Selling on eBay/BST vs. a dealer: A little experiment

doh

Well, I just completed the sale of the last of 4 relatively high value coins I had to sell. Of course, they went on the BST first...you probably saw them there. No takers. Then I shipped them to a prominent national dealer and was offered "between $3400 and $3500." I figured I could do better on eBay even with the fees, so off I went. I ended up selling two of the coins on eBay. Eventually I sold a third to a forum member and just today I sold the final piece to a different national dealer. The grand total? After all fees I sold the coins for $3660. So I guess I did a little better, but it also took about 2 weeks longer. Worth it? Yeah, it was for me because I have time, but I think my little experiment goes to show that with the new eBay fees it's many times better just to sell to certain dealers or, of course, the BST. <--- I know many of you already know that last tidbit.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

rgCoinGuy

I find it interesting that a dealer, who obviously is looking to resell, offered a competive bid to what you were able to get from ebay. Good info.

The only thing you didn't cover (and I know couldn't) would have been what they would have netted though a national auction company like Heritage.

Thanks for sharing.

au58

You should let everyone know who the "national dealer" was that offered $3400 and $3500.
If he was offering that much for coins that you retailed at $3660, then it sounds to me like he is a straight up guy.
Others may like to do business with him.

BXBOY143

<< <i>You should let everyone know who the "national dealer" was that offered $3400 and $3500.
If he was offering that much for coins that you retailed at $3660, then it sounds to me like he is a straight up guy.
Others may like to do business with him. >>

stman

I've sold quite a few coins to dealers that folks here thought my price was too much. The dealer might have the right clients and knows who wants them. The only time I will ask for an offer is if I bought it from the dealer. If they won't quote me a price to get it back ahead of time..... they don't get the coin back. This has happened recently and this particular dealer that used to quote a price for a coin they sold, didn't want to do it on some very nice, and tough coins.

As far as sending coins to a dealer for an offer, sure they need to see it in person first, but I might quote a price first and ask them if they like it is this something that might work. It is very well known, with many dealers that if they get the coin in their hand, they have the advantage of the deal. Sometimes they low-ball to see if you will
say the heck with it, and do the deal. Believe it or not, I'd rather do a deal with dealers sometimes as they will pay up (sometimes) for the good stuff. Too many folks around here try and low-ball so they can flip it, and IMO, they don't know the right or wrong time to do this.

gecko109

I recently had an 1806 draped bust quarter in PCGS VG8 on the BST with an asking price of $425. Not a single taker. Listed it on ebay at 1 cent no reserve, and 7 days later it hammered at almost $750. I have had this experience more than once or twice here, but this might be the most dramatic example.

GoldenEyeNumismatics

Ultimately, selling coins can be a crapshoot. Sometimes, you can find someone willing to pay a fair price, sometimes you can't find a single buyer, and other times it feels like the whole world wants the coin you have.

Glad you had a satisfying experience!

TwoSides2aCoin

I would have ZERO problems with a dealer making less that 7% on a coin. You only made a little more and spent a lot of time. It's not a bad thing or a good thing, but the dealer's offer was incredibly generous in my opinion.

doh

<< <i>but the dealer's offer was incredibly generous in my opinion. >>


I agree. That dealer was Harry Laibstain by the way for those interested. I was lucky enough to have the time to take a gamble and try to make more. One of the coins sold for about $500 less than I anticipated, but oh well. That's the market and I learned something.



<< <i>As far as sending coins to a dealer for an offer, sure they need to see it in person first, but I might quote a price first and ask them if they like it is this something that might work. >>


I totally agree, Stman. In fact, I did that with the dealer and was told that my number was pretty close, but they had to see the coins in person, etc. It didn't cost me anything to ship the coins, so I figured what the heck? Turns out, the numbers weren't so close, so I chose a different avenue.

