Is it me or has the BST gone down the tubes?

Goober

This may bring out the heat, but gosh it seems the BST board gets more and more inundated with garbage threads.

WTCG

Check out my occasional listings. I don't think they're garbage in any way.

mirabela

Ditto. They are what they are ... but there are decent coins in many different ranges offered there.

Not many rips to be had, but lots of decent stuff at fair prices. Is that so bad?

Freak1c

I made out this week from there.

Freak

BobaFett72

are you referring to the quantity of threads, the quality of the posters? both?

there are a lot of posters on the BST that dont post anywhere but over there.

Goober

Let's see if I can say this a little better...lol. I'm not saying everything on BST is garbage. I do still look but compared to let's say a year or so ago, there's definitely been a lot of useless sales thread hitting the BST.

mrearlygold

BobaFett72

hmm. maybe some of the folks who used to reside here and post went across the street and took the good stuff? nah. just gotta filter through and find the good stuff. its there.

mirabela

<< <i>there are a lot of posters on the BST that dont post anywhere but over there. >>



There seems to be a growing sentiment on this board against such posters, and I am not certain I understand why. Sure, it takes a while to earn people's trust -- but there are some very worthwhile dealers who use that as an outlet, and I don't see it as any worse than a dealer who sells at a show not drinking with me at the bar.

The cool thing about the BST is it has *zero* overhead for the individual user. Can you blame anyone for using it? As long as everyone adheres to the simple rules, it is not a big deal IMO. Personally, I love it. If you do it right, you can offer a coin for less money and still net more yourself than you'd have been able to do as a "little guy" in any other venue there is.

Fletcher

I think that the PCGS BST board should be limited to PCGS slabbed coins ... it would make for a lot less crap

Goober

<< <i>hmm. maybe some of the folks who used to reside here and post went across the street and took the good stuff? nah. just gotta filter through and find the good stuff. its there. >>



I agree with you. It's there. And I do realize poor ol' Otis is clamping down hard, but I've seen some posts lately that just made me scratch my head, and ask why.

mirabela

<< <i>should be limited to PCGS slabbed coins >>



Why on earth? This is actually one of the safer places on earth to buy raw coins. Most of the folks here are pretty forthright about disclosing their "problems" when there are any.

It's not as though every coin needs to be slabbed. Slabs oftentimes get mixed up where there is no need.

RedTiger

I agree with the observation that there seems to be less interesting stuff at competitive prices. Those who don't care for modern bullion, may see all the Anniversary set threads as an eye sore, and that is probably over half of the folks registered. That alone makes for a lot more threads to wade through, because about 20% of the threads are about these sets.

I also see more "make an offer" threads, which I consider to be "junk" threads, as well as more overpriced (PCGS retail and above for common coins) stuff than I can remember. That said, I still check BST, and there are still many folks that seem interested in selling. However, the percentage of what I would term "real sellers" at a realistic market price is smaller than it has been in a while.

DennisH

I think a lot of what blunts the effectiveness of the BST board is the high number of "I'm selling it on eBay" threads.

I wouldn't shed a tear if those went away, or were moved to their own area.

jamakin

yeah, I could do without the "see it on ebay" threads too. It is a buy- sell- trade board not an advertisment site.

RYK

I have had success both buying and selling on the BST board. I sold two coins about a week ago for very fair prices within an hour after posting them. I was also able to sell my ASE and GAE sets seemlessly and without hassle. I even like some of the ebay threads; they give me a glimpse into markets that I would otherwise not get a chance to check out. While I agree that there are a lot of threads that I could do without, overall it works pretty well for many of us.

mirabela

Agreed. It would be great if threads there were for coins for sale there.

As for realistic pricing -- some people here are crazy chiselers. I had an item on there a couple months ago listed **way** below market, basically just because I had been able to buy it even way below that, and I wanted it to go away fast. So the first PM I get is "can I buy it at X-10%," and I said to heck with it and pulled the thread. I sold it on ebay for more than 2X. The guy would have been getting a terrific deal in the first place, but that wasn't good enough.

