Beat out again.

If a coin is at auction and as part of the description it is listed as: “CDN $150 Whsle Bid”
What would be a reasonable bid? Is CDN pricing a reliable pricing guide?

 

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Heritage ? All those quotes and estimates they give are just that.

For really tough coins or ones that don't show up often, you either have to pass and be really patient or ante up.

For coins that appear weekly, you can be more price discriminating.

 

Yes at Heritage, this evening. I bid $360 and still lost. 1853-O half Dime. AU-53. I’ve been bidding well OVER price guides and still constantly losing. Either the guides are way off or there’s a lot of money available out there.

 

Or both.

 

Same auction, EF40 for $89, an AU58 went for $660 and an MS61 went for $600. Your AU53 for $384. Only the EF40 wasn't way off Numismedia prices. I think there must be a lot of COVID-bored money out there.

 

Regardless of what price guide "quotes", I put in my max bid
for a coin. If it is "rare", with only one or two auction appearences
in the last 25+ years then I really become a "bidiot" and put in a
bid that is several multiples of the estimate. Bottom line is, it's
what you've got in your collection that matters in this hobby. I
don't understand the phrase "the hunt is the best part". Hard to
enjoy looking at your collection with empty spots and think of
that statement. As they say, go big or go home.

 

People will overpay for coins. Ridiculously even. It seems worse on eBay. Just be glad you aren't overpaying for coins right? I only buy a coin if the bid is low enough I can at least get what I paid back after fees. If it goes higher than that is someone else overpaying

 

I get blown out of the water regularly in Heritage auctions, even when I bid full retail or even well above the previous auction results.

I don't buy many U.S. coins any more because of the grading issues, but it's been my observation that the only coins you are to get for the "wholesale price," if the CDN numbers are in fact wholesale, are going to be the coins that are over graded or have some issue. You might get lucky in some other auctions, but Heritage seems to get the highest bids of all. This has been especially true during the pandemic.

I read on one blog that "One buys the coin at Stacks-Bowers and resells it at Heritage." I don't know if it's quite like that, but it is an indicator.

 

I bid more than four times the estimate on a coin like that and still didn't get it. Second place is no fun in an auction unless you were going crazy with auction fever at the time and dodged a bullet.

 

Most all of the "auction house estimates" that I see are on the low side. I think the strategy is make you think that it will go cheap. That gets more people to watch and bid.

Setting minimums on auction lots kills bids for the big auction houses. Starting something off at $1 gets them going. I have found very few bargains at the big auction houses.

 

I generally avoid Heritage and Stack's.
Currently I'm not looking for high-end material so there's nothing they offer that I want.
I'm quite happy bidding at Great Collections.

 

One of my main factors when bidding high on a coin is how often that particular coin/date comes up for auction. If I don't want to wait 5 years then I'll be agressive.

 

Every time I have gotten into a new hobby -- coin collecting, auto detailing, dogs -- it's been when I've been at home/out of work.

I have no doubt that many people resurrected a lasped coin collecting hobby and discovered not only Ebay but HA and GC.

 

It has only been this past year or so that I found out the buyer pays auction fees. I found out while watching an Car Auction on TV that the price that wins the auction is not the final cost. This seems to be the save for coin auctions. I think that's a rip off. You don't go to the store and make the purchases and after they ring you up they add 10% or so (not counting sales tax. I don't do auctions for that reason. My coin collection is meager compared to most of you because of that. I used to buy things at ebay, but never bid on anything. It just doesn't seem right. Oh well. I guess I haven't found a coin that I was willing to purchase at an auction.

 

I agree. I've been looking at HA and even bid on a couple of coins, and being aware of the actual cost. When she actual cost is more than I want to spend, I drop out. I guess I'll stick to local coin auctions where I can also see the coins in hand.

 

Jim, lots of us get where you are coming from. And quite frankly, I think the mark-ups and commissions could be a bit less and still let the auction houses make some nice $$$ and we don't get 15-20% tacked on (GC charges 12.5% plus no sales tax ex-CA). At the same time, they provide a great service...stand behind their sales....and put out some very nice auction catalogs (I just got the Heritage 2012 Duckor FUN catalog that is 100% on Saints !! ).

But in the past, if you wanted a special coin your LCS had to have it...or you drove to several other coin shops in hopes of finding what you want. You call up a coin shop, they told you they had the coin in the condition you want, you drive 45 minutes there, and then it doesn't meet your standards when you hold it in hand.

Or you drive a few hours to a bigger regional coin show and strike out.

Or you go to one of the 3 big national coin shows -- like FUN -- where you are out $500 to $1,000 in transportation/hotel/dinner costs before you even buy a soda. And they PROBALY have what you want -- but if not, you're out even more $$$ and you got zippo.

Now....with a few clicks of the mouse...you can find the exact coin you want....with large, high def pictures to check the coin's appearance....all without leaving the comfort of your bedroom or living room etc. If you don't LIKE driving or travelling -- or if you physically can't -- then online is a huge blessing.

There's something to be said for that convenience. Is it worth an extra 5% or 20% ? Well, that's for every individual to decide.

I've only bought a few numismatic coins online (aside from commemoratives or bullion) but I've bought a bunch of currency which is even harder to find at an LCS or small regional coin show. How much time and travel would I have had to do to get the bills I got, assuming I could even find them within driving distance ? Who knows.....

The more obscure and difficult to find the collectible.... the more concenient and bettere online is than hitting websites, emailing, driving, etc. to track them all down.

 

What local coin auctions are you talking about -- estate sales ?

 

To each his own. I still believe that auctions are rip offs. I live in a small community without a coin store. The closest one is about 50 miles away in a large city that I wouldn't travel to.
Anyway, you have a point. (1) there is an added cost to travel to a LCS. (2) They probably won't have what you are looking for. (3) How bad do you want THAT coin.