Quick buying and sell

Hi,

Along with stating to seriously collect, I'd like to buy and sell with quick turn over. Is it frowned upon?

 

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Quick flips are by no means frowned upon. The issue is having the knowledge and resources to do it without losing money

 

You can use eBay.

 

THAT'S the key.

 

In a few other places that I'm in that sell/buy I see flippers buying coins then trying to sell and putting minimum start bids. Then no one bidding as the minimum is too high.

At first the resells were doing good as many sales actually were lower than their buy price (from what I've noticed). I picked up a few things. Then they learned and put reserves or high start prices instead of starting at $1 with no reserve. Now they are learning the market doesn't over pay for stuff that they've over paid for just to have the inventory to flip.

So, as mentioned above, having the knowledge and resources is key in not losing money.

Add to that, you need the experience and knowledge not to mistate or overstate the quality of a coin if you define it. I've seen some ppl try to sell "BU" coins that obviously have been harshly cleaned.

 

To me worse than that is TPG's giving grades to DETAILS coins, generally only a generic letter grade (VF, XF, etc.)
Then sellers try to price close to that grade AND newbies think they're getting a bargain.

 

I do it often and usually leave some money on the table but that is balanced by the quick sale.

 

It's not as easy as you think.

 

You make your money when you buy. Here are a few things I have learned about "steals." Bottom line: You're looking for sellers who are (a) unsophisticated and/or (b) need cash NOW.

Ebay steals do happen, but not often. Key ingredient to a Ebay steal is a seller with a couple coins and tons of other stuff. I've caught 2 eBay steals in the past 5-6 years. One was an 81-CC GSA for $285...and I was the only bid. Terrible obverse picture only. when it arrived, I was astonished to find a beautiful reverse rainbow! Second was a 1900-O/CC Morgan slider. Seller was clueless. Buy it Now price was $25. OK!

I've caught some good buys on craigslist. Here's a strategy that had produced a few good deals: In short---have cash available--particularly on Sundays. Post in the Collectibles section on Sunday AM "Need Cash Today?" Then describe what you want. Most memorable deals: (a) a guy who needed cash for a fishing trip. I bought 100 1968 Mexico City Olympic commems at 65% of melt. (b) a guy was hot on a multi-gun deal in San Antonio--needed $4500 fast. He sold me four 1947 Mexican 50-peso gold coins. Sold them the next day to dealer buddy for 3% back of melt---roughly $7000 at the time.

Finally, let people know what you want. Lots of people are sitting on coins, currency, Confederate bills, you name it----and have no clue what to do with them. Friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, clients, vendors----anyone!

Another important element is having an "out." Ebay is a good out, if you can handle having your money tied up for a few weeks. I have a dealer here in Austin to whom I have sold a lot of stuff. Develop a relationship, and work it. Leave some meat on the bones for the dealer. Creates goodwill, and gets you better pricing than the guy walking into the coin shop with a coffee can full of silver. When silver was around $30, I got my hands on about 80 pounds of junk silver. My dealer will not soon forget this deal--as he picked them up at 10% back of melt. I was pleased to let them go at that price, as I locked in my profit and my cash was not involved.

Good luck.

 

I don't think flipping should be frowned upon. That is, as long as your always honest and ethical. Personally, I'm not in favor of "stealing" valuables from people because of desperation or ignorance.

When I was in college I worked at a pawn shop for several years. I was the "eBay" guy so I mostly stayed in the back. But I was sickened by the way pawn shops took advantage of people.

I'm not saying I'm not in favor of getting a good deal, of course I am. But I'm not out hunting folks who are so desperate for money that they will ignorantly sell me their valuables at fraction of the price they deserve. eBay is fair game. If you have the time and resources to post on eBay you can do your homework.

I realize it's not illegal and many people can argue it's not unethical. Same people who would run a check cashing company or a pawn shop. Just my 2 cents.


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How could it be frowned on? Isn't that what every dealer tries to do?

 

As for the Sunday craigslist activity, I see it as providing liquidity at a time when banks are closed.

The 1968 Mexican commem deal made me a profit of $400 on an $1100 Sunday afternoon deal. Those coins are 72% silver, extremely common and not particularly popular. At the time (silver was around $30), my dealer buddy would pay 90% of melt for them. I feel zero guilt !

