My sister handed me a 30lb crate of US Mint coin products from the last 20 years...
shylock
Posts: 4,288 ✭✭✭
...and asked me to sell them on EBay.
I know if I sell them at no reserve she will get burned. But I'm trying to keep costs down.
Any suggestions?
I know if I sell them at no reserve she will get burned. But I'm trying to keep costs down.
Any suggestions?
Paul <> altered surfaces <> CoinGallery.org
0
Comments
I rarely ever get burned on no reserve auctions. I'd give it a shot.
In short I'm saying, check and make sure there are no rarities. There are quite a few sets that fetch a premium for something or other and you never know if you have some "No S" coinis or something until you check.
Put 'em up one at time and make sure you're not turning the golden goose loose.
John
Never view my other linked pages. They aren't coin related.
-Paul
Check to make sure there are no outstanding toners, no "no 's' " sets, etc.
Take a look at what they sell for on ebay, average a few, and sell a little below that on the BST if people want. They save and you save fees.
Else, split them up and sell on ebay and watch your feedback number climb
(how many is 30 pounds anyway??? wow! ... sounds like something from Shop at Home
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment
<< <i>First thing I'd suggest is picking up a book. I've got one but can't for the life of me think what the name is and it covers the mint sets from 1936 on down in detail. >>
United States Proof Sets and Mint Sets by Gale / Guth?
Russ, NCNE
Actually, a list would be appreciated on what constitutes 30 years worth of "US Mint coin products" since the 10th Anniversary Eagle set falls into that catagory as well as the 2001 proof sets and 1999 Silver Proof Sets.
Other significant products are the Botanical Gardens set, the Millenium Set, and a host of other medium to high prices money items!
The name is LEE!
I'll take some time over the holidays to go through this container of strange modern US Mint products
...and I'll do my homework.
That's not it. It was this.......A Guide Book of Modern United States Proof Coin Sets: A Complete History and Price Guide (Official Red Book)
John
Never view my other linked pages. They aren't coin related.
I recently became an eBay seller. I sold 18 items on eBay in Sept. & Oct. All original U.S. Mint packaged products from proof sets to first day Nickel covers. Here are a few items where I lost big:
1992-S Silve Proof Set $8.13
1992-S Clad Proof Set for $0.99
1983-D Denver Mint Souvenir Set for $21.02. These things average around $38!
Overall, I lost around $100 (compared to my cost) on 18 items. Needless to say, I'm cooling off for awhile until I figure out how to achieve better returns. You can buy all the books you want, but $0.99 for a proof set that cost more than ten-times the hammer price is very disappointing indeed.
One last auction link: 1994-P U.S Veterans Proof set $96.09 - I paid $140 for it a few years ago
I'm not discouraged. I just chalk it up to the cost of learning how to do business on eBay.
Good Luck!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BONGO HURTLES ALONG THE RAIN SODDEN HIGHWAY OF LIFE ON UNDERINFLATED BALD RETREAD TIRES
List them with GREAT pics at 99 cents and let 'em rock.
You'll get fair value and don't worry about Christmas. Just do them
in January.
Good luck.
bob
You have to eat a lot of humble pie to post horrible EBay experiences. But I've been there too, I know the
wholesale warehouse that EBay is. That's why I posted this thread.
I tested 5 of my sister's lower valued coins last week on EBay.
The results:
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5 ouch!
Sometimes, if you have alot of common stuff to sell, it's simply not worth it to try and maximize every piece involved in the lot. Your time is worth more than the $100 you lost on 18 items, especially if you try to play it too close with reserve pricing and have to keep re-listing items. I'd say that it's more important to pick a time to sell when prices seem to be strong, and then do it as expeditiously as possible.
P.S. - there are bound to be some pleasant surprises in addition to the painful lessons of buying everything that the Mint puts out. Take the good and bad together.
I knew it would happen.
I believe much of the commonly found US Mint stuff sells within a 20% spread of grey sheet. You can wholesale it out for 10% under and ebay byers will at best pay 10% over bid. If you can sell them for bid on the BST boards, you may make out the best for the least hassle and hardly any risk. You have an excellent reputation here, so I think you'll do fine.
I'd be interested in the list, too.
I knew it would happen.
<< <i>Here are a few items where I lost big:
1992-S Silve Proof Set $8.13
1992-S Clad Proof Set for $0.99
1983-D Denver Mint Souvenir Set for $21.02. These things average around $38!
One last auction link: 1994-P U.S Veterans Proof set $96.09 - I paid $140 for it a few years ago >>
Three of your auctions were snipes which accounts for the low returns. If people would simply bid and not do this sniping thing then items would sell for reasonable prices.
