I don't understand ebay and its people

I listed this cull IH cent and actually got 4 bids on it. Ending at $4.33. Over double what I was hopeing for.

Did I miss something?

 

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What's to miss?

They wanted it, you sold it.

Ship it is your next step.

 

On E-Bay, low-end coins go high. High-end coins go low. That's the mark of unsophisticated buyers - they can't tell the difference.

A great coin is best sold to a knowledgeable buyer, because the difference between greatness and mediocrity is often subtle.

Don't get me wrong - there are some strong folks on E-bay, both buying and selling. But it's the unsophisticated who bid up junk. The strong buyers are cautious on e-bay because they prefer to see the coin in-hand before throwing down a bid. Thus it's tough to sell strong coins there, even to strong buyers.

 

I have noticed that before with poor coins.
Maybe I should only sell the ugly ones I have, I could be rich!!!

 

It seems to happen quite often... just get two people bidding on the same item and bingo.. sells for more than you think it should.

 

I notice this more with Large cents than anything. I have often thought of buying my local shops low grade large cents(problem free coins of course) and selling them on ebay. They seem to pay twice what you can get them from dealers.

 

I paid 25 cents for this beauty at a shop

 

I see nothing wrong with someone paying too much for a coin, as long as the listing was accurate and truthful, which I believe your's probably was. Some people just like to buy stuff on the internet, and get caught up in bidding wars all too often. Congratulations on a decent profit!!!

 

You did good for that coin. I bought one at a local auction a couple of years ago for $1. You beat that price by over $3.

 

this may be why I have trouble buying holed coins on Ebay (for my Holed Type Set) lol

 

Maybe the buyer thought it looked like a 1888/7, 1888/887. I can't tell from the photos if the markers are there.

But an interesting question, is what if it was ? would the tone of the replies change?

Jim

 

It looks like a plain 88 to me.

 

That's ebay for ya, you just never know!! My guess is there's alot of kids who bid on those. Heck, try it again!! good luck :thumb:

 

anyone want to sell me a roll of culls for like $5-$10?

 

Be glad it did sell for that much. With what Ebay and Paypal charges sellers in fees these days you're going to need that extra money just to pay them off and break even on the deal.

 

I'm not as experienced buying and selling on Ebay as most of you, but I have not found any steals or a great deal people spending more for coins than they are worth. I recently sold some Franklin Half Dollars on Ebay, and I think the buyers paid a fair price, nobody paid a crazy high price, and most were right at Grey Sheet.

I see a little over paying with bullion, where people are spending four or five dollars over spot, but that includes shipping so even that isn't so bad. So from my experience it seems that most of the people buying and selling coins on Ebay, have some basic idea as to the value of the coin. At least as best as you can tell from a photo.

 

in defense of the buyer...

consider how much time and convenience he saved by paying an extra buck or two . . . he didn't have to get in his car, use gas, purchase Numis News to scan ads, or drive to a dealer, etc etc. Instead he probably filled a hole with the utmost of ease and convenience . . . . I'd rather overpay by a few dollars and have the transaction take 10 seconds if I can do it all from my home (and have it delivered to my home -- aka USPS), rather than find a dealer who is open during hours when I'm not at work, drive to the place, etc etc . . . . all for a $2 or $3 coin?

knowhatimean . . . ?

as a working theory, it certainly helps explain why low end coins sell at a higher price than 'book value' . . .

 

4.33 final value
+ 1.25 Shipping
total 5.58
- .64 postage
- .45 packaging
- .15 gas
- .53 ebay fee
- .46 paypal fee
- .25 coin cost
final total 3.10 profit


NOT BAD AT ALL:whistle:

 

Congrats, but if you continue to sell items on Ebay you may find that turning a decent profit is the exception more than the rule. Btw, you state in your original post that you consider the coin to be a "cull". The coin to me looks like a G-4 or better. Why do you consider it a cull?

 

No Delivery Confirmation? Brave seller!