RYK

I have let go of coins here that I could have sold for more on ebay. I like getting nice stuff into other collectors hands directly and prefer to avoid some of the hassles and traps of ebay. That is not to say that all forum member transactions are perfect, but I have never really had a problem. Well, except that "tubin head" I tried to purchase...

seanq

I very rarely used to check that board, so I'm probably a poor judge of how it's changed versus last year, but of late I've actually been spending more time over there than ever before. Just in the last couple of weeks I've picked up a nice raw Oregon half, and responded to a "WTB" post and sold off a couple of low dollar PCGS coins (to mirabella, actually). It's just like any other online forum, you have to learn how to separate the signal from the noise, and the ratio between the two tends to fluctuate wildly.


Sean Reynolds

rgl1345

<< <i>I think that the PCGS BST board should be limited to PCGS slabbed coins ... it would make for a lot less crap >>

BRdude

I always check the BST forum firt when I visit. The BST for currency too (it's kind of slow). No matter what forum you visit there are going to be B S threads. Just shows the variety of folks here. A lot I could do without, but as what was mentioned, you learn to seperate the wheat from the chaff

seanq

<< <i>Personally, I love it. If you do it right, you can offer a coin for less money and still net more yourself than you'd have been able to do as a "little guy" in any other venue there is. >>



My transaction with mirabela is a perfect case in point. He ran a 'WTB' post looking for some nicely toned Jefferson nickels, and I happened to have a coin from his list. There's not a huge market out there for MS64 non-FS PCGS nickels, even ones with decent color, but I managed to turn a small profit on the sale, and mirabela got a coin he called a "treasure" for a little more than the certification costs. How much better does it get than that?


Sean Reynolds

Kip

I thought it was part of ebay

mrmom

I bought three coins from BST since I joined the board and I can tell you that I am very pleased with every transaction.


Checking BST became my daily routine, but lately there seems to be way too many ebay listing promotions.

BlindedByEgo

I don't even look at BST offers from posters that I don't recognise from the CF (I don't do darkside).

I rarely open threads that refer to Ebay auctions, unless it is smoeone I like.

remumc

Some of use the BST boards to BUY, imagine that! I've bought 4 nice coins from 2 nice guys in the past couple of weeks and have been very happy with my purchases. I might now offer some of the coins I upgraded to others on the board.

Regards,

Wayne

BAJJERFAN

<< <i>So the first PM I get is "can I buy it at X-10%," and I said to heck with it and pulled the thread. I sold it on ebay for more than 2X. The guy would have been getting a terrific deal in the first place, but that wasn't good enough. >>



Good way to find out who the low ballers are.

Jcarney

<< <i>I think that the PCGS BST board should be limited to PCGS slabbed coins ... it would make for a lot less crap >>

kranky

Hey, BRdude - haven't seen you around in a long time!

etexmike

I have listed a few coins on the BST lately. Nice coins at fair prices I thought. Most sold and fairly quickly.

I haven't done the ebay thing as far as selling in a couple of years. I usually list my dupes or coins that I have upgraded and offer them on the BST forum. I have seen some junk there at times, but never any of my offerings.

I am not all that fond of seeing ads for ebay sales there but it has pointed me to a few coins that I otherwise might have missed.

-------------

etexmike

ricko

I like the BST ... and have procured several nice coins there.... and I do not mind the ebay listings... if I see something I want, I will check them out. I much prefer the direct listings - sometimes I ask for a better price - sometimes I get one, other times I do not. I have paid listed price without negotiation as well. I am not sure about the OP comment of 'going down the tubes'.. since I skip over listings that do not interest me. However, I am sure they may interest others (one man's treasure, another man's junk etc). I like it, I use it. Cheers, RickO

ziggy29

I don't care what holder the coins are in, or if there is no holder at all. To me, that's not the problem.

