Is flipping getting harder?
kiyote
Posts: 5,580 ✭✭✭✭✭
I recently bid on a PCGS MS69 First Strike Boy’s Town half dollar, which is the new key by a mile with sales of 15,525. My bid was $23– mostly just to track the coin and watch the auction. I didn’t actually expect to win but I did, at $22.50 for the coin.
No “you suck” prize necessary, prices on these are really weak. That’s less than what they sold for raw from the mint! Or flippers getting crushed? I kind of see this across the board on more recent “rarities” from the mint.
"I'll split the atom! I am the fifth dimension! I am the eighth wonder of the world!" -Gef the talking mongoose.
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Generally people lose money selling the 69s. The idea is to make them up with the 70s.
A quick check of completed listings reveals many PCGS MS69 pieces for under $25 delivered.
You need to score some 70s to cover your 69s. ebay.com/itm/2017-D-US-Boys-Town-Commemorative-BU-Half-Dollar-PCGS-MS70
The mint sells at retails plus........yep, getting harder to do on moderns.
bob
I’d think that even raw these should be bringing $45-$55 a coin, more in line with what the old key, the Swiming Half of 1996 would bring raw.
Prices have fallen on those dramatically on the BU swimming halves from those days as well
Yup !!!
look at the u.s. mint sales, down bigtime. everyone including the big boys are sick of losing their shirt with every u.s mint purchase. I stay away
Flipping was never easy or generally profitable except for a handful of issues. And that really only tends to apply to things that sold out quickly with an uneven distribution of coins. For anything with an HHL, most people get them out of the gate and that's the end of it. Very little secondary market and almost no long-term appreciation.
It's a retail operation at the Mint, not a wholesale operation. Buy at your own risk.
I agree. If moderns are your bag-I have a few, and like most issues-I believe picking the issues I like in the secondary market is better in the long run. Most are a lot more attractive at present than even one year ago.
Too many modern commemorative coins has finally caught up with this market. I used to maintain a complete set of the modern commemoratives in the original mint packages, but I'm just tired of them. There are too many of them; they cost too mich; and most of them are worth less than their issue prices. This year there is this debased gold breast cancer coin, which does not interest me at all.
if the mint issues a commemorative that covers a topic that interests me, I'll buy it. Otherwise I'm done chasing the rabbit.
Recent ebay shows 2 sales below $20 for this coin.
Flipping anything for a consistent profit usually requires stable to increasing market prices. Note how many house flipping TV shows there are right now. Its much easier to flip a home for a profit with the tailwind of a strong market. Not much different with coins or any other asset.
Flipping coin widgets just ain't gonna work in a soft market. There are exceptions with coins and other collectibles where specific knowledge can (and often does) trump a soft market.
I used to do the same. I quit a few years ago and haven't looked back. Once I got over the "I gotta have it to keep my set complete" anxiety, it was clear sailing. My mint purchases are a fraction of what they were 7 or 8 years ago during the flip heyday when I could purchase a bunch and pay for my keepers (and more) through the profits...
mbogoman
https://pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/classic-issues-colonials-through-1964/zambezi-collection-trade-dollars/7345Asesabi Lutho
Do your research; on ebay you can go back 90 days, not sure why they limit it like that. Stuff that sells in the middle of the night routinely sells for less than the usual end times. Moderns have been in decline for a long time.
Most new Mint products are losers out of the gate....either get a 70 or wait a bit and get the coin for less than issue price.....I stay away from the new products. Cheers, RickO
The market for high quality, rare, or elite coins is stronger than ever. The mint strives to make the perfect coin, ergo years ago the elusive coin was ms66, and pf 67. In todays production world, Pr69DCAM are selling for $5.00. The target for best coins has shifted. MS 67 and Pf 69's are the norm and there are a lot of them. That's what's driving the market down. In years past we had a variety of good quality coins as the spectrum was MS63 thru MS67 so we had a lot of choice. Now our choices are PF 69DCAM or PF 70 DCAM. MS68's are the norm from the mint. OUr choices for a good quality coin are MS69 or PF70 and they aren't rare and most buyers today are investors . Us old guys back in the 60's and 70's knew this wasn't a money making business. We bought out of the shear love of owning that elusive coin knowing we weren't going to get our money back because we had no intention of ever selling it. And as this post Topic is Flipping, it exemplifies what's is happening in the coin collecting world today. Not saying this is a bad thing, as my collection in a few select areas is growing in value but that set of MS 63/65 Washingtons pales when I look at the ms67/68 set of State Quarters that are everyday coins.
Bob Sr CEO Fieldtechs
Flipping is fairly easy IF you know what you're doing. When I go to coin shows, I routinely buy 3 or 4 coins that I know will get bid up on eBay. I'm looking for coins that sell for under $200, with eye appeal. Often they are coins I have little interest myself (toned Morgans, for example). Then, every once in awhile I'll sell them (eBay). Usually I'll make money on 8 out of 10 coins. Not getting rich by any means, but it puts a few dollars in my pocket. My best deal so far was a low grade 1797 Large Cent that I paid $30 for, and it sold for $170 (and I have no idea why!)
Dave
The only profitable market for these coins is for the pieces that grade MS or PR -70 which caters to the registry collectors. Everything else that is graded lower is "stuff."
Like the commemative coin of old, the excessive numbers of issues dedicated to less than interesting subjects, has killed the market. Some day the cycle will start over, but for now these coins will be like the First Lady series. I only hope that the failed commemative coins will cost those who got the bill though Congress instead of paying them money. That will be the only way to end this insane flood of new coins that few collectors want.