My Selling Experience
TommyType
Posts: 4,586 ✭✭✭✭✭
I just got through selling 26 lots on Great Collections over the weekend. Just about all of it was “junk that needed to go”, so I wasn’t expecting to make a killing. Just hoping to convert some non-core coins to cash. Some thoughts:
1) Time fixes most mistakes:
Essentially, I got back what I spent once you aggregate the entire 26 lots. It wasn’t because the lots were great, and easily turned to cash. It was because they were bought so long ago that the price movement covered up what widgets they really were.
Sure, when you consider the time-value of money, I still lost. But taking into account the “joy of ownership” for a few years? I’m still claiming a dead heat.
2) Problem coins do sell....
I had 2 net graded ANACS coins that I really didn’t expect to do very well. Heck, even I’ve gotten to the point that I don’t look at problem coins anymore. But they sold fairly well! I still took a loss on a whizzed 20-cent, but I made money on a scratched Seated $1. (Both bought raw, and sent to ANACS by yours truly).
3) VAM’s can sell well....but Morgan bidders are cagy.
I had 4 “Top 100” VAM coins, annotated, in ANACS holders. For the first 10 days or so, nothing was happening. I had resigned myself to taking it in the shorts on those. But in the last day, the bids started piling on, and I did really well on them, probably getting full retail. I think that there is such a glut of Morgans available...everywhere...that nobody wants to commit to one until the last minute?
4) PCGS/NGC holders get early bids....but better coins still win in the long run
Most of what I had for sale was ANACS or ICG graded, with 2 PCGS and 2 NGC. Those “better holders” were the only ones getting bids early on. But later in the week, they had “maxed out”, while the better coins in ANACS started to get attention. In the end, the holders didn’t matter.
5) Best performer: 1896-O Morgan. Bought raw as an XF-45....slabbed at ANACS as an AU-58. In other words, I did well because I could grade better than the dealer.
Worst performer(s): I had higher expectations for an AU-50 1853 Seated Half-Dime (ANACS), and an 1943-D MS-64 Walker (ICG). Both were quality coins, in my mind, but didn’t generate much interest. The ICG holder might have been an issue...common coin, why buy a in a 2nd tier holder? The Half-Dime, being a limited year type, still puzzles me. Maybe it didn’t photograph well....
6) I really liked the workings of Great Collections. No muss, no fuss, no dealing with bidders, no dealing with shipping. I’ll be back. For anyone who hasn’t been that route, be warned that bidding IS generally limited to the last couple of days. My bid $$ totals more than doubled between late Friday, and closing on Sunday. So, don’t sweat it....like I did.
1) Time fixes most mistakes:
Essentially, I got back what I spent once you aggregate the entire 26 lots. It wasn’t because the lots were great, and easily turned to cash. It was because they were bought so long ago that the price movement covered up what widgets they really were.
Sure, when you consider the time-value of money, I still lost. But taking into account the “joy of ownership” for a few years? I’m still claiming a dead heat.
2) Problem coins do sell....
I had 2 net graded ANACS coins that I really didn’t expect to do very well. Heck, even I’ve gotten to the point that I don’t look at problem coins anymore. But they sold fairly well! I still took a loss on a whizzed 20-cent, but I made money on a scratched Seated $1. (Both bought raw, and sent to ANACS by yours truly).
3) VAM’s can sell well....but Morgan bidders are cagy.
I had 4 “Top 100” VAM coins, annotated, in ANACS holders. For the first 10 days or so, nothing was happening. I had resigned myself to taking it in the shorts on those. But in the last day, the bids started piling on, and I did really well on them, probably getting full retail. I think that there is such a glut of Morgans available...everywhere...that nobody wants to commit to one until the last minute?
4) PCGS/NGC holders get early bids....but better coins still win in the long run
Most of what I had for sale was ANACS or ICG graded, with 2 PCGS and 2 NGC. Those “better holders” were the only ones getting bids early on. But later in the week, they had “maxed out”, while the better coins in ANACS started to get attention. In the end, the holders didn’t matter.
5) Best performer: 1896-O Morgan. Bought raw as an XF-45....slabbed at ANACS as an AU-58. In other words, I did well because I could grade better than the dealer.
