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First time selling to Littleton
Jinx86
Posts: 3,710 ✭✭✭✭✭
Shipped them 4000 Indian Cents G-VG. They shipped me back half. Still it's not so bad as they were paying more than any other bid I could find. Process took two weeks.
Overall I would do it again.
Any other similar experiences? I was told going into it they would maybe take 100 of what I sent.
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So did they pay up for the better stuff, or a per piece price? Shipping?
eBay ID-bruceshort978
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That’s quite a haul.
EAC 6024
It was per piece all at the same rate. Shipping is not terrible, we each covered our own.
These were coins that I were well sorted for better dates/grades so nothing they could really skim for better.
Still have about 3000 on hand...
We are talking low grade coins, why did they not like half?
EAC 6024
Not sure, my guess is that I shipped them more than they could use at the time. So they topped off the dates they wanted/need for inventory and shipped the rest back. I've had it happen before when shipping a dealer 800 full rim Barber Halves.
they tend to be a little picky. Not to bad but they have a set level of standards. I have had some cons sent back.
That was always about my reject rate when I used to sell to them. It seemed that 40 to 50% would come back.
They're picky, but that's their business......
And for what they were paying it was worth letting them have first crack at it.
For how much they sell there stuff for it should be top quality
HAPPY COLLECTING
Do they [Littleton] list their 'buy' prices anywhere?
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Bad transactions with : nobody to date
they do tend to pay more than almost all other dealers for these types of coins but as mentioned they are very picky.
I stayed in a motel that left their lights on, once.
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
I hope you charged them five times the going rate when you sold to them!
A little OT but how do they sell ASE Tubes for $600 ?
Just wondering outloud.
https://www.littletoncoin.com/shop/ProductDisplay?urlRequestType=Base&productId=317259&catalogId=29555&categoryId=129940&errorViewName=ProductDisplayErrorView&urlLangId=-1&langId=-1&top_category=125429&parent_category_rn=125429&storeId=10001
2018 Roll of Twenty $1 Silver American Eagles in U.S. Mint Tube
$595.00
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Bad transactions with : nobody to date
A local brick and mortar store guy told me the same thing. He sent a lot of lower grade G-VG Indian Cents to them and got a good portion of them back. He characterized Littleton as “brutal.” Since this dealer is very honest I’d say that Littleton is into cream skimming the best of lower grade coins.
I will say this. My local club got a donation of Littleton cello-packaged presidential dollars. They were all of the really common stuff with the presidents that were issued for general circulation, not the “sold in rolls only” presidents. Those coins were all really top notch pieces. They had no marks or spots with great luster. The trouble is nobody wanted them. I couldn’t get anything over face for them.
I have sold to them from time to time. They want coins that are totally problem-free for the grade, so pre-screening is necessary so you don't pay shipping on coins likely to come back. Even so, coins always come back. But they pay very well for what they keep.
LRC Numismatics eBay listings:
http://stores.ebay.com/lrcnumismatics
Now you have wondering.
I bought a collection some years ago from a guy after his father passed.
All Littleton coins and I paid 40% of value after I took Littleton's grade and backed it up 3 levels.
Always wondered why this guy just didn't send them back to Littleton for sale?
AND
Before I get too much Flack about my buy price, I was $150 higher then everyone else.
I've used them before. Always a good experience, but also always picky.
Check out my current listings: https://ebay.com/sch/khunt/m.html?_ipg=200&_sop=12&_rdc=1
Back when I was working we bought in a large group (150 or so) of GSA dollars. Littleton had a buy published with the minimum grade of MS-60. Every coin qualified so I sent them the deal. They kept about 40 and returned the rest.
I NEVER sent them anything else after that.
As a dealer do you buy bellow your standards? How about if you have a published buy price? Better have some quality left on the bone to make it back, right?
11.5$ Southern Dollars, The little “Big Easy” set
They published a standard: MS-60, not MS-61 or MS-62. These were GSA coins. Every coin met their standard. They did not honor their Buy.
They used to.....I used to get bi-monthly or so flyers.....
Now I think you have to call...
Sorry for name dropping, but Gene Henry once told me that they started to send back about half of what he was offering to them. I don't know if he continued to do business with them after that.
The successful 'bulk' dealers are those that know how to move Littleton 'rejects'.
There is no single grading standard in numismatics. They honored their own standard for MS-60. I've heard many times over the years that they are picky when buying but pay well when they do. Perhaps gradeflation hasn't had an effect on the standard they use?
Maybe they can buy all those spotted and messed up silver bullion pieces that were removed from original packaging and "graded" something 'fancy.'
Exactly.
They have a lot of mouths to feed with their factory operation up in northern NH. I lived in the area for a while, kept hearing the same stories. They were always johnny on the spot with any large hoards buying as cheaply as they could. The cherry picking reminds me of other advertisers I've seen who don't honor their published prices. That tends to be misleading but since the misleading isn't against customers who buy, they are not in jeopardy. I offered nice certified currency material to them and still it didn't meet their "standards". It makes you wonder if maybe they are even fussier than cac.
