Trends/CDN/Buy/Sell prices

lsica

I know some people have the whole coin market memorized.. but for those who don't, how do you determine buy/sell prices for any particular coin?

Do you have a preference among the various price references (Grey/Blue Sheet, Trends, Collectors Universe, etc) , that are out there?

How do you determine what you'd buy a piece for and what you'll ultimately try to sell it for based on the wholesale prices in those guides? A fixed percentage, or is it "depends", and if so, "depends" on what?

Thanks to all who respond.

mrdq

In reverse order..

I am a collector and don't really plan on selling a coin BUT when an upgrade comes along I do sell the occasional coin.

The only thing I've been basing my prices on lately is Prices Realized at auctions at Heritage and Ebay when purchasing. I'm getting prepared to buy a high end coin (for me) and i've been looking at all the websites that I can to see what other dealers are asking for their coins of similar date/grade. Every price guide you see published on the internet, in a magazine, newspaper has some SKEW to it. The only value that I place on them is if i'm looking at a coin in a series that I'm not really well versed in is I'll look at the MS60 column and compare the price of the coin i'm looking at to all the other coins in the series and determine it's relative rarity, then do a little research, huge amount of extrapolation, ask the cat, pray to the gods, and make an offer.

When learning to GRADE the best advice is LOOK AT A LOT OF COINS and learn what to look for.

WHen learing to BUY/SELL coins the best advice is LOOK AT A LOT OF COINS and learn what they're going for.

beartracks42

When buying a coin, I use Greysheet for a start point. I also look at retail trends(CW or NN) to see what dealers have been getting for like coins. I then extrapolate what I might pay for the coin if it is sight unseen, taking into consideration whether it is raw or slabbed, and by whom. I fully expect to pay some increment above Greysheet for the coins that I wish to purchase and try to buy from either someone I have dealt with before, or someone who states a return policy.

When I sell coins, I usually put them on Ebay with an acceptable price in mind. Many of the coins that I sell are started at a low opening bid with no reserve. If I sell a high priced(for me) coin, I will use a reserve price auction.

Catch22

For common date, easy to locate coins, the price guides can be useful. For rare date coins that are seldom offered...the price guides are way off.

I saw an 1872- CC Seated Dime, raw, cleaned, and in Good to Very Good condition go for over 1000 dollars on ebay a couple of weeks back. The bidding was intense for a coin that was far from problem free. Most price guides put the coin in the 500 to 700 dollar range for a solid Very Good. Just goes to show that when seldom offered coins come up for sale, you can toss the guides aside if you really want the coin.