Thanks for everyone's advice earlier about selling at a show.
Millertime
Posts: 2,048 ✭✭
I appreciate everyone's comments on an earlier post about selling at a show. I put a lot of it to use last Friday. My first attempt at selling a few coins at a show actually went ok. I went to the local show with a buddy of mine from work who was also selling a few things. I didn't make much of a profit but since I didn't lose anything that was good. I looked around a bit and observed who was selling what then I picked three to four to show my coins to.
I had (2) CC Morgans and (3) AU53-55 Bust Halves (all certified) to sell while my buddy had an 1877 cent, 1889 CC Morgan and an 1864 SM 2c (all raw). At the first table I sold a CC Morgans for a price I was happy with but the offers on the other (4) were a little low. The next couple of tables were mostly a cursory look but no offers, it seems like there was one offer on a coin somewhere but it must have been low. At the last table I decided if I didn't sell anything I'd call it a day. I had the bust halves and a CC Morgan left so he made me an offer on all four that I thought was low so I removed the Morgan and then accepted the new offer on the bust halves. I ended up taking the remaining Morgan back to the first table and sold it for the original offer. This was the only coin I actually lost money on but it was only about $15.
I was asked what I wanted but no one had a problem giving me an offer when I countered by asking what they would pay. Once an offer was made though it seemed like it was either take it or walk. The first dealer was just as courteous when I went back the second time as he was initially.
As my buddy was trying to sell his he found out that a lot of people had multiples of the key dates he was trying to sell. The 2c had a little corrosion (just on the surface) so a couple of the dealers pulled it out of the airtite and swabbed it with a q-tip. I kind of shivered when they did that but it wasn't my coin. The coin was XF-AU (remember it was a small motto) and while one dealers was cleaning it he offered him $15 for it. I could hear my buddy stop breathing for a second and then the dealer realized that maybe he should check the motto. After he realized his error he made a better offer and apologized, he was so busy cleaning he forgot to pay attention. This dealer (who bought my bust halves) also bought all my buddy's coins.
My impression of the show, I was there from 12:30 to 2:00 on Friday, was that it was slower than past shows but not as slow as I expected form comments about other local small shows. Lots of key dates were available and buy prices of bust halves was soft. All in all it was a good day.
Millertime
I had (2) CC Morgans and (3) AU53-55 Bust Halves (all certified) to sell while my buddy had an 1877 cent, 1889 CC Morgan and an 1864 SM 2c (all raw). At the first table I sold a CC Morgans for a price I was happy with but the offers on the other (4) were a little low. The next couple of tables were mostly a cursory look but no offers, it seems like there was one offer on a coin somewhere but it must have been low. At the last table I decided if I didn't sell anything I'd call it a day. I had the bust halves and a CC Morgan left so he made me an offer on all four that I thought was low so I removed the Morgan and then accepted the new offer on the bust halves. I ended up taking the remaining Morgan back to the first table and sold it for the original offer. This was the only coin I actually lost money on but it was only about $15.
I was asked what I wanted but no one had a problem giving me an offer when I countered by asking what they would pay. Once an offer was made though it seemed like it was either take it or walk. The first dealer was just as courteous when I went back the second time as he was initially.
As my buddy was trying to sell his he found out that a lot of people had multiples of the key dates he was trying to sell. The 2c had a little corrosion (just on the surface) so a couple of the dealers pulled it out of the airtite and swabbed it with a q-tip. I kind of shivered when they did that but it wasn't my coin. The coin was XF-AU (remember it was a small motto) and while one dealers was cleaning it he offered him $15 for it. I could hear my buddy stop breathing for a second and then the dealer realized that maybe he should check the motto. After he realized his error he made a better offer and apologized, he was so busy cleaning he forgot to pay attention. This dealer (who bought my bust halves) also bought all my buddy's coins.
My impression of the show, I was there from 12:30 to 2:00 on Friday, was that it was slower than past shows but not as slow as I expected form comments about other local small shows. Lots of key dates were available and buy prices of bust halves was soft. All in all it was a good day.
Millertime
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Comments
merse
<< <i>What years and varieties were the bust halves? Which TPG? Was the offer better or worse than you expected? >>
1827, 1830, 1832 All NGC AU53 common varieties. Prices offered were greysheet AU prices from the first few dealers. The dealer I sold to was $50 higher than that for each one. Prices were lower than I hoped but I'm not real surprised.
Millertime
Complete Dime Set
I have had nothing but good experiences when selling at shows. I have found the dealers that have a strong customer base for the coins I wanted to sell and they seem to pay the most as it will not be in inventory for too long.
<< <i>I didn't make much of a profit but since I didn't lose anything that was good. >>
I would say that was GREAT! To be able to break even on a hobby you enjoy is almost unique to numismatics. To be able to profit, devine.
Congratulations!
Garrow
<< <i>See, we tole you, there aint nothing to it! >>
I don't know about that, I was starting to get discouraged but I learned a lot and in the end I was satisfied.
Millertime
Complete Dime Set