Coins you've recently lost money on

laurentyvan

I had (what I thought was) a nice AU Cuban 1939 peso that didn't attract more than 1 bid at the starting price.peso

I had an inkling this might happen after checking recent completed auctions prior to listing. This might be a coin that requires slabbing to achieve full value but I guess I needed the rude awakening.

Thankfully this is one of few I haven't done decently with. What other coins that you've recently sold have you been disappointed by?

1jester

I recently sold a 1788 Barbados penny on ebay for $88, which represents a more than $100 loss, though the coin had been slabbed prior to selling (and after buying). Someone got a killer deal. I hate fleebay!!

CIVITAS

Yeah, everytime Ben says we should buy such and such to put it on eBay, I say let's just go to the casino instead and play blackjack. The odds are better......

Goober

Well I didn't lose per se, but the Ebay seller who sold me my 1907 Maundy Set did. He had a reserve auction set up, and the high bid was over $160 but didn't meet the reserve. He relisted with no reserve and I nabbed it for $140.

Ricke

<< <i>Yeah, everytime Ben says we should buy such and such to put it on eBay, I say let's just go to the casino instead and play blackjack. The odds are better...... >>



HIT ME!!

SYRACUSIAN

What other coins that you've recently sold have you been disappointed by?


A LOT!!!!! But it doesn't matter, because in the end, what counts is the total of the night/week/month. As long as my total is slightly profitable or even, I'm happy. I can never predict which coins will do well and which ones won't, recently, I've had a freebie slabbed by PCGS that brought $120 and more than covered the slight losses of 3-4 coins listed that same week, it was actually enough to make it a profitable week. I have to agree that ebay doesn't bring good results lately, so I've tried other venues that seemed to work better.

One last thing:coin collecting is a hobby for me, not a means for a living. So,even if I go through a bad period, I tend to think that all I did was pay a small rent for a few coins that I enjoyed having them, I really can't think of any other hobby that allows me to have so much fun, learn a great deal, and still get back 80-120% of the money that I paid for it. Besides, I try to get professional images of all the coins that I handle, I pay for these images, and they stay with me forever. My photo album is my biggest treasure, wether the coin has been sold or still resides in a drawer at home or at some bank's safe deposit box, it no longer makes that much of a difference to me.

coinpictures

This is another reason I don't do auctions any more. The uncertainty of potentially losing my ass would drive me insane (more insane? ). With BIN + Best Offer, I control what I get for a piece. Sure, I may not get maximum dollar, and some pieces may languish a bit longer in inventory, but the sanity is worth it...

Actually, even then it's possible. With my current 20% off sale I've lost money on a few pieces...

ajaan

<< <i> I say let's just go to the casino instead and play blackjack. The odds are better...... >>


I love your thinking Josh. You're not such a geek afterall.


Note the , I really think highly of Josh.

MacCrimmon

<< <i>

<< <i> I say let's just go to the casino instead and play blackjack. The odds are better...... >>


I love your thinking Josh. You're not such a geek afterall.


Note the , I really think highly of Josh. >>



Josh Masterson of the Wild West.......Saloon Coins, Inc.



Recently, I've had a freebie slabbed by PCGS that brought $120 and more than covered the slight losses of 3-4 coins listed that same week, it was actually enough to make it a profitable week.

Sometimes amazing things happen.

SYRACUSIAN

example #1, I won $84 on that coin, after substracting slabbing, imaging ,listing and FV fees.

example #2, I lost ~$150 on this coin, but I got to meet a wonderful person online, the buyer, you should see the series of emails that we've exchanged ,or see the feedback that he left me that speaks for itself, (the last one left, by wonder_coins).

Bottom line, it's a win/win for me most of the times, even if I lose a few dollars.

But then again, I can afford it, because I never forget that I'm a collector who does some occasional selling, not a dealer or a wannabe.Thankfully, I have a job that pays for my hobby and all my bad habits.

shirohniichan

Coins you've recently lost money on

Are you suggesting one can actually make money on coins?

Ricke

I've only ever lost money on coins... I can count the coins I have sold for more than my purchase cost on one hand.

That doesn't really ever bother me. I'm not awfully good at resale. I try not to hype anything on ebay (although I do try and point out things about coins that I personally find interesting). In the end, I just hope to keep my losses small, so I can use the money to drop into another collection piece.

If I can dump a few coins and pick up something nice from Josh or Sedwick, I'm happy.

wybrit

I've lost a lot of money on coins. Sellers in the UK (big names and small names on ebay) tout UNC pieces and they turn out to be AU or cleaned. It's too expensive to send them back (plus they frequently seem to get "lost in the post" when I do ). I end up selling them at a loss of 50% or more.

Typically, these coins are mid priced ($10-$75), but it has happened to me so much that it added up over the years. It's one of the reasons that I now rarely buy raw coins from the UK except from Colin Cooke.

coinkat

We all miss afew but that helps sharpen skills to become better buyers/collectors.

laurentyvan

I've found that selling as well as collecting make me a better collector, I think...

I've worried about certain coins only to find that the ultimate buyer gushes over the piece in emails or feedback. I've learned to ask more for coins than I thought they were worth.

I've learned that selling coins that are considered "essential" to a collection may not bring as much as off-the-wall coins with a small (but highly dedicated) audience.

coachleonard

A 1796-1807 Draped Hair Large cent --even a worn one-- is an early U.S classic that sells itself! Likewise, an 1811 Spanish Colonial 2 reale
with some nice detail still left, is ALSO a classic that sells itself! Which is why I had no worries starting each of them at $1 and no reserve.

Day before yesterday, they BOTH hammered down at ..........$1 each.

So... counting my listing fees which included two pics AND a Gallery pic, plus ebay's final price percentage take, I cleared about....... oh gosh, never mind

Thank goodness for the TWO dollars i made on the About Good 1839 Seated Dime!

laurentyvan

Day before yesterday, they BOTH hammered down at ..........$1 each.

Ouch!