To me, the problem is wading through all the eBay auctions. Seems to me we need to change BST to BSAT if that trend continues.

techeff

I think that the PCGS BST board should be limited to PCGS slabbed coins ... it would make for a lot less crap

fivecents

I wish the BST board had a hard fast rule that if you have a coin you want to buy or sell, you MUST include a buy or sell price in the thread. I get tired of all the make me an offer threads.

Dennis88

I regurarly use the BST for buying and have always been happy with purchases.

Dennis

TwoSides2aCoin

I only came cuz the thread title made me laugh.

Here is my thinking....

The BST is still there, right ?

The open forum went down the tubes.


Got coins ? I need pics

But to answer the question, it's you Goober

SFDukie

I've found the BST very useful, for both slabbed and unslabbed coins. I've been happy with every transaction and interaction I've had through the BST. That's more than I can say for storefront dealers, the bourse floor, or eaby-thats for sure.

Excellent points re economics of certified and uncertified coins by Mirabella and others.
Don

Longacre

I never check it, but I am heading over there right now....

bushmaster8

<< <i>I think a lot of what blunts the effectiveness of the BST board is .... >>



Blunts all around!

rec78

Maybe there should be a seperate "for sale on ebay" forum. Seem like a lot of users use the BST forum for just the purpose of advertising their ebay auctions. The BST forum should just be used for OOINS that you want to sell with a fixed price, or to list coins that you want. Should not matter if raw or slabbed. It is not an auction or "best offer" site. If you advertise "best offer" then go to ebay. However my opinion is just that, it is up to PCGS as to what to allow. Bob

SportsModerator

Well the BST board is just a cross section of the real world. I often read the threads and sometimes, I really have to laugh. Recently, I saw a thread where a guy is offering to trade his 1200.00 coin for one worth a cold 2500.00.......and he's acting like he's doing you a favor! I've seen the occasional buy ad where quoted buy prices were so low that I'd be afraid to offer them to your face for fear I'd be on the receiving end of a right hook. We've all seen some sell prices that could hardly be considered grounded in reality.

Pushing these instances aside, overall there's a great deal of material at realistic buy/sell prices, and like at any coin show, you're just going to have to weed through the mass quantities and hopefully find something that's of interest to you. Personally, I have both bought and sold to board members in response to ads on that board. All to date have been exemplary transactions with no problems, delays, or disagreements. It can't get much better than that.

Smittys

I buy and sell regularly on the BST, you just gotta siff thru it.

BAJJERFAN

<< <i>I wish the BST board had a hard fast rule that if you have a coin you want to buy or sell, you MUST include a buy or sell price in the thread. I get tired of all the make me an offer threads. >>



I agree; conduct your business by PM; thats what its for, among other things.

jonathanb

My impresssion is that the folks reading the BST board are more sophisticated than the average eBayer. I've had no problems selling high-quality coins on the BST. On the other hand, I've had poor luck selling run-of-the-mill items, even for discounted prices.

itsnotjustme

I think a lot of non-forumite posters have shown up and are using it for the free advertising. Us forumites do too, but we are also active board members.

In recent months I have bought a Chain Cent, A&R Quarter, Seated Half Dime from the boards.

richardshipp

<< <i>I buy and sell regularly on the BST, you just gotta siff thru it. >>



I bought from Smittys via the BST and I was happy !!!

MICHAELDIXON

Funny, but I even buy off the BST board! I see no problem with it. In fact, this week I bought 8 certified coins from it.

JeremyDie1

quarterguy

I almost got ripped off yesterday on the BST. I posted a want to buy and got someone who tried to scam me. If it wasn't for me asking him why he had 3 different email addresses and 2 different names he used at paypal, and asking for his username here on the boards I would have sent my money flying out the door.

To all, if you post want to buy over there please ask tough questions if you do not know the person.

Michael

Bear

I buy from the B/S/T, however,

I generally stick with folks that I

know from the Coin Forum. Thay

have always proven to be honorable

and a pleasure to deal with.

BAJJERFAN

I buy from the B/S/T, however,

I generally stick with folks that I

know from the Coin Forum. Thay

have always proven to be honorable

and a pleasure to deal with.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

The Circle of Trust" in a nutshell.