What Portion of the Online Coin Market "Is" eBay?
C0inCollect0r
Posts: 374 ✭✭
Hi folks,
Another somewhat random question I got to thinking about today ... just how much of the online coin market do you all think eBay accounts for nowadays? I know many (myself included) have become increasingly frustrated and annoyed with numerous aspects of the site, but I am wondering if buyers really go elsewhere in large numbers to search for coins? I don't know of many collectors who simply Google what they are looking for to then find a coin dealer's stand-alone website ... it seems most I know simply go to eBay and search there.
What do you all think?
Another somewhat random question I got to thinking about today ... just how much of the online coin market do you all think eBay accounts for nowadays? I know many (myself included) have become increasingly frustrated and annoyed with numerous aspects of the site, but I am wondering if buyers really go elsewhere in large numbers to search for coins? I don't know of many collectors who simply Google what they are looking for to then find a coin dealer's stand-alone website ... it seems most I know simply go to eBay and search there.
What do you all think?
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Comments
The decline from democracy to tyranny is both a natural and inevitable one.
eBay sales averages (per month/past 365 days)
US. Coins
Collections, Lots: $300,000 (per month)
Colonial: $24,000 (per month)
Commemoratives: $470,000 (per month)
Dimes: $240,000 (per month)
Dollars: $1,500,000 (per month)
Errors: $36,000 (per month)
Gold: $1,400,000 (per month)
Half Cents: $25,000 (per month)
Half Dimes: $18,000 (per month)
Halves: $600,000 (per month)
Large Cents: $70,000 (per month)
Mint Sets: $65,000 (per month)
Nickels: $180,000 (per month)
Proof Sets: $230,000 (per month)
Quarters: $400,000 (per month)
Small Cents: $480,000 (per month)
Three Cents: $19,000 (per month)
Twenty Cents: $10,000 (per month)
Two Cents: $10,000 (per month)
So roughly six million a month on average for the major US coin categories.
NGC registry V-Nickel proof #6!!!!
working on proof shield nickels # 8 with a bullet!!!!
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<< <i>eBay sales averages (per month/past 365 days)
US. Coins
Collections, Lots: $300,000 (per month)
Colonial: $24,000 (per month)
Commemoratives: $470,000 (per month)
Dimes: $240,000 (per month)
Dollars: $1,500,000 (per month)
Errors: $36,000 (per month)
Gold: $1,400,000 (per month)
Half Cents: $25,000 (per month)
Half Dimes: $18,000 (per month)
Halves: $600,000 (per month)
Large Cents: $70,000 (per month)
Mint Sets: $65,000 (per month)
Nickels: $180,000 (per month)
Proof Sets: $230,000 (per month)
Quarters: $400,000 (per month)
Small Cents: $480,000 (per month)
Three Cents: $19,000 (per month)
Twenty Cents: $10,000 (per month)
Two Cents: $10,000 (per month) >>
So do you think this accurately represents a ranking of popularity for the overall hobby?
In other words, are dollars the most popular collector coins? Are two cent and twenty cent pieces the least popular?
Is eBay so big that it represents a snapshot of the entire hobby?
<< <i>So do you think this accurately represents a ranking of popularity for the overall hobby?
In other words, are dollars the most popular collector coins? Are two cent and twenty cent pieces the least popular?
Is eBay so big that it represents a snapshot of the entire hobby? >>
Yes and no. Dollars are clearly an area in which there is a plethora of material which is suitable for eBay. That in and of itself lends the denomination to a larger collector base. And, the fact that dollars do more gross sales than gold does on eBay is telling indeed. However what these numbers can't show is what areas are "hot" and commanding more premiums due to strong collector demand and limited supply. For that you would have to delve slightly deeper to compare average total listings to total sales.
By example:
eBay Total Sold Listings (TSL) to Total Gross Sales (TGS) Monthly Average
Dollars
TSL 22,000, TGS $1,500,000
Avg $68 per sale
Two Cents
TSL 300, TGS $10,000
Avg $33 per sale
Gold
TSL 2000, TGS $1,400,000
Avg $700 per sale
Still even this is of limited usefulness as one really needs to dig deeper into the data. For example, dollars includes everything from a Flowing Hair to a Sac; Two Cents is just one defunct type; grades would be wickedly diverse; while technically gold should include no bullion sales it almost certainly does.
So there is some very broad usefulness to the data, but care should be taken not to read too much into it. Still, the "more rich" data is out there and could certainly be used to answer some interesting questions. Asking the right questions is where things get tricky.