eBay ethics question/selling opinion

NoviceKris

Hello All

I am on the horns of a dilema. The 2004 Westard Journey Sac and Nickle Proofs with the silver plated Jefferson Medal sets are red hot on eBay right now, selling at about three times purchase price or more. They are sold out at the Mint and limited to only 25,000 sets.

Question 1: I got five sets coming from the US Mint, should I sell one to about cover the cost of the four other sets now, or hold onto them with the expectation they will go higher?

Question 2: Is it ethical to sell the sets now even though I will not likely be getting the sets for another two weeks? I know there are others doing it but do you think it is ethical?

Let me know what you think.

Thanks

Kris

alergar

I would hold on to them.
If you do decide to sell one, at least wait until you have the set in hand before puting it up for sale.

K6AZ

I have a very sound piece of advice for you - do not put anything on eBay that you do not have in your immediate possession. I went through this on the Buffalo dollars four years ago. It was a nightmare, and I swore I would never presell anything again. The mint has this way of retroactively canceling orders, and you don't want to get in the position of selling a coin you don't have.

relayer

1) Yes - sell your one set to cover the other 4.

2) eBay allows an advertisted "presale" auction if the item can be delivered in 30 days.


I ordered 8 sets and the mint says they are back-ordered to be shipped 1/20

I haven't listed a pre-sale yet because I don't trust the Mint. But as soon as I get an email notification they shipped, I will start listing them.

My advice is to sell yours ASAP because as soon as I list mine, the price will plummet

PuddlePirate

Fair warning - if you sell something you don't have in hand - Murphy's Law will go into effect.

So what is a week or two wait? It lets the rest of the market go into a feeding frenzy and your goodies can sell for a bit higher price. I did a "pre-sale" buy once and will never do it again.

Steve27

When you have them in hand, sell them all. Prices for these will never be higher.

stev32k

I don't think it's wrong to pre-sell as long as it is clearly stated in the listing. In fact it's a fairly common practice with SAE's and some other mint material. I usually buy a roll of SAEs every year before they are shipped from the mint (usually from Silver State).

tlhoy

"Its all hype, sell now before the price plunges!"
"By 2006, these sets will be selling for $350+"

Look, we can't even predict tomorrows weather, yet some people predict 10 to 20 years from now global warming will destroy the planet!

My point is cover yourself.
When you get your 5 sets, I'd sell 2 or 3 of them. No matter what happens after that, you'll be ahead of the game.
If they go down, you already got your money back & made a little profit. If they go up, you still have 2 or 3 to sell.

Glenn

mr1931S

Advice of K6AZ is sound. You should wait until you get them before offering for sale. Even though you may have no intentions of scamming anyone, for even the most ethical of sellers, the appearance of impropriety is always looming on ebay.

NoviceKris

I thank you all for your advice. I knew you could help. I have decided to wait until they are in hand and then sell one set, if the prices are still trending well. If not, into the vault they go with fingers crossed for a long term rise in value. I sold out way too soon on my 99 silver sets and other proofs so this time, I will try being more patient and see if it works.

I also have to say even though I am not a professional dealer, or even a part time serious dealer, that it is more important to me that its my name on every sale I make. And I value my name more than the few bucks I can make by jumping in with the pack on eBay. Maybe that is stupid and old fashioned, but I believe it. I don't buy a lot on eBay for the very reason that there are too many that don't really care about being honest and fair and I don't want to add to that. I have found I am always more pleased with the items I buy or sell here on the BST board. There is something to be said for dealing with people that are really passionate about the product more so than trying to get every cent possible. I don't fault anyone for wanting to maximize profits, but I like sleeping at night with a clear conscience.

Thanks again for your advice.. and keep your fingers crossed for me that these puppies end up going much much higher in the future.

Kris

Neptune

sell while you can - or keep two. I had four, and sold 3 of them. They arrived last friday - ordered at high noon on day they came out. Well actually the last one is still running - ends tomorrow, and it's already up to $71 w/15 bidders and lots of watchers. I am just thankful they are all sold which paid for my set and enough to cover my dental work tomorrow - well part of it.

I did notice that the items in stock are not bringing that much more than the presale. They were, but this week, it seems price is shooting up just a tad more than last wk.