How to post an auction (without posting an auction)

its4real

What is the very best way to get a lot of people to your auction without ever telling anyone about it on the most popular collection site there is? Any ideas?

I see this as a PR problem since most of the traffic here is on the US Coin main board. There are very few posts or replies in the threads over at the Buy/Sell/Trade forum (hint - if you are NEW - all of the old-timers around here use a lot of acronyms - like B/S/T forum).

So - if I had an auction I wanted people to see I would post it here and I would get the most trraffic to it. Posting at the other board only serves to placate myself since the traffic is much lower.

Your warm thoughts are more than welcome

Oh- by the way - here is my most current post on the BST board: 1871s half dime info - WILL NOT take you to an auction

Enjoy

Its4Real

DHeath

its4real,

The problem before was that coin related posts were getting pushed off the page very quickly by auction link threads. Many of the members here sell coins, and the clutter was too distracting. The consensus was that if you had something truly special, you'd post a message here saying what it was, and that it was for sale in B/S/T. Then in B/S/T you would list the item with a price. Since the assumption here is that you're doing business with friends, you would offer the same kind of return policy you mentioned in your earlier thread. If the item is not "special" and you wanted to sell it, you'd just put it up in B/S/T. I know I'm always interested in knowing when special coins are being sold, but if the B/S/T stuff is nothing but an ebay link, it's just spam, and very quickly the B/S/T will become an ebay advertisement. Your GSA coin would be a good one to mention here, and put up in B/S/T with a price. Good luck.

DHeath

Its4real,

I can't PM from my home computer, but if you will be around tomorrow, I'll PM from work. I'll be glad to help if I can, but very quickly you'll get a feeling from the other folks listings.

its4real

Well - like I said - the 1871s Auction I just put up is a rather rare auction considering there were only 161,000 minted. I believe it to be "special" - would you?
Mike

itsnotjustme

Mike,
Posts on the Buy/Sell/Trade board do work. I've sold thousands of dollars worth of coins that way... In the past two weeks, I've sold 1 Indian cent, 1 Mercury Dime, 1 Roosvelt Dime, 7 State qtrs, 2 Bust Half, 1 Franklin Half, 12 Ikes, 1 Sacagawea. All with no advertising costs or e-bay fees.

The board may appear to get light traffic, but people don't gennerally reply to these posts other than PM Sent or a ttt (To The Top) from the lister. Many board members routinely read those posts.

numobri

I, routinely read the B/S/T board,even buy some times.

TomB

You may get higher visibility from this board, however, you will also alienate many of the users here and, as such, will likely receive fewer bids. It's called voting with you wallet. We, on these boards, have agreed long ago that there would be no solicitation of goods or business on this particular board. PCGS has even been known to make threads disappear entirely when this understanding is broken and has many times moved the thread and posted it in the proper board without the original poster being informed. It would seem obvious to me that if you truly read these boards and pay attention to what is here then you will notice that the threads in the BS&T board are not normally also listed here. Most users do not want any coins offered on this board and even the Registry board, which was set up to facilitate issues for the Registry participants, has occasional flare ups when it comes to posting coins for sale. These flare ups occur even though that board has allowed coin sales to be listed in thread topics. A suggestion to you would be to link your ebay auctions in your signature line and this way every time you contribute to the board you will also get this advertising. Otherwise, many will view you as simply a user and that can be read in a pejorative manner.

mrdq

<< <i>Well - like I said - the 1871s Auction I just put up is a rather rare auction considering there were only 161,000 minted. I believe it to be "special" - would you?
Mike >>



It's a nice coin but not "special" there is one of them for sale almost every day and every week on either B&M, Heritage, Teletrade, Ebay or any number of coin retail sites. Rare at 161k minted is a matter of perspective. There must be a lot of those surviving in GREAT shape. 161k is small by MODERN standards where BILLIONS are made of each denom each year but the survival rate combined with the low demand for this series makes the reality of this coins rarity a R-3 out of 8 according to Blythe's book. I'm guessing $200 would be an approx selling price, more if the toning was purplish or if it was white with no signs of cleaning.

as to the marketing of your auctions.. i can't comment.

stman

It's4real, I want to be honest as I'm a straight shooter.

As I tried to help you with the 1884 cc gsa there is one thing I didn't like the way you went about it. I'm not flaming just my feelings.

You asked plenty of times what we thought about it. And got really hyped up and thats fine. Then you put it on ebay stating what we felt about it streeetching it a little. And I just feel maybe it would be better to say

I'm thinking of selling this what do you feel the grade is.

Just my thoughts

stman

dimeadzn

Well, you made me look. Nice coin BTW.

I've seen several people link their "items for sale" ebay page in their signature line. One good thing about having a separate BST board is that the lookers are already 'primed' and ready to buy. IMO

(edited because I can't type)

its4real

ttt

BigD5

In short, I would say that listing coins for sale on this board in numismatic suicide. I agree with Tom B.'s comments, and STMan's comments as well. Good luck to you.

its4real

mrdq

I have checked B&M and Teletrade and E-bay - the only 1871s half dime is the one I have on E-bay.

Now is it "special"?

Its4Real

copperhead

Unlike most of the members here I check the B/S/T board before I read the Coin Forum Board. So I suggest the place for you to sell items is still best listed on the B/S/T board. Just my opinion.
AL

mrdq

<< <i>mrdq

I have checked B&M and Teletrade and E-bay - the only 1871s half dime is the one I have on E-bay.

Now is it "special"?

Its4Real >>



well.. if you say it is, then to you IT IS! Congratulations on our special coin. Collect them and enjoy them. Who am I to tell anyone their coin isn't special.

On the otherhand, i've been going to * EVERY * auction site daily since late January, cataloging prices realized so that I don't pay anything REAL whacky for my half dimes and my hard work and diligence leads me to believe that my 1871-s half dime is one of the cheapest ones i've purchased and isn't that SPECIAL. I'm not telling you your coin sucks, i'm just saying don't let the low mintage skew what the selling price will be. It's already built into the $200 or so price.

kranky

I check the B/S/T forum almost every day. Don't confuse lack of replies to posts there for lack of traffic, because they aren't the same thing. When I buy coins there I usually just PM the seller directly and almost never reply to the thread.

Put a link to your auctions in your sig if you'd like, but don't post them here in the US Coin Forum. No offense, but the B/S/T forum is there for a reason.

its4real

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psxchelly

You can do like everyone else does on this PUBLIC message board....

you can start a discussion about the coin, like ask members to help you grade the coin.. then tell them about your indecision about what
to do with the coin... then finially decide to put the coin up for sale and tell everyone about it....

i think you can look a few posts back in THIS message forum to yesterday and see what I am talking about.

michelle

Conder101

Frankly for a seated half dime a mintage of 161,000 isn't asll that special. I think of the 1871-S as being a little better than a type coin but nothing unusual.

MartyF

I'm curious as to why there are no moderators on these boards. USENET has been inducting volunteers for years on public boards. Does anyone know who is the moderator for the CU boards? I have some questions. Thanks.