So-Called Dollar prices.
keets
Posts: 25,351 ✭✭✭✭✭
Going back 15-20 years, three interesting things began to happen:
1.) Around 1999-2001 PM's began an upward climb which breathed sustained life into our Hobby, continuing for well over 10 years.
2.) As the internet came front and center, eBay strengthened and then changed, becoming less of an auction site and more a selling venue where Numismatics concerned. Today, BIN's tend to dominate.
3.) With eBay growing, So-Called Dollars suddenly became popular enough for a Second Edition book.
An average person might consider that over the course of that time some sort of reliable pricing would develop. A few have tried but to date nothing short of personal, diligent tracking seems able to lend any sanity to where medals are priced. There is an eBay seller --- smallforest --- who puts out his own price guide(or used to) and when the Second Edition was published it included a guide at the Publishers insistence.
This gets me to eBay and some of the sellers. Consider the link: https://ebay.com/sch/Exonumia/3452/i.html?_nkw=hk&_sop=16. Why would sellers list stuff like this??? What do you think they are basing their prices on, just a number they throw out hoping to land a fish?? Am I alone in thinking that enough interested buyers follow eBay so that low starting prices would fetch many bids and sell items at reasonably high and fair prices??
Considering that there are at least 20 medals listed at $1,000+ I think it safe to assume that this niche is lively but the bidders are kept away by the nature of the selling. Do you think there's any hope of eBay ever returning to a true auction site??
Al H.
Comments
oink
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
@keets, "I think I'm a seller" at those prices!
This Lesher Dollar graded NGC MS66 must be worth around $200,000 now??? I'm a seller at this level! Any takers?
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W. David Perkins Numismatics - http://www.davidperkinsrarecoins.com/ - 25+ Years ANA, ANS, NLG, NBS, LM JRCS, LSCC, EAC, TAMS, LM CWTS, CSNS, FUN
We all like to think that our pieces are exceptional. Exceptionally rare, attractive, under-graded. And valuable.
For some people, that value is integral to their identity--even if it's self-deception.
--Severian the Lame
I have noticed that even with cheaper pieces the prices seem all over the place on da bay.
Successful BST deals with mustangt and jesbroken. Now EVERYTHING is for sale.
@keets
It is out of my realm either way. Thank you for your insights
For there to be more auctions, more demand is necessary. It’s really easy to lose your shirt on a 99 cent auction for thinly traded items.
A Dansco or more Registry Sets wouldn’t hurt. There are actually 4 registry set definitions but only 3 actual sets. The definitions are pretty narrow. PCGS CoinFacts pages would be nice too.
Though I am not a collector in this segment (However, I do have a growing interest), the varied pricing I see when occasionally scanning these items, tells me either I know very little about this market (true), or, the market itself is not really established. @keets... your comments would lean in this direction. Cheers, RickO
I believe the pricing is confused for a number of reasons.
one of them is the price list included in with the Second Edition. I was casually involved and my thinking was that it would serve as a basis for prices to those with no knowledge of the medals and that has proven true. there have been dealers, even some forum members, who were unknown as SC$ collectors/dealers who are now involve with steep price levels, part of the problem. there are misc. sellers who, having nothing to reference, tend to be really close to the prices listed in that guide.
another is that medals like these can be hard to grade and hard to get accurate, realistic rarity/scarcity numbers without really watching what's going on. here again, the book is usually used even though the "R" numbers can be high/low and often misleading. it is too easy for a dealer/seller to buy low and then throw a high price on something without actually knowing anything. heck, it is hard enough for me to do those things due to the sheer number of listings. personally, I solve that by staying focused on a narrow part of the catalogue.
there are other reasons for the erratic prices, but the two above really stand out for me.
It appears to me that this seller is using eBay to display their collection and is willing to let them go for Pluto money.
No. I don’t think there’s any hope for Ebay returning to what they were.
The mantra today is “ Buy Now “, or move along. And if you do buy in, or out of auction, and do not like it, you can get your money back upon return of item. ( Ebay would have us just give it away to appease the buyer)
As to SCD$. To me, they’re about a buck.
As to the business model nowadays, companies (outside of numismatics and Ebay) tell me to just dispose of the item (when there might be problems or issues) because it’s too costly to return. Talk about a one way market.
SleazeBay with all of their infinite wisdom relevant to "consumer protection" has made it a wasteland for knowledgeable sellers. And the general trend toward the free market on social media is an omen for the future of the venue that was built on the backs of hard working individuals who now have been crowded out by the mass market sellers that came along to make SleazeBay into an ugly stepsister of Amazon. Keets, my suggestion is for you to create a So Called Dollar Buy/Sell/Trade group on FaceBook. You might be surprised at how much attention the FEEFREE platform would receive from SCD dealers and collectors !
P.S. - "internetsalesresults" - now that there is some funny stuff !
"Everything is on its way to somewhere. Everything." - George Malley, Phenomenon
http://www.americanlegacycoins.com
who would ever pay 75,000 for a medal? so what if the population is one, no market on them for anything close to that price
Listing on Ebay now is essentially free. To assume that any seller has an urgency to transact any collectible item at a fair price is a mistake.
I think @SCDHunter nailed it.
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CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
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Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
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More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
Or they are doing a good job of making knowledgeable collectors laugh !
"Everything is on its way to somewhere. Everything." - George Malley, Phenomenon
http://www.americanlegacycoins.com
I think the issue is that the SCD market is incredibly divided. You have some that are very common and really only worth a few dollars. Yet others are incredibly rare and still sell for only a few hundred dollars. Recently I purchased a piece for well over $1000 and the owner had bought it 20+ years ago for $45. He offered it for sale for $200 but that would not have been fair to buy it for that little From him. The market of SCD is still hurting due to lack of a solid market maker for the catagory Yes there are a few dealers selling some but that is not a market maker with deep enough pockets to support the catagory. The 2nd book you mention proves the point it was done by collectors not serious by any means and really very little new information. At some point the catagory will explode but not until someone steps forward to promote it properly