What have you found to be the most profitable way to sell your coins?

Tsimmerdown

This question is really aimed at collectors rather than dealers. The question is.. what venue is the most profitable for you to sell your coins and why? While one venue for selling might be more profitable, for other reasons other than profit, there might be an overall better way to sell your coins. As a follow-up, explain what you would choose as your prefered method, if it isn't your most profitable.

Edited to add:

I have only sold on Ebay, so I'm curious to see how everyone else prefers to get rid of those extras in your collection.

kamehameha00

You forgot the "I have never sold a coin and I just want to see the results" option.

coinguy89

Mine have only been to dealers. I've never gotten the chance to sell on Ebay.

mgoodm3

I didn't see: "for more than you paid for them" in there.

ss350camaro

<< <i>What have you found to be the most profitable way to sell your coins? >>



Hopefully by getting more than i paid



Seriously tho, eBay has been the only venue i've used.

Russ

The most profitable way to sell your coins is to buy them cheap.

Russ, NCNE

dpoole

Clearly, it will depend on the quality we're talking about.

Very desireable rarities and top pops accurately graded, a national auction.

The tier close to that, other collectors, Teletrade.

Middling ones, Ebay.

Lousy ones, there's no profitable honest way.

Bear

When I show a dealer my coins and ask for his or her best buying price,

I hold my 357 magnum to their head. It sure brings out the nice prices.

wam98

Yousri

<< <i>When I show a dealer my coins and ask for his or her best buying price,

I hold my 357 magnum to their head. It sure brings out the nice prices. >>



Next time I am selling a coin, I will try it.

cmanbb

I have sold on Ebay, to Dealers, and Collectors..........
The least profitable is a Dealer.

I find Dealers are nun to partial to Ebay, due to the fact
that they are not offered the goods as much anymore,
and that the coins are realizing more cashola on Ebay.
I am talking about TPG coins, by the 2-3 respected TPG Companies ONLY.


Not the raw trash that people are buying on Ebay.

Just my experience/opinion

K6AZ

I'm really surprised most people have said eBay. It's been my experience that coins rarely go over greysheet bid on eBay, then you get to pay the fees. I have found it more profitable, and more enjoyable, to sell to others directly on the BST board.

ldhair

I went with ebay because it was the default and wanted to see the results.

coynclecter

Here's my take and I've sold more than a few coins over the last 15 years.

The most profitable way to sell any coin is to another collector. You eliminate the middle man, the ebay fees etc. The problem is that the other collector doesn't always want what you have and the success rate is marginal. Sometimes sharing a table at a hot show can be fun but its not a big moneymaker for the time(considering you have a limited inventory)

The second best way is through Ebay. I seem to get the best prices there but it's a hassle on the small stuff listing, shipping, paypal fees etc. so I don't like to use them on coins under $150 or so. If they are special coins in high demand this is the place. generics usually don't get much premium so its best not to sell them here.

The dealer is a good place to sell with little hassle and fast cash but you have to remember that he needs to make a buck too. So don't expect as much. When I have 20 generic coins worth $100 bucks or so then I will sell or consign them with a dealer. This is thier business, not mine, I can make more money using my time to do what I do best, listing , collecting for, packing and shipping 20 coins to make an extra 10% is not worth it for me.

If I have few generics at low grade range I usually just walk the Long Beach show and sell around bid, it's easy and you're not going to get much more anywhere else. Don't expect one nickle premium for anything PQ.

Finally, the Auction House is for rare or PQ stuff. The % they get will kill all profit on anything else. In fact I can't believe they get away with the % they do. They are..........the word "parasite" comes to mind.

BAJJERFAN

I have had quite good luck selling on the BS&T bored here. Done OK buying a few too!! Luckily I have never had to use the BFG like Bear does. Jelly donuts are just as persuasive IMO.

Sn3nut

Back before e-bay got so sleazy, I sold lower-tier coins (values up to $100) individually and generally made small profits... sometimes a lot more when bidders got auction fever. However, in the long run, it really wasn’t worth the hassle. I haven’t sold on e-bay for several years now, but I still buy there. For better coins, I generally send them in batches to Teletrade, especially when they offer discounts (they have a special going on now with a $100 discount on sellers fees for consignments of $1000 value and higher.) I have several common-date MS66 and MS65PL Morgans there right now.

However, here is something I have found to be the most fun if not necessarily the most profitable, at least initially. I took a batch of about eighty PCGS and NGC slabs that I had accumulated over time and sent them to my brother. Nothing really exceptional among the lot – a bunch of MS64 and MS65 FBL Frankies; several dozen MS65-67 Lincolns from the 30s, 40s and 50s; and many modern DCAM proof dimes, quarters and halves. Probably only a few of the coins were worth more than $100 each.

My brother is the president of a local coin club back east. He, in turn, either sold or traded them to other club members and at coin shows until he had turned my 80 ho-hum coins into a handful of exceptionally nice pieces. Examples include a beautiful PCGS 1850 1C MS65RB; a PCGS 1879 3CN PR65CA; a PCGS 1877-S 50C MS63; and a PCGS 1892 50C Columbian MS65.

You get the idea … trade 5 $100 coins for 1 $500 coin or 10 $40 coins for 1 worth $400. It may not be an immediate profit, but the better coins should, in theory, be easier and quicker to liquidate in the future, if desired.