What is your personal experience about buy/selling on ebay, shows, LCS during this time of year? Is it a buyers market?
Yes, right after tax time is when the prices go higher, that is just my opinion as to what I've noticed. People saving money for xmas
The type of material I carry and purchase does not undergo regular, cyclical price changes due to the time of the year.
I am not sure on the whole but as far as shows I have never seen the last two monthly shows in my area that busy. Now this may be due to time of year or bullion price decrease, I'm not sure
From a historical perspective there are no price changes in the coin market due to the time of year. For the most part price changes are influenced by what goes on in the electronic dealer's networks. And that is reflected in the Grey Sheet on a weekly basis. Prices can and do go up or down regardless of what time of year it is. However, the activity level (total number of sales) of the coin market does regularly change depending on what time of year it is. For decades summers have been known to be slow times and winters to be busy times.
November and December have been unique months for me as an eBay seller. I do better with cheaper (under $100) coins listed as buyitnow best offers during that time. My auctions starting at 99 cents bring lower prices in these months. But January has brought a fantastic upswing in auction prices for the past 3 years, so I always resume using the auction format at that time. My thought about the reason for lower Nov-Dec. auction prices realized is that collectors are spending their money on others for the holidays rather than their own collections.
Interesting observations. I've done very well with BIN/best-offer listings. The 99-cent no-reserve auctions are a sure way to lose money, as far as ancients go, at least for a very small-time trader like me. I'll accept any offer that nets a 10% profit. I think the clowns that list common, worn coins at exorbitant prices actually do me a favor - after looking at their prices, buyers find mine a breath of fresh air.