I won't give you flack about your buy price. But what do you mean by "40% of value"? 40% of Greysheet? 40% of retail? 40% of melt? 40% of face value?
Has anyone tried the obvious experiment? Send them 4000 Indian cents. Take the 2000 rejects and send them back again.
MS-60 is a poorly defined grade. Many are very unattractive even if properly graded. I wouldn't buy ugly MS-60 coins, why should they?
I don't think anyone said they HAD to buy the coins. But the point is that they are wasting your time and money if they are advertising that they buy 60s but truly only buy 62s. They have every right to cherry pick what they buy, but maybe some people don't want to be cherry picked.
When it comes to selling to dealers "cherry-picking" is the way it is done ... and always has been done. No one wants the second rate material unless it is heavily discounted.
jmlanzaf may have a point, but get somebody else to send them back. I've had dealers tell me that Littleton routinely rejects half of everything, just so everyone stays on their toes about how "picky" they are.
I've had this thought also. It is not just MS60 they are picky about... it is all across the spectrum, from average circulated on up. I used to send them material, with the same results as mentioned above. Multiple shipments, downgrading coins so it would seem a no brainer... seemed to make no difference. After repeated returns between 40 - 60% of the material I finally realized it was not going to get any better... eventually gave up selling to them.
Please realize I am not criticizing them.. they have the right to do business as they see fit. They do pay some good prices... but realize that that will be for cherrypicked ones and you will be getting items back.
@Jinx86
I never know any seller offering me to cherry pick and send the rest back on any premiums...although I am just a small fish 
Is this mean by the time you get to your last 500....they would be the absolute reject ?
I actually did the suggested experiment... and sent back some of the 'rejects' (along with other new items). Some of the previous 'rejects' were purchased, some were again sent back. I did not keep track of the percentages, but helped convince me that it may be their practice to accept only a certain percentage and send the rest back.
They advertised that they would take MS-60 coins. They lied.
I strongly disagree. Dealers will try to cherry-pick (just like buyers) but you do not have to tolerate it, nor should you. Once you've been cherry-picked, good luck trying to sell the dregs. You'll get a much better price on the dregs if it's the only way to get the cherries.
A savvy dealer NEVER buries himself in his coins. Dealers who are not savvy quickly learn to be or go out of business.
No trouble with Littleton. They are picky but we all know that they took all my gsas, and half of my Indians, which I prescreened but also let a few slide just to test them and was no surprise . Buy prices are strong , I'll let take half my stuff at strong prices!
They also put quantities on their buy list. They can probably handle several hundred 1884 cc gsas , but probably don't need hundreds of 85s.
Satisfied seller here. Just use common cents!!
You are MISSING the point. As a part-time dealer myself, I would love to cherry your coins. As a seller, I will NEVER let a dealer cherry my coins because the price for the remnants goes down every time someone skims a coin.
Then be picky who let skim....the material that littleton sent back is already sold and Ive had more come in on the retail side. I'd rather get top dollar for them to pick out what they want than to get rid of everything at a lower level.
If your willing to sort my coins I've sorted for top dollar, Id give you a shot. However if your plan is to pay what everyone else is paying I'd pass. Littleton paid up to be able to sort my coins which netted me around $600 extra for what they took as compared to other bids.
Like I said, I'd do it again.
Really didn't think this would become a heated topic.
I've stopped trying to figure that stuff out. Innocent threads sometimes turn nuclear with no advance warning. Yours is still pretty tame, and the various perspectives are very interesting.
This IS a good thread and really not that heated. Thanks for posting it, I may try Littleton because of it.
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Bad transactions with : nobody to date
I just did a quick internet search like from usacoinbook and backed up the prices 3 grades, then offered 40% of the total of all coins.
I had bought (paid up for) a $10 gold eagle from the seller and later 2 capped bust halfs, so I figured I'd ask what else he had that he was looking to sell now that he knew I was a serious buyer.
He really liked the idea of selling all that was left in one lot and cashing out quick.
I feel badly for their buying customers; they are probably paying large premiums for their cherrypicked coins; with their overhead what else is possible? Then when the customer goes to sell they will lose real money in a hobby where buy/sells for knowledgeable customers is usually more like 20-30%.
Yes, the chance of making money is probably quite slim. I've always felt that there is something to be said for a business model where, if you order a 1907 Indian cent in very fine, you can be absolutely sure you're getting a 1907 VF Indian. Sure, you paid up for it, but you got what you wanted.
There is still such a thing as collecting for fun too. Not all collectors become sellers.
I've got other hobbies, amateur radio operating, collecting cars, among others. I know that if I ever decide to sell out, I'm going to get financially clobbered. I can live with that as I really enjoy those other hobbies.