I have a friend who wants to sell some coins. I helped him on eBay but he was not happy with the results. I marketed them the best I know how. Picking the right time and day. I had great pics and so forth, so I dont blam the quality of the posting. My question to you the collective group is: Is there another source to sell coins???
You could go the conventional coin shop route, but I'm afraid you would get less at a shop than ebay. Also I guess it would depend on the coins being sold. Average common date stuff or slabbed key/semi key coins that would do better at bigger auction houses.
How about here on CoinTalk? You can post them in the "Open" forum. No fees, and you can ask whatever price you like. All that's required is a little bit of faith between buyer and seller.
Is it possible that he is expecting too much ? I mean, a lot of folks think the coins in their collections are really valuable - when they aren't. Common stuff in common condition sells for small amounts.
Where to Sell Good question. If the coins are popularly traded coins, no-problem better date coins as listed in the CDN, I would pick up a copy of Coin World, and look for buyers as listed. If these are coins in the $100 plus price range, I would check out Heritage Auctions and Teletrade to see what the coins are currently bringing. If they are coins similar to bullion, then they will go up and down based on silver or gold prices.
What is he trying to sell? What prices is he expecting? I may think my state quarters are worth $100 but I can really only get $25 for them.
Ebay IF DONE RIGHT..will get you more for your coins.. I have sold several collections for friends WITHOUT a complaint.. Pictures, Description, End on Monday or Friday, The right category's,The right title and DESIGN of the page are VERY VERY important.. you can end up paying Ebay all your profit.. You can add MANY pictures for NO fee.. But your HISTORY and FEEDBACK are the thing that most of us ( I Hope) look at BEFORE we buy, The friend MUST be prepared NOT to get his want price.. But maybe he is thinking a bit too high.. ( Too High..LOL) .. Check at a Shop.. you will get MUCH MUCH less... I agree with HUDSON.. some buyers are silly and think the Gold State Quarters they bought off HSN are worth big $$ BECAUSE they PAID Big $$.. But they are defaced and worth less.. And would love to see links to the old auctions.. happy to give advice as to issues on page
And I hope that you, and others, realize that ebay feedback and history are pretty much worthless and that it is quite often extremely misleading. Consider - there are more than a few sellers on ebay that are considered by knowledgeable people to be the scum of the earth, selling nothing but vastly over-graded, hugely over-priced, and often even counterfeit, altered, or harshly cleaned coins in bottom tier self-slabber holders - and yet they have impeccable ebay feedback and history. Why is this ? It's because the people buying their stuff know little to nothing about coins. Yeah, sometimes. But then what is important to you ? The money you get in your hands - or being able to sleep at night ? I'd rather get less money than I would sell stuff to people who know nothing and over-pay because they know nothing. I sleep better that way. And no, I am not implying that you did anything wrong by going the ebay route. I am just pointing the reality of the situation. For you can harm to others when it is definitely not your intention to do so. But then you know what they say about good intentions .........
Oh no.. I would NEVER want to burn anyone.. FIRM believer in KARMA.. I hope my post didn't come out that way.. As for the last big sale I did for a friend.. I did much better then he thought and got more $$ then he knew his coins were worth.. If I was a dirtbag I could have burned him bad.. he never would have known.. But would NEVER.. I just wanted to point out that the guy may have high expectations.. you know.. a HSN Buyer.. As for ebay.. yes Feedback by itself is little but it is something.. and also look at who left the feedback.. if the guy says GREAT Stuff but only has 15 buys.. well his opinion has no weight.. I again just wanted to point out that research MUST be done and that Ebay can be a GREAT tool for sellers as well as buyers.. To be even more honest.. I am willing to bet that the buyers who got the last collection from me made out well.. I know much more now then I did then,,, I would have bought all of it myself... Maybe that is what I should have said... BUY THE COLLECTION YOURSELF
Thanks for all the info. I think my mistake was closing it on Sunday. Ill try to get the ebay number soon, Im at work right now and really busy.