My current items on eBay - NGC Morgans

cho10

Have a look if interested.
These are duplicates that are all generally nice.
For now there are only NGC certified Morgans.
I will be posting some other coins as time goes on.
There is something for everyone.

My Ebay Auctions

This is our software site. I use one of our products to crop and edit images and for other things too.
http://www.pentazip.com

cho10

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Myqqy

I love that icon morgan you're using!

cho10

I love that icon morgan you're using!

Thanks. The original is one of my favorites so that was why I chose that pictture to make an icon with.

cho10

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BAJJERFAN

Your shipping costs without insurance are too high IMO. $6 for the the 85-o plus another $4-5 for insurance is too much for a $350 coin. It shouldn't cost any more than $2 first class postage on a single slabbed coin anywhere in the lower 48. If insurance is mandatory include it in the S&H; afterall its to CYA not the buyer's butt. His failure to purchase insurance does not relieve you of your obligation to furnish the coin or a refund if the package gets lost. I recently sent a comparably priced coin from Ames to Houston first class insured for right around $6 total.

This is offered as constructive advice only; also the pics shown have an unnatural yellow-brown tint to them that does not accurately portray the coins if they are blast white.

cho10

<< <i>Your shipping costs without insurance are too high IMO. $6 for the the 85-o plus another $4-5 for insurance is too much for a $350 coin. It shouldn't cost any more than $2 first class postage on a single slabbed coin anywhere in the lower 48. If insurance is mandatory include it in the S&H; afterall its to CYA not the buyer's butt. His failure to purchase insurance does not relieve you of your obligation to furnish the coin or a refund if the package gets lost. I recently sent a comparably priced coin from Ames to Houston first class insured for right around $6 total. >>



HI,
Thank you for your query. We are not making a profit on postal and handling charges.
On the other hand I decided to organize coin sales as a company run initiative and not as a home based one. I really do think that buyers can only benefit from this approach.
We chose not to increase the beginning auction price by our shipping and handling costs of $2.15.
Our costs are as follows:
- 1 Safe-T-Mailer 35 cents
- 1 Bubble Mailer Envelope 45 cents
- 50% of the USPS Signature Confirmation charge $1
- Handling - 35 cents
for a total of $2.15
The costs incurred for an 8 oz envelope are therefore
US Postal Service First Class Mail $ 4.13 ($1.98 plus $2.15)
US Postal Service Priority Mail $6.00 ($3.85 plus $2.15)
US Postal Service Express Mail $15.80 (13.65 plus $2.15)
I think you misread the EBay generated calculation for ZIP code 77575 (Ames, TX) which is $4.13 for 1st Class Mail. $6 is the cost for Priority Mail.
We chose to be as transparent as possible which is why we are using the EBay postage calculator as well as their Insurance calculator.

I know that in this world there is no way to make everybody happy but I think that we have done our utmost best to be fair.

charley

An open and honest "New Hampshire" style explanation.

BAJJERFAN

Not trying to be a wise guy, just pointing out that your shipping costs will drive many buyers away. It costs the very same to ship both the most and least expensive coins in your listings to the same place. The only difference is insurance.
I reuse my safe T mailers and have never bought one so I will take your word for the 35 cents.
Bubble mailer is not necessary; put the safe T mailer [with coin of course] in a regular 4 by 9.5 envelope 4 cents and cover with brown paper tape; the kind that will make this package acceptable for registered mail too.

Sig conf; not necessary unless yu are satisfying a paypal requirement. the insurance number will serve as adequate tracking if the package doesn't arrive. yu only need tracking if there is a problem

Handling: wuts this? so far we are at about 45 cents if you charge for the tape.

Priority mail for a single coin is a waste of money unless you use the flat rate packages because of excessive weight.

I sent a single slabbed coin packaged as described for $1.75 1st class postage $300 ins $4.20 total $5.95

you mite be better off to eat a few of those misc expenses in order to make your coins look more attractive pricewise to potential bidders. $5-$6 to ship a $25 coin is too much. You are wasting your time and listing if things don't sell. experienced ebayers know what it shud cost to ship stuff. Your buy it now of $35 for a $25 coin won't work. No one is gonna overpay $10 for a $25 coin. Its a waste to use BIN on common stuff, use it for things that yu are sure will sell.


here is a great example of HOW and when to use BIN.

