I am not understanding why those selling US silver dime rolls on Ebay appear to be ignoring the current spot price of silver. I am seeing sellers that are listing unsearched rolls of old dimes for $179. I watched one offer expire with zero bids at that price, but durn an hour later there it was again being relisted at the same absurd price. This in spite of the fact some of the visible dimes on the ends of the rolls are worn, and very much not AU. Even searched pseudo (50 dimes loose) rolls of pre 1964 dimes 'average wear, common coins' are starting at over $100.. ($120+ in many cases). I am not understanding that. There are 13.5 US silver dimes to the ounce, and a current spot price of $22.30 means each silver dime roll is only worth about $83. Why in gosh name are they being priced so high, and why are so many people being dumb enough to pay 2 or 3 (or 5!) times what 50 old dimes of minimal numismatic value is worth?
It's the result of FeeBay's new(ish) marketing scheme: Free listings, higher than ever final value fees, and lousier than ever customer service.
Well, I see some being relisted with zero bids, but I also watched one bagged lot of 50 dimes I was willing to go 90 for as junk silver go for over 200. I am not understanding that. Are there that many idiot buyers out there? The fees are based on a percentage. The higher your asking price, the higher the fee. I looked at one seller's Ebay store after he/she relisted for twice the probable value with zero bids the first time. He/she has significant inventory, much of it way overpriced at todays' spot and Blue Book and with zero bids. So again I am not understanding. Successful businesses rotate their inventory. Old stuff sold, new stuff listed. That vendor is acting like the goal is to collect inventory by having zero sales. LoL.
Sellers have been ignoring spot price for a long time, especially when it's on the way down. For example, the cheapest BIN for 90% junk silver such as '64 Kennedy halves is 26X face while melt is somewhere around 15X to 16X face. The cheapest ASE I could find (BIN) was $30.35. They're still hoping to get bites at the higher price, and often do.
LoL. Well I guess this may be a good time to put 50 worn out Mercury dimes up for $150 and then just see.
FeeBay has been offering a lot more free listings now than they ever have in the past. If it doesn't cost you anything to list an item, why not shoot for the moon?
The thing is you don't have to accept these prices at all, there is other places to shop for bullion. I agree its crazy but what's more crazy is a simple google search and you can find 90% junk silver for around 18x face from most major retailers so why even bother with eBay....
Because I've picked up silver for 50% of spot on FeeBay. Sure, it took me a long time to find, and my time would have been better spent working on the side for money that I could use to buy even more silver at spot, but still...
So... you expect every successful business to offer at today's spot and simply eat the 13%+ fees? One can only be successful rotating inventory if it is done so profitably, so in some cases it is better to sit than sell for whatever price someone else thinks they should. If you want to buy junk dimes, there are plenty of places where you can do so at prices more to your liking, but it may take a little more effort than going to one site and pressing a few keys. Ebay is ebay... take the good with the bad and don't worry about what someone else is asking for their items. Blue book? Seriously?
I don't think it's a whole lot different at coin shops. For example, I called a local coin shop last week and asked what their current price for junk silver, he told me 19.5x face. When he could tell I was disappointed, he said something to the effect that, "Most of my inventory came when silver was up and I can't lose money on these coins," then later "just because a computer tells me that silver price is down, doesn't mean I have to sell it at that." While I fully agreed that he is under no obligation to sell junk silver at the going rate, I also let him know that I can't afford to overpay for those items either. Before getting off the phone I then, sort of jokingly, asked what he was BUYING at since that silly computer didn't matter. He laughed, knowing what I was doing, and quoted me a number from a website. Anyway, I don't blame him. Maybe in a few months, when he builds up an inventory of his current buy rates, I'll go back and ask again.
