Selling at Auction vs. Dealer Buyout (with a little help from CMQ)

DisneyFan

Today is my 5th year PCGS Forum anniversary.  I have learned a lot from this board.  So, thank you everyone for sharing your knowledge!  

As a long time collector of collectibles I've been a strong believer of selling at auction.  However, early on, members of this board made me aware that selling to a coin dealer may actually be a better option.  But, no question, it's hard work.

Here is my latest experience.  Bear in mind I am NOT advocating that this is the only way to sell coins; but, a viable option.

I decided to give CMQ a try and submitted five PCGS MS64 silver coins bought before CAC was established.  This was on October 14th. There was nothing exceptional about these coins or their holders; but, they were nice coins. They were received by CMQ on October 24th.  On October 26th they received GRIFFINS!  Their Greysheet value was $3,395 and after a little negotiating, I accepted an offer of $3,525.  CMQ's check was mailed on November 7th.

CMQ then placed these coins in Stack's December 10th auction and they were hammered down for a total of $3,090!  With 20% commission, the buyers paid $3,708.  If I had put my coins in this auction, I most likely would have received my proceeds check around the end of the year.  

Outright coins sales can be a competitive option.

TwoSides2aCoin

Excellent move.

Project Numismatics

Thanks for sharing your experience -
super helpful! It’s always a challenge knowing where to maximize proceeds when selling.

PeakRarities

There are many instances where sending a coin to auction is a losing proposition. Especially generics, where the buyers premium amounts to more than the typical buy/sell spread offered by wholesalers.

Even if you might net a 5% less by selling outright than sending to auction, it’s nice to get paid very quickly as opposed to waiting several months, and you have much more control over the deal with very little risk.

When I buy coins for resale from other collectors, I like to break it down for them, and I’ll tell them that I estimate a coin to sell at auction for X, and they would net .9(X). If I’m able to offer .85(X) and I can cut a check immediately, that can be a very attractive proposition, especially when there’s no downside of a poor auction performance. This is not always the case though, there are many instances where I advise someone that they would be better off consigning to auction when I think I would have trouble getting the full value out of the coin.

lermish

I recently had some coins sell at Stacks. On top of a somewhat disappointing result, beginning to end it will be close to 6 months to get proceeds from the sale. If I had known the result in advance I would have happily sold to a dealer or collector at a big discount.

winesteven

Great results! In this case you successfully shifted the risk to Stacks.

Congratulations on your fifth year on the forum! We’ve learned from you too!

However, being it’s your fifth year Anniversary, I’m sure you know you now have to do a big giveaway (NOT like a roll of Lincoln’s you just got from the bank, lol).

Steve