-minded, in my view.

 

I know what the answer is as many of them have purchased coins from me on there at one point or another and guess what they then ended up on their webpages listed for a HIGHER price which they sold for.

It's actually the opposite and heavily favored towards buyers and the amount of competition actively drives down prices on common things.

Simply not true. You're trying to dictate what you believe things are worth and are just calling things overpriced if you do not agree with it. Billions of dollars of coins are sold on eBay per year, the market sets prices

 

This has been my experience, although I haven’t typically seen my coins resold on eBay. I’ve noticed a business name on the buyer’s shipping address on more than one occasion.

I really don’t understand the aversion to using eBay for pricing, especially for certified US coins in the $100 to $500 range. By filtering out the higher price results I can usually get a good idea of what I should be paying, and I’ve never been very surprised when selling either. I use Heritage info as well and sometimes that helps me not to bid high, but I’ve gotten some not so good deals buying from them after accounting for the outrageous shipping and handling fees. I’ve found eBay to be a better place to buy the more commonly traded items. For nicer stuff Heritage and GC can be a better bet.

 

Rick Tomaska (R&I Coins) has purchased at least half a dozen of my coins over the years.

 

I agree and one of the things that people often forget is that when you buy from an auction house you have to pay for shipping and handling which is not reflected in the sales prices. On eBay shipping is basically always "free".

I generally haven't seen them relisted on eBay either, but if I do see a dealer name especially a big dealer I do get curious and check their site and have seen numerous ones listed there.

Some people get mad at that, I don't as more power to them if they can get more. Just always kind of makes me chuckle when people say you can only buy from xyz not realizing that

 

I don't really want to make a list but I don't think it's a secret that account buys on eBay is one that did from me too

 

I’ve bought coins on eBay that previously sold on Heritage for less, the same or just a bit more. Not years previously, but within a few weeks or months. Also there was one coin, a shield nickel, that I sold via eBay auction for a strong price. I saw it sell on Heritage a few weeks later for about the same price, which means they would have lost money after accounting for fees. It seems like a lot of people try to flip coins unsuccessfully.

 

Back in the good old days when we could go to coin shows I would see a coin graded and slabbed at a show and check eBay and could generally find it cheaper there. If the eBay seller has a return policy it's a no-brainer to purchase from them.

 

For sure and sometimes they are big or dealers as well. I'm a nobody in the big picture of the selling world and hope it didn't come across of trying to pump myself up. I just think it's silly to ignore something that sells billions a year and nobodies like me are selling to big time players which I know I am not the only one.

 

While i agree that price guides are not perfect, for *most* of us grey sheet and sold ebay auctions are a VERY good source of giving you a baseline of worth for many of the coins the average collector deals with. IMHO

 

This is exactly why I only buy the Red Book every other year. It takes Red Book a year to form the guide so they are actually a year behind. It is a good resource as long as you understand the reality of the book. There are several resources that are more current and valuable also good luck.

 

I only buy coins I can see in hand. When I go to a coin auction I pick up the sheet listing the coins for sale. I then write the prices of coins that I would have bought if I had the funds. And I keep the sheet for later reference so I have an idea of what coins in my area go for.

 

Put on ebay with clear photos and proper description. Start auction at 99 cents so it's free usually. Coin will sell for 95 - 200% of retail price. Rinse and repeat. 160 million people regularly use ebay. They can tell you how many visits there are to coins. Avoid trying to sell coins with little or no value

 

We have a moderately educated community here, including quite a few dealers. I wonder what percentage of our community BUYS coins on e-bay?

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/buying-on-e-bay.365268/