So I haven't got anything graded yet but I'll want to eventually. Will I spend less on grading if I wait to go to a show somewhere and get it graded while I'm there? I know I'll save shipping but do they also usually do it for a discount too? I see people selling coins sometimes for less than I would pay just to have it slabbed. I don't understand that.
Your best bet is to piggyback on a bigger order or a bulk lot it cuts the shipping. The show turn grade is more expensive and otherwise you got to pay for return shipping. There are a lot of coins that sell for less then grading fees. A lot of times you can buy them for far less then it would cost you. Better that then be the one that takes the initial bath on it
So how much should I expect to pay to have a coin slabbed? After figuring shipping and everything..... I would like to do it some but from what I saw, I'm looking at like $30+ per coin I think. That seems crazy!
Economy shipments are about $20-22 a coin depending I usually wait to I got 20 or so before I send them. Then the extras spread out per coin. Is not such a big deal when your sending $1000+ coins but when you got a bunch of 75-300 coins it matters. Sometimes I'll even throw in a $40-50 coin in a shipment when I got nothing in them
Your best bet is to accumulate a large group of coins (100+) worthy of grading, then negotiate a bulk deal. Once you've secured the deal, then figure a minimum grade that will be worth the cost of grading once sold. Just my two cents.
Wow....I figured I was just missing something. I can't imagine ever needing 100+ coins slabbed at once. I guess getting things slabbed is a big boys game.
yes it can be costly, check these out an research them for yourself.... http://www.pcgs.com/ http://www.ngccoin.com/news/benefits-of-grading.aspx http://www.anacs.com/contentPages/Services.aspx 100 coins at once is for dealers, not your average collector...
The key is to learn how to grade coins as they do, before you start sending them to be validated, learning about cleaning and damage, altered surfaces, and counterfeits. If you don't you will be throwing money away. It does take time and effort, quite a bit, to get to the point where you have an excellent return record. It is a marketing mechanism.
With PCGS, you'll first have to either "piggy-back" (Not recommended) or join some level of their Collectors Club. Minimum level is $69 per year. Piggy Backing requires a good LOGISTICAL Approach since your coin may be indistinguishable from your host submitter and disagreements could occur. If you joined the PCGS Collectors Club at $249 per year, you'd get 8 FREE Submissions which would more than cover the costs of 8 "Standard, $32 per coin Submissions. Now for the bad news. Each submission to PCGS "REQUIRES" an additional $10 (per order) handling fee. No if's and's or but's. PLUS, you must assign (declare) a "value" to each of the coins on the submission AND pay a return shipping fee based upon that assigned value. The Minimum Return Shipping Fee is $19.95 So, regardless of how many coins you submit and what level of submission, each PCGS Submission will cost a minimum of $29.95. For a single coin submission at the $32 base level (value not to exceed $3,000 per coin), you're looking at a $61.95 submission. There are other service levels such as "Modern" and "Economy" which go for $16 and $20 with restrictions on no more than $1,000 value per coin or $300 per coin , respectively, but that $29.95 still chews into your overall costs. Your best bet is to find a local PCGS Authorized Dealer and submit through them "IF" their charges to you do not exceed the base PCGS Rate. NGC will accept submissions from validated ANA Members at base prices (whatever they might be but they are cheaper than PCGS) but you do not get tracking privileges. Submitting coins for grading to ANY of the TPG's is simply not for the casual coin collector as a LOT of money can be thrown right into the toilet. Even after the fact. The ONLY time a coin should be submitted for professional grading is if its true Professionally Graded Value exceeds it's purchase+grading costs value. Anything less is just a waste of your time and your money.
Actually, 100 coins on a single submission is considered a "Bulk" Submission which ANY collectors club member can submit provided they've signed and forwarded the Bulk Submission Agreement form to PCGS. If you have any grading experience at all, a bulk submission "can" work to your advantage. But it's going to cost you $1,000 out of the gate. I've taken a "boost in my wallet" and a "shot in the shorts" on different bulk submissions. You just have to know what your doing and have the capital to afford your mistakes.
If you want to make small submissions to either NGC or PCGS each year, it's best to become a member at the level that comes with free submissions. @19Lyds makes a lot of great points. I want to emphasize one of them because I believe it's very important: "Submitting coins for grading to ANY of the TPG's is simply not for the casual coin collector as a LOT of money can be thrown right into the toilet. Even after the fact." Welcome to CT. Take is SLOW. There are many, many knowledgeable numismatists, dealers and collectors on this site. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Just be ready to accept some of the answers.
I don't know about PCGS since I submit to them so infrequently that I do it through my LCS, but I submit to NGC several times a year and they will let you combine orders for shipping purposes (you can even combine shipping on orders going to NCS with orders going straight to NGC). I just tell them to ship all standard orders together and all economy orders together and they are happy to do that. Other money saving tips: Wait to have enough to send everything economy that can go economy. Crack out coins so they can ride along on economy instead of on a crossover order. Joining and getting a free grading certificate can be cheaper than not joining if you use the certificate wisely. Be mindful of the declared value in your shipments; no sense paying for a higher insurance tier just because you went over their threshold by $5. If you want to get something reslabbed (due to scuffing etc.) and it's a variety, send it in for variety attribution instead. They will reslab it for free and you will get the variety attributed for only a couple bucks more than reslabbing.
Some really good advice for sure. I'm pretty small time. My most valuable coin is worth about $130(was already slabbed when I bought it) so it will be a while before I can justify paying so much. Well, I could find a 55 ddo tonight..... For me I do it for the excitement. I love CRHing and with every turn I'm waiting for it to be "the one". So until I find the one, I'll just buy slabbed when I want slabbed.
NO. Getting it graded while you are there and then picking it back up will save shipping but the walkthrough grading cost is over $125 per coin. If you want to save money with that route you can just submit the coins off at the show and have them take them back to the office, grade them and ship them to you. You don't save much, just the cost of shipping to them.
