Coin market in the last decade - how has it changed?

Well, it seems counter-intuitive, especially so for our hobby (which is an entity unto its own, honestly). BUT, when you consider, a bakery sells its packages of hot dog buns for 49 cents per pack, but you pay at the grocery store $2.99. Do we even think about that? Do we do price comparisons? Do we haggle at the register before we pay? These are interesting questions, and as we have a constantly changing society maybe this will happen in the future. I dont know, but its interesting, isn't it?

Any scenario is entirely possible, including that Morris was the actual consignor and they did not actually see with CNG and he just re-listed them for retail. Nobody knows but CNG and Morris.

Oooh. This was one point which I had thought to address, but got sidetracked. Many auction houses are simply listing machines. They take as many consignments as possible and have no care about value or price. They determine the staring price (low, to attract bids). If a lot sells for 10% of average they dont care. They get their commission no matter what happens. Honesty its a win-win situation for them (and I dont blame them).

Sure, one would suggest that they do indeed have a vested interest in the final sales price (and they do to some extent), but when they have a near monopoly on the market, no they dont care. 100 million dollars this year in sales, maybe 110 next year, 150 the next, they know they cant lose.

 

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Can someone bury this thread? Hit delete and then run a backup?

If you can't then I want to state that .........AUCTIONS stink, stay away from them. Thank you. Buy at VCoins.

Caveat Emptor.... and auctions need a lot of caveating....so do your emptoring at a dealer store.

I just remembered how I faced 15-17 bidders on a coin yesterday. No need for that.

 

I fully understand that and I don't mind the auction house making their money, I just didn't like the idea of this seller essentially adding another level on top of that without even physically having the coins he is selling(how can you sell a coin in good faith as authentic that you haven't observed in-hand?). Essentially LAC is being a drop shipper here and never even physically holds a portion of the coins he's putting up for sale.

 

Well, I addressed this before in this topic. A 'price realized' does not equate to a coin sold. Nor does any dealers published lists or websites of sold coins mean any transfer took place.

 

Well, I used to be good friends with the dealer in question, but havent had interaction with him for at least 20 years. So, I dont know what the situation is with these listings. Like I said, he may have been the consignor and his reserves were not met. Maybe he relisted them. I dont know. He may be the physical owner after all. Its just one of those auction unknowns.

 

Boy, you've certainly piqued my curiosity... why are you so negative about auctions?

Ancient coins are relatively unique even among a particular type -- even so-called "common" types like owls show a huge range of style, condition, centering, etc. What do you do if the ancient coin you really want is only available in an auction?

 

I have my eye on a specific coin, closing soon. Priced starting, well above what most would pay, but the seller knows and sees exactly what I do. I have not seen it for sale anywhere else, so I will try to get it at auction. Sometimes things are only at auction, not retail (and vice versa). I say that both as a dealer and collector. Sure, I want people to buy from me in both venues, but as a collector I will buy from wherever the coin originates (and this coin is not for resale, but for me. Assuming I get it, dont expect it to come around until I am either dead or close to it!).

 

I think 4to2ndCentBC was being funny-- trying to get rid of some bidding competition .

 

See above....
I just remembered how I faced 15-17 bidders on a coin yesterday. No need for that. (Cited from: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/coin-market-in-the-last-decade-how-has-it-changed.298813/page-4)

Remember my supply and demand curves?? I would rather decrease the demand at those auction sites. In fact, I want to be the lone bidder. I don't want to fight 17 people for the same coin. I couldn't adjust my bid upward fast enough at the end. A frenzy had ensued.

It happened to me in a couple of previous auctions also. The demand seems to have increased. If I had CNG's data, I could probably mine the hell out of it for value. I'd rather not say more than that.

My auction stance is all tongue in cheek of course. I can't stop the tide.

 

Oh. That's very different.

Never mind.

 

I had to dig and find this post.

I am buying a coin from a dealer who bought it in an auction about 3 weeks ago. I am paying an 'apparently' huge premium. Why? Well, I was chasing bigger fish, later on in the auction. And I dropped out when the bids got too high for me. So, no coins....nada. I didn't even give a hard look at the other coins, and the ones I looked at, I would need to see in hand to bid, so I didn't chase earlier lots.

As for the coin I am buying from the dealer (dealer paid approx $850 with fees)... Based on the original auction photo, I would have gone about 30% higher, plus the premium ($1,200 with fees) But I did not see it, and I would not have bid even if I did, because of the later lots...and there is no guaranteee I would have won it for 30% more. If I did not like the coin, I'd be stuck.

Now however, cash flow is a little better and now I have the option to still get it, with the right to return if I don't think it quite lives up to the image (I am a bit concerned about the reverse and a mark on the chin) The dealer bears the risk of getting the coin back. Thus the premium, for me, is just a cost of doing business. More circumstance and less convenience. I will end up paying about 25% more for the coin when it is all said and done. It will amount to a few hundred dollars that I will forget by next year. If the coin looks as good as I hope it does, then I will forget the premium even sooner.

And yes, I could have negotiated down, but I am giving this dealer a little room for now.

When it is all said and done, I will post the original auction pix and the photos I take and then the dealer photo.