Collection cleanup/pruning questions!

Bolo

I've been collecting for over 40 years at this point and have never sold anything, so as you can imagine my collection is a giant mishmash of grades, duplicates, and unfortunate purchases. What I am currently doing is submitting my raw coins that I think warrant professional grading in batches, however once this process is complete I will be left with many low value coins that I don't necessarily need as I have replaced them with better examples or simply am no longer interested in the series they are part of. As I am unfamiliar with selling stuff, I'm not sure what the best route to take with these sub $50 coins that do not warrant grading and probably aren't something an auction house wants to deal with. Say...a 1911-S Lincoln cent in VG (raw), or 40s Walkers in VF. What the heck do you do with these to maximize value (and not spend eternity selling) so I can buy other things? Is there a market here on the BST thread for low end stuff?

ShaunBC5

I need to do what you're doing. I think you'll get a lot of advice to sell on BST and take to a local dealer or show.
The less time/energy you want it to take, the less you'll get (but the more time/energy you'll have).

pursuitofliberty

I think the BST is a good place to start if you have the time to take some images and list and price things out.

There are buyers there that have eBay sites, do shows, and have other venues that may want what you have, and have a market for it.

I always try to figure my time and transaction costs using venues like that compared to what I can get on the BST, and for the stuff that doesn't usually sell quick, if I leave a little meat on the bone (or am willing to listen to offers that do) stuff usually sells pretty quick.

SurfinxHI

There is a market for them on BST, but things like VF Walkers are just pretty much slightly better 90% silver. Package and sell as that. Make GROUPS of like coins, figure out a number for them (say a wholesale number), and then expect an offer at 80% of that (better yet, offer it at 90% of that number plus a small amount for shipping). They will leave your hands quickly, you will get some proceeds by which to continue your hunt.

Alternately, ask top dollar for everything and then sit on it for a darn long time. But maybe get it.

I would not necessarily mess with the Bay. Too much going on there in terms of rules, regs, pricing, taxes, etc.

I've found that BST will quickly and efficiently allow you to quickly get your coins to new homes, if priced right.

surf

jmlanzaf

Ebay is about the only place to maximize return on sub $50 items. If you are selling on BST, your doing add much work as you would on ebay but with a much smaller audience.

If your time is valuable, sell the whole group to a dealer and just move on with your life. The trade off is always time versus money. That includes the time involved in preparing items for sale and shipping them as well as the time it takes to sell an item. If you put an item up for sale, BST or eBay, and it sells immediately, you left money on the table.

PerryHall

If you know what your coins are worth, the BST should be your first stop. It's free and there are no 1099's to deal with. If you can't sell there, then you can try other venues.

VTchaser

PM Sent

jmlanzaf

@PerryHall said:
If you know what your coins are worth, the BST should be your first stop. It's free and there are no 1099's to deal with. If you can't sell there, then you can try other venues.

I look forward to the day when a BST seller who is avoiding reporting gets caught up in someone else's audit.

ricko

My first recommendation is to categorize (generally - i.e. WLH's, CU Lincolns, Washington quarters etc.... and list on the BST... Light work, fast sales (be ready to negotiate). Not maximum return, but minimal work. Cheers, RickO

ironmanl63

@jmlanzaf said:

@PerryHall said:
If you know what your coins are worth, the BST should be your first stop. It's free and there are no 1099's to deal with. If you can't sell there, then you can try other venues.

I look forward to the day when a BST seller who is avoiding reporting gets caught up in someone else's audit.

I look forward to the day that it is nice outside.

jmlanzaf

@ironmanl63 said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@PerryHall said:
If you know what your coins are worth, the BST should be your first stop. It's free and there are no 1099's to deal with. If you can't sell there, then you can try other venues.

I look forward to the day when a BST seller who is avoiding reporting gets caught up in someone else's audit.

I look forward to the day that it is nice outside.

Lol. Today is the day here.

Bolo

Thanks all for the advice! These aren't the kinds of coins that are gonna bring big money so I'm not worried about the audit aspect. I've had a few people reach out and sounds like the BLT thread is a good home for them after all. I was a little concerned about whether they would have a place there but it sounds like it is ok.

skier07

Over the last couple of years I’ve sold perhaps 100 raw $10- $200 coins on eBay. My pictures are decent but certainly not professional quality. I start every auction at $0.99, charge $3 for shipping, and allow returns. Overall my results are good. I had one buyer change their mind after winning and have had only one return. Otherwise no problems.

Is it worth the time and effort? I don’t know but I found the whole process to be entertaining and I enjoyed doing it and I was able to get rid of a lot of stuff.

I’ve also sold ~ 20 higher quality slabbed coins on the BST and have never had any problems. I probably priced my coins too low because they sold very quickly.

Edit: Even if you sell your coins on the cheaper side on the BST you’re still probably going to come out ahead compared to selling on an auction platform after taking into consideration selling fees and you’ll also get paid a lot faster.

percyb

My two cents.

Like you, I've reached the age that I want to clean out the collection.
So I unloaded pounds of raw silver coins over the past months at local dealers at
fair prices overall. No hassle, little haggling. Banked $ that now earns 4% that
captures a fair return as well. My time is free from listing and selling and mailing.
In the meantime, I fill in only with type coins I don't now own.

Elcontador

If you're near a large coin show, take the stuff there and unload it. Have a ball park idea of what it's worth. I have done and am continuing to do this. A long time dealer I know there always points me in the right direction re someone who will buy the stuff at a fair price. I had to unload some generic silver dollars, and between a helpful person here and finding the right guy at the show, it was a win-win.

coinkat

I will take this in a slightly different direction in part because I suppose that we are not as young as we used to be. So let me start with the a basic question... Do you enjoy looking at any of these coins or do you consider it cluttering up what really matters? And if it is clutter and not enjoyment, then selling makes sense. Depending on where you live, consider selling to dealers at local shows. If there are local auction houses that sell estates or whatever they can sell is a viable option. You can consider selling direct here on the Forum as others have suggested

ProofCollection

I'd say it depends on your photo taking ability. The ability to get max value for selling online hinges on taking good photos. Otherwise dealers...

davewesen

How much time do you want to spend thinning the collection? How did you get most of your coins?
Consider consigning a USPS flat rate box full to a coin seller auction house on proxibid or hibid.

semikeycollector

Additionally if you can take decent pictures and have some time, sell the coins on Facebook or possibly Instagram for more money. Be ready to negotiate.

JWP

I joined this group about 20 months ago and one of the reasons was that I've been collecting coins since my teens and also had never sold coins before either. The BST Forum is a great place to sell and has super members that are very helpful with any question you might have. I've also bought coins that I never thought was possible on BST. Just look at the BST listings and you can get a feel on listing coins. Good luck, this is a great place to learn - sell - buy- and most important to me is asking questions and getting answers from extremely knowledgeable coin collectors.