Gecko: congrats on a nice sale. Bust Quarters are hotter than anything right now. I gotta start watching your BST ads

SilverEagles92

I the BST!

guitarwes

<< <i>I recently had an 1806 draped bust quarter in PCGS VG8 on the BST with an asking price of $425. Not a single taker. Listed it on ebay at 1 cent no reserve, and 7 days later it hammered at almost $750. I have had this experience more than once or twice here, but this might be the most dramatic example. >>




I must not have seen that one....

SilverEagles92

<< <i>

<< <i>I recently had an 1806 draped bust quarter in PCGS VG8 on the BST with an asking price of $425. Not a single taker. Listed it on ebay at 1 cent no reserve, and 7 days later it hammered at almost $750. I have had this experience more than once or twice here, but this might be the most dramatic example. >>




I must not have seen that one.... >>



Ditto! I would have paid that in a hearbeat! ($425, not $750 )

Cladiator

I had the same issue recently when I was liquidating about 2 dozen half dimes. I thought about the BST and/or eBay but ended up sending them to a well respected dealer in the end. The thought of the time, fees and superior pain in the butt eBay is eliminated that as an option. The BST would have worked but would have taken a long time to move them all. With the dealer I came out very well financially and moved them all in 1 day. Well worth it to me in this case.

dorkkarl

what i learned from this thread is that you got yourself a pretty good dealer

K S

illini420

to the BST!!!!!

ArizonaJack

We'll see. I had an SVDB on the bst for a few days, only lookers. Same coin on the bay now with my very first reserve ever, $100 more than bst price. Paid $xxx, looking to make $200 or less than 10% on a quick flip, if I can't make that, I'll keep it.

I had a want list buyer for it, but he chose the NGC I had of the same grade at $100 less..............

sonoranmonsoon

I will be interested to see if the number of bidders will drop significantly on ebay for higher priced coins when they stop checks and money orders later this month. Hopefully, many buyers will adopt to the situation and start using other forms of payment; but I have my doubts. Whenever I had coins that were higher priced on ebay, the odds of getting paid by check or money order seemed higher. Has that been the expeience of others here?

gecko109

<< <i>I will be interested to see if the number of bidders will drop significantly on ebay for higher priced coins when they stop checks and money orders later this month. Hopefully, many buyers will adopt to the situation and start using other forms of payment; but I have my doubts. Whenever I had coins that were higher priced on ebay, the odds of getting paid by check or money order seemed higher. Has that been the expeience of others here? >>



Actually it has been the reverse for me. Its the $20 and $30 sales that are most frequently money orders, and the big ticket pieces are paypal. I know that im planning on spending over $500 on an ebay item, I wouldnt even think of using anything BUT paypal as a buyer. I want protection!

sonoranmonsoon

That is interesting and encouraging. I was wondering if my situation was in the minority or not.

doh

<< <i>That is interesting and encouraging. I was wondering if my situation was in the minority or not. >>


Well, the two coins that I sold on eBay in this experiement sold for $1100 and $740 respectively and both were paid via Paypal. Like Gecko said, I think buyers want the protection.

rhedden

When I listed my large group of early copper cents (130+ coins) on the BST this past July, there were about 80 coins that did not sell after 10 days of listing. While many of those coins eventually went to ebay, almost all of the remaining coins were eagerly bought by dealers, near or at full asking price. Some of those coins turned out to have been grotesquely underpriced while they were sitting on the BST. One particular coin more than tripled in price after the dealer sent it to PCGS, while nobody here was interested in it. So there you have it- there are great deals to be found on the BST, and you don't necessarily have to be the first person to see the thread!

From a seller's perspective, I'd prefer the BST to ebay, except that 2/3 of my coins remained unsold on the BST. Ebay is a much larger market if you're selling a collection and don't want to be left with any unsold coins. Selling to a dealer is clearly the easiest route, but likely to net the smallest amount of money for you too.

Millertime

I have a handful of coins listed on the BST and I plan on getting my feet we with eBay very soon. I hope I have the same results as some of you.

Millertime