I have no idea on how to make this happen but am not in the least bit shy about seeing how many watchers there are versus how many bids there are. I recently had 1 watcher on a start at .99 auction and 0 bids. I cancelled the auction as it was obvious that the watcher was going to bid at the last minute. No problem there but with EBay, he/she could have bid $100 but the item would have only sold for $.99! Just not going to risk it.
If an item does not have any watchers and 0 bids then its going to go really really cheap unless you cancel it!
The name is LEE!
My experience begs the question, How many successful eBay sellers employ shill bidding as a tactic to earn a respectable return on sales?
<< <i>
<< <i>Here are a few items where I lost big:
1992-S Silve Proof Set $8.13
1992-S Clad Proof Set for $0.99
1983-D Denver Mint Souvenir Set for $21.02. These things average around $38!
One last auction link: 1994-P U.S Veterans Proof set $96.09 - I paid $140 for it a few years ago >>
Three of your auctions were snipes which accounts for the low returns. If people would simply bid and not do this sniping thing then items would sell for reasonable prices.
I have no idea on how to make this happen but am not in the least bit shy about seeing how many watchers there are versus how many bids there are. I recently had 1 watcher on a start at .99 auction and 0 bids. I cancelled the auction as it was obvious that the watcher was going to bid at the last minute. No problem there but with EBay, he/she could have bid $100 but the item would have only sold for $.99! Just not going to risk it.
If an item does not have any watchers and 0 bids then its going to go really really cheap unless you cancel it! >>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BONGO HURTLES ALONG THE RAIN SODDEN HIGHWAY OF LIFE ON UNDERINFLATED BALD RETREAD TIRES
<< <i>DieClash - The best response to this thread.
You have to eat a lot of humble pie to post horrible EBay experiences. But I've been there too, I know the
wholesale warehouse that EBay is. That's why I posted this thread.
I tested 5 of my sister's lower valued coins last week on EBay.
The results:
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5 ouch! >>
I'm not sure about the "ouch" comment. What kind of prices were you expecting? Full retail price plus $5 on top for common items? The prices realized seem realistic, considering $5.00 shipping, no returns. Most collectors would rather inspect these kind of items in person, pick the best ones and pay retail, or buy larger lots at wholesale, perhaps 20% to 40% below what your items are selling for when factoring in the shipping and the buyer's time.
Another factor is how much your time is worth. Taking photos, listing, collecting payments, going to the bank to cash checks, to the post office to ship individual items can take a lot of time.
/edit oops Paypal accepted
buyer looks at delivered cost a 89 proof set for $7.75 isn't that weak
buyer doesn't care about listing fees, PAYPAL fees, postage and packaging and post office time
if it is any consolation, a couple weeks ago I was selling bulk silver at a dealer and while waiting overheard an offer for $2/set for some proof sets - couldn't see the year
so even though a pain in the ass and feels like working for eBay
with good stuff, many items sell for high retail (not Littleton high, but still high)
<< <i>First off, don't sell them until well after the Christmas season. If you start listing them in the next week you will have missed the Christmas bubble and prices will be low.
I rarely ever get burned on no reserve auctions. I'd give it a shot. >>
What is this "Christmas bubble?" When does it occur? I'm thinking that good realizations would run for at least the next week, but it sounds like you have contrary experience.
Would a good-post Xmas time be Feb and March?
Screw eBay. Put them on the BST, or cherrypick them for any varieties, low mintage pieces, gems or error coins. After all, she left them in your care. Be a good brother... have her contact me
ask for Joe
<< <i>I visited a couple of local shops the past two weeks and both had box after box of modern mint stuff they had purchased sitting behind their counters. It was carelessly tossed there in both cases. I asked the owners and they said they were getting clients in every day to dispose of it and sometime in the future they would whole sale it out. It indicates to me that there is a glut of this stuff out there for sale and some folks need some cash. I wasn't about to ask them how much they paid for it. >>
You speak truth, my friend. There is a glut of moderm Mint stuff out there. We buy it in over the counter at 30% back of bid, keep what we need for retail sales, and three or four times a year ship several thousand dollars worth out to a wholesaler at 10% back of bid, or less money for the problem stuff. Out of the difference we get to pay for shipping and our time and the cost of carrying the inventory.
If you have an infinite amount of time on your hands, and want to play on eBay to realize 10% back of bid after eBay fees and handling, and have perhaps 25% of the stuff left over after a few months, go for it. Or, take it to a dealer and have him write a check in your sister's name. We will sometimes negotiate the discount up a bit for a good assortment of nice, fresh that people haven't written all over the boxes on.
I realize that these comments will offend the people who are convinced that coin dealers are greedy monsters who have the audacity to charge more for stuff than we pay for it. However, in business school they taught me that a profit is not without honor.
