Is it just me or has the coin collecting frenzy cooled down? Comparing prices and number of bids across major sellers, I notice both are noticeably down. Even Morgan Dollar prices are clearly lower. Metal prices might have something to do with that, but it doesn't seem to be a proportionate drop. I think the bigger reason is that coin collecting just seems to have lost some interest. It was on fire for a while there. It will probably pick up some for the holidays, but I think the hobby/business of buying/selling might be going into a "recession". What are your thoughts?
It's been harder for me to sell coins on eBay lately. I would suspect that it's been driven down by a bit by the precious metals decline.
I've noticed the same thing, but not been at it as long as most here. I wonder,though, if it doesn't have to do with summer. I know myself, I'm very busy during the summer months so coins and coin buying take a break until no more outside activities.
I buy and sell gold coins, and EVERY time gold drops like this, my ebay selling sucks. I have also been winning a lot more auctions lately. Ebay buyers freak out if metals go down some. If they go back up just a bit, things will be hot again.
as the pm market takes a hard hit people become very cautious. This along with the $1240 spent on jfk gold and another few hundred-thousand on the hof coins is the reason why it isn't looking so great in my opinion.
Speaking for myself, I'm still upset with the mint, dealers and the ANA over the release of the Kennedy gold coin and silver sets. It showed me just how easily our hobby can be controlled and manipulated by a few others. I won't spend a dime until I see what changes take place because of it. This was a big black eye on the hobby as far as the public and the collectors were concerned. I will never spend a dime with anyone of those companies or organizations involved with it. I also feel the hobby doesn't have that luster to it anymore because of the abuse. But this is a personal comment/opinion only. I'm not sure if it has any bearing on sales in a general way.
and others like me might be saving money for christmas gifts. do not get me wrong I will buying cheaper coins here and there $1-60. lol
It's my guess that a drop in PM prices will cause some buyers to hesitate in purchasing more for fear that the prices will continue to fall. When the prices start increasing, then more people jump in hoping that the rise will continue. As a rule the rise and fall of PM prices will affect common date coinage more than the keys & semi-keys. Chris
It kind of depends on what kind of coins you are talking about. Yeah prices might be down for junk silver and common date Morgans because their value does largely depend on the metals market, but they are up for others. Meaning up for coins with numismatic value. And higher than they have been for 6 years now. And still going up.
I see two things. One, remnants of the summer doldrums. Happens every year. Second though is what Doug is saying. Cheap stuff related to pm is down, since all of the pm euphoria is gone. But good coins still go up, and most ancients are up and product is scarce.
My sales have been getting stronger. When gold droped last week, i sold a bunch of gold coins that have been sitting dormant in my store. Ebay sales are great, making sales every day.
The last two weeks have been great, between ebay, my website, cointalk, and other private sales, i have been real busy
I mainly collect large cents and I haven't seen a decrease in interest or prices. Just the opposite, in fact.
I think there's a bit of irony in it if people who were in a frenzy when silver was $30+ are holding off now. Smart people were holding off then, and buying in now. There is some connection with precious metals and the numismatic market, but the economy in general is still growing and people who are happily employed who are coin collectors (ie, love it for the numismatics not the gold and silver), are going to go right on whether the precious metals rise or fall.
After years in this hobby and seeing lot of run ups and drops in the PM market You will notice that collectors turn out to buy when metal prices are high, especially around all time highs, and then disappear when prices are down. At least until they have been down for awhile, then they slowly start coming back. The adage in investing is Buy low, sell high. But most collectors (and everyone else) tend to buy high and sell low.
Personally, I don't feel like my CAC prospect coins are getting any cheaper. I wish! Several dealers I check are still buying speculatively, by that, I mean they pay full retail (and outbid me) for a CAC coin on HA, or GC, and I immediately list the same coin on eBay for $100 - $150 MORE than what I can normal full retail prices. So, as far as these dealers are concerned, market is strong and leaning in favor of the sellers. If the market is cooling off, these guys could be in a little trouble, which would be good for my Type Set. I don't think there is any massive panic, so I don't see prices crashing,or even dropping for what I buy. if the OP's anecdotal info proves true, or if enough dealers/ sellers believe it, we could see from fast prices drops across the board if panic sets in. Bad news for sellers, but good news for buyers who want good coins regardless of what the "market" is doing. It will be interesting to see how it plays out...
Dealers are just people too, they make the same mistakes everybody else does. It's not what you are or what you do for a living, it's who you are and how you think that separates the winners from the losers.
Is this posted in correct thread? Or was this is response to my post? (I have since expanded upon it)
