Time to sell proofsets??

Rollerman

My Uncle just lost his wife a month ago and he called me to see if I wanted to buy his coins. Turns out, and I was disappointed, that they are all proofset and modern Commem's. They run as far back as 1977, but most are in the late 80's and thru the the present.
Anyway, I took his list to two of the dealers I trust most and they both offered 15% behind bid for them. However, one dealer said that the market was a little depressed right now because dealers were gearing down on inventory because of year end.
The other said that prices had been strong and this close to Christmas was a good time to sell them as there are many buyers looking for year set type material.
I don't follow this market enough to know what's the right thing to do for my 80 year old Uncle (whose a great guy and my last living Uncle) and don;t usually get conflicting advice from these dealers. I want to advise him in a way that will get the most return for him as I'm sure you all understand.

Thanks for any consideration you may give this question,
Pete

cullenbryant

Probably the best you could do for him would be to put them up
on ebay or take offers from the bst board here.
If you are soliciting dealers to make an offer on the lot and aren't sure
what is a fair price, look through ebay's completed listings for last weeks activity.
I have a friend/dealer that i've sold hundreds of proof and mint sets to. He deals in nothing
but proof/mint sets and when he makes you an offer it is fair. He has to eat too, but
he lists and sells them on ebay day and night individually from his home so with his
overhead not being as high he can afford to pay a little more for them than most.
just pm me if you want his contact info. Sorry to hear of a loss in you family.

cladking

If you want to sell then 15% back of bid is about the best you can do on a quick sale. You can
ship them off to the big wholesalers and get 100% of bid but this will require enough work shop-
ping them around that it may not be worth it to you.

It is true that the modern markets slow at the wholesale level around Thanksgiving because re-
tailers have usually stocked everything they'll need for the busy Christmas retailing season. Those
dealers caught short on stock may be motivated buyers anyway since they can be tough to find
on short notice.

If you're not a motivated seller you might want to wait till late spring. The market may be much
stronger at that time.

Heywood

My local dealer was paying 15% back of bid for sets after 1960.

Sometimes at a show, you can do a little better, 7-10% back.

Ebay may bring more money, but after fees, and headaches, is it worth it?

BST may not be a as bad, but still a hassle.