I do my research first. Here are some tips to follow. 1/ TPG slabbed vs UK/ European raw graded. A CNG/ Kùnker/ Spink EF coin is equal to TPG MS-62-65/ 2/ Obscure Auctions are where one can score steals. 3/ Brouse the "unsold " lots/ some excellent deals. 4/ Do not get into a bidding war/ let opponent get their coin 5/ The more reference books/ old auction catalogues the better to compare prices/ rarity 6/ Remember prices have escalated 1000 fold since 1924/ 10X inflation over that time. I have one coin with Berlin auction tag from 1936/ it hammered for 25RM ($5) in 2019 I won it for 4100SFs Sincona Auction. In 2024 a similar coin/ but not as high quality sold for 6500US. Even more/ I won a 1633 K-B FDC AV Dukat Hungary/ HRE Ferdinand II (Polish auction) in Zloty= $4300US. Another sold in Slovak event Macho& Chlapocik for 24K Euros in 2021. Heree are both coins I got....
I don’t view proxy bids like sniping. During the live bid process, the runner up can bid again. With snipping the lot closes, then the snip comes in and you have no recourse after submitting the highest bid during the normal bidding process. I have lost lots by a couple of cents. That stinks, and I refuse to have anything to do with eBay auctions because of it.
It already has been written. You may not care for it's author, I don't know, but I think it's great quote: "The reward for conformity is that everyone likes you but yourself." Rita Mae Brown I think people admire your frankness more than you suspect.
I found that I was often losing a bid to a buyer/seller who would outbid a number of fair bids by a small percentage. Then, turn around and resell the coin for an up charge. Weren’t even hobbyists. Just business people. You had to be a sniper if you really had eyes for a specimen.
Prices in guidebooks and online sites do tend to be on the high side. There are some reasons for it. They are projecting into the future to some extent and expect prices to rise. Most of the books and online sites have close ties to coin sellers (dealers and auction houses) whom they want to please. So, a dealer or auction house can point to a price or sales result and say that what they’re asking or an auction result is in line with price guides. I’ve never bid on a coin on eBay. All my purchases there are either BIN or MO. And often, if an interesting coin is on eBay, I find a way to contact the seller outside of eBay and sometimes make a deal that way. I bid on coins offered by established auction houses. If I see an interesting coin coming up for auction, I watch it. If the high bid becomes unreasonable, I quit watching. If a coin is still on the watch list and I really want it, I’ll bid my max, based on auction price research, a day before the auction. Sometimes I’ll come back and tweak it up a little before the auction starts. I never bid when an auction goes live with one exception. The exception is if desirable, nearly identical coins are offered in succession and I don’t win the first, I’ll bid on the second. Cal
I very much agree with what KBBPLL had to say. I will just add a statement my father who was a wheeler/ dealer his whole life use to say. "First you have to decide what you think it is worth, than do what you think is best." I usually prefer to make my bid and let it ride, James
