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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;johnmilton, post: 8077292, member: 101855&quot;]I am not big fan of using auction prices exclusively as a price guide, especially for less than really scarce material. It seems to me that some people bid a lot more in the auction setting than they are willing to pay if the same coin were offered to them at coin show or even a store. The prices realized in some these auctions are crazy, especially when you add the buyers’ fee, which some people seem to ignore.</p><p><br /></p><p>If auctions were truly the panacea that their advocates claim, then everything would be sold at them, and the dealers would go out of business.</p><p><br /></p><p>If you are talking about something that really is hard to find, then yes, auctions can be the best indicator, but not the only one. Watch out for outlier prices that are way ahead of other results.</p><p><br /></p><p>Edited to add that there are some dealers who overcharge as a matter of policy. They say that the prices guides are all wrong, and the “real prices” are two, three or more times the price guide numbers. I have seen this, especially with the British coins I collect. I don’t know how they stay in business, but some dealers try to charge these inflated numbers. </p><p><br /></p><p>The price guide might be inaccurate, but most often, it’s not THAT wrong. In a dealer is quoting you numbers like that, back away. There are times when the market is overheated, and that is true. But those might be the times when you need to keep your powder dry, and watch things develop.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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