TD
<< <i>Whatever ya' do, go slow and be cautious.
I recently became an eBay seller. I sold 18 items on eBay in Sept. & Oct. All original U.S. Mint packaged products from proof sets to first day Nickel covers. Here are a few items where I lost big:
1992-S Silve Proof Set $8.13
1992-S Clad Proof Set for $0.99
1983-D Denver Mint Souvenir Set for $21.02. These things average around $38!** I won this set- and it to me was fairly reasonable for what the set is.*** and I left good feedbacl as well. MH2
Overall, I lost around $100 (compared to my cost) on 18 items. Needless to say, I'm cooling off for awhile until I figure out how to achieve better returns. You can buy all the books you want, but $0.99 for a proof set that cost more than ten-times the hammer price is very disappointing indeed.
One last auction link: 1994-P U.S Veterans Proof set $96.09 - I paid $140 for it a few years ago
I'm not discouraged. I just chalk it up to the cost of learning how to do business on eBay.
Good Luck!
very few items will bring more then that.
sad.
<< <i>If you have an infinite amount of time on your hands, and want to play on eBay to realize 10% back of bid after eBay fees and handling, and have perhaps 25% of the stuff left over after a few months, go for it. >>
This pretty much sums up my experience with selling modern proof sets on eBay, except that that 10% back of bid came before paying the eBay/PayPal fees. And packing supplies aren't necessarily free, either.
You might be lucky, but I found that bidders did indeed take shipping costs into account in their bids, and when you have to charge $3 or $4 or $5 to ship that $10/$15 set (there are lots of dates which sell in that range, not to mention the ones which sell closer to $5), well... you can see how that's likely to work out for you if you think on it a minute.
Then there's the time it takes to package the stuff. It's not at all like selling individual coins in 2x2's that you can just stick into bubble envelopes in 20 seconds and you're done- you have to take the time to find boxes (if you're shipping first class) or go to the post office to pick up Priority Mail boxes (if they're not out of them and you have to order them online). Next, you need to take the time to find padding material (unless you're into recycling and you have a bunch of that stuff on hand already, or you like to dumpster-dive) or go to the office supply store and buy the stuff because buyers hate cracked cases. Then you have to pack the sets.
And when you're done with all that, one or two of your winning bidders (who have already paid through PayPal) will email you and ask you to hold up shipment because they're bidding on another of your sets, and won't you please ship them together so they can save on shipping, and shouldn't you be able to mail three sets for less than $5 anyway? So you unpack the sets you just packaged, and prepare yourself for a second PayPal transaction fee on the deal, because it confuses some buyers when you refund their first payment and ask them to make one combined payment- they've all heard about internet scammers, and anything out of the ordinary can set them off.
When I bought that lot of proof sets, I thought I was getting A Real Good Deal™. Little did I know...
<< <i>it seems no one wants to pay retail of what it originally costs and
very few items will bring more than that.
sad. >>
That must mean retail prices are too high. We need new stickers™
the posters who set me straight and reflected my own experience.
I put those 5 "test" EBay lots out for a reason. I have no experience selling modern Mint coins, lesson learned.
I spent
15 minutes imaging a 1989 proof set (perfectionist here),
15 minutes uploading the image, choosing the best image, cropping & resizing it & uploading it to my web space,
8 minutes listing it on EBay,
2 minutes accepting and printing the PayPal transfer,
5 minutes packaging it,
15 minutes waiting on line at the post office to mail it (the same time it took me to image it).
That's 1 hour to post/sell a 1989 Mint Set that made $2.75, minus EBay & PayPal fees.
And my sister wanted to "split" the profits
Lakesammman - If she sent you 30 lbs of potatoes, you can't expect prices realized from 30 lbs of peaches.
But at least I could make french fries
<< <i>Thanks for the very informative responses guys. Mrpotatoheadd, CaptHenway, and IrishMike among
the posters who set me straight and reflected my own experience.
I put those 5 "test" EBay lots out for a reason. I have no experience selling modern Mint coins, lesson learned.
I spent
15 minutes imaging a 1989 proof set (perfectionist here),
15 minutes uploading the image, choosing the best image, cropping & resizing it & uploading it to my web space,
8 minutes listing it on EBay,
2 minutes accepting and printing the PayPal transfer,
5 minutes packaging it,
15 minutes waiting on line at the post office to mail it (the same time it took me to image it).
That's 1 hour to post/sell a 1989 Mint Set that made $2.75, minus EBay & PayPal fees.
And my sister wanted to "split" the profits
Lakesammman - If she sent you 30 lbs of potatoes, you can't expect prices realized from 30 lbs of peaches.
But at least I could make french fries
Email me. I'll buy the whole deal. You'll likely net more than from Feebay or the b/s/t/ board.