I am a relative rookie at eBay stuff compared to many here so if I can spot all these little things then so can many others.

cho10

I have no intention of adapting my behavior or my company's behavior to "reusing" Sae-T Mailers etc.
As I have mentioned on more than one occasion, I have assigned the management of coin sales (that for now are just some of my duplicates) to my company PentaWare, Inc (EBay Id = pentaware).
PentaWare is a corporation that produces and sells computer software. It has dealings with other corporations and users all over the world. PentaWrae also sells products made by other companies, foreign language localization and software related consultancy.
In the future we may decide that PentaWare will buy and sell coins as well. It will operate in that case as a fully autonomous business unit. We may at some point decide to set up a separate company. This will depend upon how well coin related activities will perform and what doing that would cost us.
PentaWare uses bubble wrap envelopes for all the things with monetary value that it sends out using USPS or FedEx. We will not change this.
Signature confirmation is recommended by PayPal. Even if it was not a PayPal recommendation we would use it anyway. This forum has seen numerous references to "problems" with USPS.
Handling includes the cost of Post Office approved mandatory adhesive paper tape and performing other related shipping related office tasks that a full time paid employee performs. All these things cost money. 35 cents is not even the cost of a cup of coffee at Starbucks these days.
Customer/Seller relationships are based on numerous considerations. Some people ask for more and others for less. That is why David Hall Rare Coins, Jay Parrino's The Mint and other organizations with similar high level pricing policies can still survive. If customers would shun them because of their prices or business practices they would change their tune.
I am not aiming to be in the same league but I am not aiming at a "home based business" either. I have seen all too many feedback references about "poor communication", badly packed, slow, etc. We ship on business days within 48 hours of an auction ending. We then send out emails afterwards to make sure that coin or coins have been received. On one occasion we obtained a customer's phone number from EBay because the coin package was undelivered and had been at the recipient's Post Office for more than 2 weeks. The buyer had not noticed the PO slip left to inform him.
That takes staff. Staff costs money.
That is how we operate. That will not change.
I read a post recently that said the "only Greysheet prices are acceptable for me". Greysheet and Bluesheet "used to be" dealer related. In today's world the keyword is "saving" and people get judged by how much they are willing to slash their jugular vein.
EBay has its costs which are once again overheads for us. I could have chosen Teletrade as a venue and it would have cost us less overall. That would not have served my purpose of evaluating the convenience of setting up a business unit dedicated to coins.
Policies are not made just to be popular or to obtain approval from everybody. 100% popularity is impossible in this world so we will just have to live with the idea that some people will have an opinion that differs from ours.
The BIN approach we take is based on 5 years of my buying on EBay. People like BIN if they just want to buy right away and not have to wait for the outcome of the auction (and related uncertainty of winning). That is why the auction starting price is lower for those that want to bid and risk. We offer BIN as an immediate buying tool. Period.
I think that some of the things you have said merit consideration and I will discuss them with my staff. Hopefully this thread ends here.

MICHAELDIXON

Normally, I wouldn't say anything, but you are an exception. Bajjer has given you some great advice, but you have decided to become defensive. Your starting prices are too high and aren't auctions, thus I doubt you will sell anything. You're just starting out and you need to build a customer base. With your auctions: "No refund on certified coins....we will work with you, etc." The average collector will not be willing to buy from you, as nobody likes double talk. With your attitude, I would not be willing to buy from you nor wholesale to you. Wake up! You've alienated everybody on the boards with your bad attitude toward a trusted and respected board member who was only trying to help you get started.

cho10

Hi,
being "defensive" is what happens when you perceive that you have been accused of something.
I don't think we have been accused of anything.
Bajjer has said things that in some cases were true, in others not 100% true, in still others simply based on his experience and approach which does not necessarily have to coincide with my experience or my approach.
I think that is why we like to say that we live in the "Free World". It's because we are truly "free" to do our own thing and to think as we like. I have no intention nor reason to criticize Bajjer for his views. I have no reason to criticize you for yours. But that doesn't imply that I absolutely have to agree with the views of either of you.
That you choose to sell to me or to my company or buy from me or from my company is your choice.
How you arrive at the conclusion that you would not sell to us or buy from us is not clear to me but (as I have said) you are entitled to your opinion which I respect regardless of whether I agree with it.
This is the first time that I have been told that a business decision is based upon (and is dependant upon) necessarily agreeing with the opinions of others in a PCGS forum.
If a pre-requisite of being "willing to sell or buy from somebody" was a given degree of being liked or being thought of as being "nice" I think a lot of people would be out of business.
Constructive advice is always appreciated and Bajjer's advice has been analyzed item per item because I consider his advice to be in good faith and worthy of being considered. I don't see why Bajjer should be offended by things said during a civilized debate in which each of us has expressed his views. I didn't "brush him off" saying "get lost". I said I would take his views into consideration. That means I will adopt those that I think we should adopt.
Why you feel offended or are so aggressive with your words is unclear to me. There has never been any previous contact between us as far as I can recall. Is this some sort of taking offense by proxy that I am not aware of?
Our pricing is based on a median of the Heritage wholesale minimums and maximums values, factoring in the related EBay costs and the last 30 days of completed Ebay auctions (where possible). Teletrade results are also used as a reference point where possible and where applicable.
Usually people judge the quality of the items offered as a yardstick to judge a seller by.
Coin related reputation is also usually another good starting point.
One's payment history can also be factored into the equation prior to selling to that somebody.
I base my actions and choices on a company type approach because that is my background.
I don't go out of my way to offend people and I would be grateful if the same sort of courtesy was extended to me.

MICHAELDIXON

10 hours to go!