Worst performer(s): I had higher expectations for an AU-50 1853 Seated Half-Dime (ANACS), and an 1943-D MS-64 Walker (ICG). Both were quality coins, in my mind, but didn’t generate much interest. The ICG holder might have been an issue...common coin, why buy a in a 2nd tier holder? The Half-Dime, being a limited year type, still puzzles me. Maybe it didn’t photograph well....
6) I really liked the workings of Great Collections. No muss, no fuss, no dealing with bidders, no dealing with shipping. I’ll be back. For anyone who hasn’t been that route, be warned that bidding IS generally limited to the last couple of days. My bid $$ totals more than doubled between late Friday, and closing on Sunday. So, don’t sweat it....like I did.
Easily distracted Type Collector
0
Comments
Your report makes me feel better.
Bid early and often!!
Anything but annoying.
Very useful firsthand account.
"If I say something in the woods and my wife isn't there to hear it.....am I still wrong?"
My Washington Quarter Registry set...in progress
Glad it worked out for you, especially with some near retail results. If people did their research before consigning, they would have an even better experience, knowing all the caveats, what does well what doesn't.
I would agree with that statement.
Though, I was willing to "take what I can get", there were some coins that were buried in along with 2 or 3 just like them...grade, date, etc. Unless your coin is exceptional, it's hard to get a good price among the competition. Particularly true for moderns, I think, where there might be many multiples available.
(I got through some of the clutter by just starting LOW on opening bids. Once you get one or two people committed emotionally, it's easier, and everything sold.)
Guess that's why I THOUGHT my 1853 Seated Half-Dime would do better....It stood alone, but still floundered.
1853 half dimes with arrows are common, common, common. In an off holder, in a circulated grade, it was doomed to be a bargain shopper's buy from the beginning. Typing "1853 half dime" into ebay search bar reveals 698 results. Yikes.
Yeah....Think I learned that.
Also doesn't help that 1853-55 all work for type, in the half-dime world.....unlike quarters and halves where the 1853, Arrows and Rays, is a one year type.
The 1837 dime/half-dime one year type, and the difficulty I had tracking nice ones down, was also probably dancing in my head, too.
Expectations appear to be my issue.
(I got through some of the clutter by just starting LOW on opening bids. Once you get one or two people committed emotionally, it's easier, and everything sold.)
I agree that starting with low opening bid works best, especially on common coins like Morgan dollars. Some people filter out coins with no bids.
I usually let them start at $1 and let the bidders figure out the fair value. You will win on some and lose on some, but overall you will get more early bids and activity with a $1 start. IMO
You send the coins to THEM?
Hey, I may change my thinking completely.
I should investigate more stuff.
Edited....duh....
Hmmph
(I got through some of the clutter by just starting LOW on opening bids. Once you get one or two people committed emotionally, it's easier, and everything sold.)
I agree that starting with low opening bid works best, especially on common coins like Morgan dollars. Some people filter out coins with no bids.
I usually let them start at $1 and let the bidders figure out the fair value. You will win on some and lose on some, but overall you will get more early bids and activity with a $1 start. IMO
A $1 start on a 5-10k coin???
I previously auctioned 20 coins February this year. Average coins nothing special,
or so I thought. Let GC determine opening bids but hard to watch for a week watching
bids or lack of.
Lost a little on 19 of them, but a proof 1951 Jeff. Nickel PCGS 67 CAM (which I paid $150)
sold for $2,500. Don't know what I may have missed but don't really care.
All in all GC is good to work IMHO
I've got a lot of $50-$150 items that I will likely lose some $ on. I've just been hesitant to do anything as I have stopped selling on ebay a few years back (they got too stupid for me) and many of the consignors want coins above a certain amount (and/or it isn't worth it on the lower end ones).
GC is tempting, for sure.
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
2) Problem coins do sell....
I had 2 net graded ANACS coins that I really didn’t expect to do very well. Heck, even I’ve gotten to the point that I don’t look at problem coins anymore. But they sold fairly well! I still took a loss on a whizzed 20-cent, but I made money on a scratched Seated $1. (Both bought raw, and sent to ANACS by yours truly).
Problem coins sell in slabs because unscrupulous sellers will crack them out of the slab and sell them as a problem-free raw coin.
