Buy on Heritage, flip on eBay for 2x?

desslok

Two Canadian error coins (stuck on foreign planchets) just closed on HA for $176 and $258, respectively.

http://coins.ha.com/itm/canada/world-coins/canada-elizabeth-ii-error-5-cents-1979-ms63-ngc-/a/231452-64357.s
http://coins.ha.com/itm/canada/world-coins/canada-elizabeth-ii-error-25-cents-1978-ms63-ngc-/a/231452-64358.s

The are now offered on eBay for $375 and $475.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251782649201
http://www.ebay.com/itm/301474870702

Is this an overly optimistic flipper, or do these things happen?

JCMhouston

That particular seller often has material that is "fully priced" on ebay, but yes, it happens all the time.

And just to add, the error pieces are a pretty thin market, so it's hard to know how the pricing should be on them.

bronco2078

It's the curse of limitless ebay free listings .

pruebas

All mercantilism is really just flipping, so as long as he isn't misleading his customers, I don't see anything wrong with it.

I'm sure if he doesn't sell the items in a few weeks, he'll take less than 2x. But he has overhead and needs to make a profit too. (In a perfect world,) a buyer should understand that.

desslok

I wasn't saying there's anything wrong with what the guy is doing, I was just curious as to the business logic.

In my mind, eBay was sort of a low-end flee-market style of venue while Heritage I perceived as targeting the upper crust of collectors and prices. Purchasing on Heritage and then listing on eBay for twice the price just didn't make any sense to me. Am I wrong in my perceptions?

pruebas

desslok, Heritage will sell anything they can make money on. I imagine the lower end material comes with a collection or a consignment of better material.

eBay used to be a way to reach the masses, rather than just serious coin collectors. Not sure if that's the case anymore.

BTW, many years ago, I successfully sold an esoteric US$15,000 item in eBay.

Hyperion

<< <i>All mercantilism is really just flipping, so as long as he isn't misleading his customers, I don't see anything wrong with it.

I'm sure if he doesn't sell the items in a few weeks, he'll take less than 2x. But he has overhead and needs to make a profit too. (In a perfect world,) a buyer should understand that. >>



seems like a very bad business model, buy in a major auction house and pay the juice and then try to find a less sophisticated buyer on ebay to make a profit. pay ebay and transaction fees. you'd do way better finding better sources of materials.

glad I'm not paying my kids school like that

1960NYGiants

eBay has become more of a retail shopping mall. Relisting items bought recently at auction is very common especially if one believes that he got it a low price.

Many dealers buy coins at auction and offer them in their cases at the next show they attend. I see this as the same business model.