Sometimes it seems you need to be a genius to price a coin

TheNumish

I'm sitting here pricing some proof Cameo Franklins in PCGS slabs.
This is what it takes to price a coin.
1)Look up price in Collectors universe price guide but those prices are too high so that has to be taken into account. Look at Blue sheet and grey sheet if there are bids for the coin. Maybe look at trends.
2)Look at ebay history. Who knows what those prices mean?
3)Look at teletrade history. Teletrade is a dumping ground so those prices might be too low.
4)Look at ads like R&I or L&C coins. Again those prices are so high I don't expect to get near what they get.
5)Lastly look at the coin and make a decision.

Here is an example. A 1955 Franklin garded PCGS 66 Cameo
1)Collectors Universe $260. Blue sheet and grey sheet don't have bids for cameo coins.
2)Ebay didn't see any prf-66 cam sales but a 67 cam went for as low as $177
3)Teletrade- only one sold back in February for $80. Seems too cheap--I would've jumped on that one.
4) L& C has one advertised in Coin World for $144
5)Looked at coin. It's a nice white coin with no spots or obvious detractions. Cameo is respectible. I priced it $120 and would take $110 for it. Man that was a lot for one coin. I think we are in the overinformation age.

BNE

So true! I guess it's an "art," not a science. . . .

HuliganRS

So what did you price it at?

Rusty.

IrishMike

I sold about a half dozen this year that I had recently purchased to resell. I just marked them up 20% and they sold, some at that reserve, a couple higher.

TheNumish

I put a price tag on the coin for $120 and expect to get $110.

I like the cost +20% but most of these coins I bought raw and had graded.



I'm doing my first coin show in my own name Nov. 2 in OK City so I want to have everything priced so I look like a pro.

Bulldog

Man I hear ya on pricing. I used to believe that there is an azz for every seat. Guess i still do. When I price coins, I look at everything. The last thing that I look at, is what did I pay for it. What I payed for it, usually does not figure in.

I try the physcological approach, Sell it late on saturday night? Got to catch those west coasties.

Sell it early sunday afternoon? Catch all those nice family folks comming home from church?

When I see a coin going for stupid money on my auctions, I panic. What did I miss? Did I give away a DD, an error, a one of a kind? Nope, just that one azz filling a seat.

When I can't sell a $20 coin for a dollar, I panic! What did I do, did I misrepresent the coin. Bad description? Wrong category? bad Pic? High shipping? Nope. Just couldnt find that seat sitter.

Coin pricing is fickle and not understood by this author.

Bulldog

relayer

You're confusing pricing with value. Pricing a coin is easy.

The price of the coin = your cost + your expenses + your desired profit.

The value of an item is what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller at an arms length transaction. Cash on the barrel-head.

The longer you hold your item trying to reach your desired profit will increase your expenses. So then you either increase your price or lower your desired profit. Sucessfull sellers are the ones that know the marketplace and don't go thru that cycle too often to find out what is the maximum profit the marketplace will bear.

So first figure your price and then figure it's value - what you would be willing to sell it for.

Start the offer at your price, then keep lowering it until it sells, and if you're lucky that will be more than it's cost and your expenses.

numobri

Sounds like relayer,has it right.Haven't sold to many coins myself,keep most of them.