I think it's s great option, for the reasons I stated. But you do lose some control that you might have on eBay, or other venues.
Remember, I was just cleaning house. Any bid was a "good" bid. If you are looking to PROFIT, and have a bare minimum you MUST get out of a coin, you probably need to do some research on what sells well, (as mentioned by Logger7), and work with GC to set a bid minimum that works for you.
Though, in my case, I probably could have gone with entirely $1 minimums, (as mentioned by 10000Lakes), and gotten pretty much the same results. There is enough traffic to make sure nothing falls through the cracks...but maybe not enough traffic to market REALLY high end stuff(?)
Added:
To clarify what "action" I got:
- Final bids went from $6 at the low end, to $224 at the high end. (The $6 close was an ICG coin that was never what the given grade purported it to be....and the bidders saw that!)
- 21 of the 26 coins sold for under $100.
- Number of bids on lots ran from 3 to 29, with the average being about 12.
- Plenty of page views....but I don't have the numbers handy. Nothing went close to being ignored.
If you trust the market, I think GC has a market that works? If you don't...set higher minimums.
(I got through some of the clutter by just starting LOW on opening bids. Once you get one or two people committed emotionally, it's easier, and everything sold.)
I agree that starting with low opening bid works best, especially on common coins like Morgan dollars. Some people filter out coins with no bids.
I usually let them start at $1 and let the bidders figure out the fair value. You will win on some and lose on some, but overall you will get more early bids and activity with a $1 start. IMO
A $1 start on a 5-10k coin???
GC has a pretty good number of followers, not much will fall through the cracks, especially on Morgans.
If your coins are nice or CAC'd they will do well.
I had a few sell for way more than I expected, they all started at $1.
Some didn't do as well, but then they were non CAC'd widgets.
Also no sellers fee on +$1000 coins, so you net the full bid not including the 10% buyers fee.
These three sold for more than I expected. Maybe I would have done better at one of the larger auction sites, but you never know.
I wasn't expecting 5K on 1890-cc, but that's were it ended up.
1890-CC Morgan Silver Dollar Tailbar PCGS MS-62 CAC (PCGS Green Regency Holder)
1886 Morgan Silver Dollar PCGS MS-65 CAC OGH (1st Gen) (Toned)
1888 Morgan Silver Dollar PCGS MS-65 PL CAC
This week I entered bids a week ahead on 2 lots I really wanted. I made sure I owned the key bid increments. I won one exactly on the key increment. Another bidder was $2 under me and would have to go $50 higher. That wasn't gonna happen. When the bid increments are only $2-$10, it seems a lot harder to keep someone from uncovering your high bid. In any case, next time I need to sell some misc coins, this is a great place to do it.
I've had good luck both buying and selling there.
Great people.
And I won't even bother to respond to the troll below. There is good reason why he is permanently on my ignore list.
It is apparently OK for Mr. BMOC to disparage CLCT's performance in the stock market, but if anyone here has less than positive remarks about other numismatic enterprises, the goddamn hypocrite is pounding his keyboard like a true loser.
"Everything is on its way to somewhere. Everything." - George Malley, Phenomenon
http://www.american-legacy-coins.com
Successful card BST transactions with cbcnow, brogurt, gstarling, Bravesfan 007, and rajah 424.
I'm still trying to figure out how to overcome the $800 loss I took on several toned Morgans, an 1878 Proof Morgan and top tier type coins a couple years ago thru GC. Haven't made it up on the selling side yet. GC is definitely an efficient operation, but they just don't have the eyes on their sales that the big houses have. Yet.
This comment means nothing without knowing what the exact coins/grades were and what you paid and what they sold for and what they looked like and...................
I'm still trying to figure out how to overcome the $800 loss I took on several toned Morgans, an 1878 Proof Morgan and top tier type coins a couple years ago thru GC. Haven't made it up on the selling side yet. GC is definitely an efficient operation, but they just don't have the eyes on their sales that the big houses have. Yet.
And I won't even bother to respond to the troll below. There is good reason why he is permanently on my ignore list.
If I am on your list, how did you see my response? If you are going to sling mud at GC like this, at least back it up with some form of factual information. You might be out 800 bucks because you don't know what you are buying and how much to spend.