The Mexican gold deal has another layer to it. Seller knew he was unloading his gold well under melt. The lost revenue from my deal was dwarfed by the profit he enjoyed on gun deal. I ran into this seller a few months after our deal. The $4500 I gave the seller bought him a beautiful gun case, 10 shotguns (including full set of Model 12 Winchesters), 6-7 deer rifles, pistols, an AR-15, some kind of night-scope, hunting gear and piles of ammo. No guilt !

Another aspect to this is differential in knowledge bases. I've spent 40+ years accumulating know-how. Hard work and diligence desrves compensation. No guilt !

 

There is a title for people who provide liquidity when people are most desperate, loan sharks. I'm positive that if a dealer offered you these prices you would be ranting on these forums about how they tried to rip you off. I'm sorry but your hard work and diligence does not give you the right to do the same. Trolling people who are desperate for cash is not something that I would be proud of.

 

There is nothing wrong with that at all. We all have to find the spot where we can live with what we do and I am proud of how I have conducted myself in business.

Yes, 47 years of study and experience deserve to be rewarded. Buying from unknowledgeable or desperate people happens here every week. Many of these people have been directed to me by sympathetic bank tellers who have intercepted people trying to deposit bags of silver, rolls of Indian cents and $1000.00 and $500.00 bills.

Many times, I don't want to buy their junk at all as I am flat broke or have overspent on the last five desperate people. I actually sent someone away last week with a box of four piece American Gold Eagle Proof Sets as I simply had spent all I could already with no time to sell what I had already bought.

What then? The fellow might have taken 3X face value for them and probably did at the bar downtown. I told him to try and hold on a week until I could raise some money but he was desperate so who knows?

He hasn't called back.

What would you have done.

 

I totally get that there is a liquidity discount if someone wants to sell something quickly. That's fair and I don't disagree with that at all. Pretty much all cash for gold places have built their business model on that. And it's fair. But when you are trolling people who have an urgent need for liquidity and offer them well under wholesale, that's where I would feel like I'm part of the problem instead of providing a solution. Especially if deceptive tactics are in involved. i. e. I know it's a CC morgan but they don't know what the difference is.

I'm in no way implying that anyone who posted in this thread has done that. But I personally wouldn't be building a business model on the practice of preying off the desperate.

Maybe I'm just all jazzed up. The post the other day about the guy who ripped off his own friend by pretending a coin was worth less than it was really started it. This hobby is supposed to be fun. I realize that there is a for profit side and that side is important also. But it's too easy to turn to the "dark side" and compromise ones values for a quick buck. I just don't stand for that.


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No guilt. I also spent the last 31 years practicing law. Should my lofty billing rate give me pangs of guilt? I think not.

I'm no loan shark. I'm am merchant. I look for opportunity wherever I can find it. My objective as a buyer is to pay the smallest sum I can negotiate. The seller's objective is the opposite. That's capitalism in am nutshell.

How about this steal. Saw a sign for an Estate sale recently. I LOVE estate sales. On the mantle above fireplace was a metal/wood/stone sculpture. $50 price tag. I did not recognize the piece or know the artist. My gf certainly did, and snatched it up. Did she have an obligation to inform the cashier that they erred badly in pricing this item? Or did her decades of study and work position her to see what others could not see...and allow her to be compensated for her diligence. I vote for the latter.

 

Do I understand correctly in that you're just "starting" to collect, meaning that you're new to coins and possess very little (if any) knowledge in this area? If so, my first question would be why do you think you can simply walk into a business and without even knowing the ropes, believe you'll be successful? I've asked this same question of others throughout the years who felt coins their path to easy money, and have never once gotten what I felt was a reasonable, and in most cases even intelligent reply. Plumbers make good money, but I've never known anyone to grab a wrench and print up a few business cards declaring themselves to be one simply because they want the rewards. With coins though this is awfully common occurrence and makes precious little sense. Why would the homeowner who possesses the most basic plumbing skills hire someone who knows even less? They wouldn't, right? So why do you assume collectors who know more than you, will be happy to fork over their money to you when you, or so I assume, cannot offer anything beyond the coins themselves (knowledge, expertise, connections/access, etc, etc)? Do you even realize the massive number of pitfalls and sucker bets facing the ill-informed?

I'm not asking to be mean, but only because I simply cannot understand the thought process behind what seems to be your desire. The best advice for new collectors is to learn before buying, and the same is true for those who wish to profit from coins, but magnified many, many times. Sure, there can be the exceptions, but overall it's just not as easy as many in your apparent position seem to think.

 

"The best advice for new collectors is to learn before buying"

Amen Books!

 

May I ask what thread this was in?

 

A few here frown on flipping, but that is what makes the world go round. Flip away!