I'm after half cents and large cents by variety. And I stick to VF or XF (AU?) for low rarity coins (R-1 to R-3). I've been using Greysheet + 20% for my bids. For a while I was winning about 1 out of 5 of my bids which worked out well since I didn't want to buy all 5 a one time. Now 1 out of 5 of my bids isn't working, not even 1 out of 10. So I'm thinking of stepping up to Greysheet + 30%. OR Is there a better way of determining values? OR Do I give it a rest with the hope that prices may come down a bit.
In a large enough market, auctions are a great, maybe the best, price discovery mechanism. If you're being consistently outbid, then it's fair to conclude that the market pricing of your interests has increased. So, you either increase your bids or sit out. I can't tell you what you want to do. Really, it's more of a value judgement: Do you value having the coins more than you value the money you have to spend to acquire them? Like my Dad, raised in the depression and thoroughly aware of inflation, often said during the 70s and 80s: "I just can't get over paying $2 for a nickel ice cream cone." And, finally, I recently read an article where the author believes that he sees coin price moderation and thinks prices in general will start to decline in 2023. Is he right? "Carnack says..."
