how do you buy coins
coinzzz
Posts: 46 ✭✭✭
i live in a small town and don't have a coin shop or credit card for online shops but I have an amazon card is buying coins off amazon a good decision (obviously checking the reviews to see if the quality of the coin is mentioned) and how do you buys coins?
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I buy a lot of coins but never have bought anything other than a silver Eagle from Amazon.
Great-collections is a very good online site. Non credit card payments are welcome (and encouraged) and they offer a huge selection of no reserve auctions each Sunday night.
Check out the BST (Buy, Sell & Trade - U.S. Coins board). There are many options for payment including checks.
Top 10 Cal Fractional Type Set
successful BST with Ankurj, BigAl, Bullsitter, CommemKing, DCW(7), Downtown1974, Elmerfusterpuck, Joelewis, Mach1ne, Minuteman810430, Modcrewman, Nankraut, Nederveit2, Philographer(5), Proofcollection, Realgator, Silverpop, SurfinxHI, TomB and Yorkshireman(3)
Ebay is the biggest coin store on earth.
You need to know what you are buying.
If you do not know what you are buying, then do not buy it.
I mostly go to shows and have participated in major auctions. I will buy items via the Internet without seeing the coins in person from trusted dealers, and I have bought coins from a dealer I didn’t know well if I saw the coin at a show.
For example I saw a Brilliant Proof-67, 1936 Buffalo Nickel at a Baltimore show. A month later I contacted the dealer, learned that he still had it and purchased the coin.
Local dealers are not that important to me because most of them don’t have what I collect. I am an advanced collector so it’s hard for most of those guys to have the items I am collecting.
Mostly on eBay, mostly raw and mostly way under market. I keep what I want and flip the rest for a small profit. I have bought material at b&m that was very nice and priced fairly. I have occasionally bought at shows and scored a few pics. I’m not doing Morgans currently so that means about 99.2% of the material at coin shows is not going to be for me. But I subsist on the pickings.
Food for thought! I explored my options for selling on Amazon. They have been after me for over 2 years. The problem is it costs to list and they charge 20% in Final Value Fees!
Mostly ebay and various online dealers.
I bought a couple low priced coins from EBay but I buy mostly from Northeast Numismatics and Northern Nevada Coin. Both of which I trust explicitly.
What kind of material are you looking for? I don't think I would buy any coins off amazon. You will probably have good luck with a want to buy post in the BST section.
I do a lot of buying on ebay(have to be particularly careful there), at small local shows, and my local shop.
Collector, occasional seller
1) Online through known dealers. They save me the time (and money) of searching for myself, and weed out the crap.
2) Auctions Online. This is for foreign only, valued about $2000 or less. I can tell from the photos if the coin is good. If in any doubt, I pass. I won't buy US this way as there's too much "processed" material out there.
3) Locally and at the occasional show I can attend-- Hope to see some of you at ANA next year.
Local coin dealer for coins. Bullion from the big ones (online) or the local coin dealer if he has any in stock.
I purchase coins from shows mainly, but also online from reputable dealers, and from the BST on this website. I used to do ebay, but have lately found it to be more of a dumping ground for problem coins from sellers with superior photographic skills.
If you're worried about how to pay, I'd suggest working with some of the dealers on our own BST. I've dealt with a number of dealers that accept postal money orders, personal checks, etc. The transaction will take longer, but you'll be assured of what you're getting. Mostly... anyway...
Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
Any venue that has coins for sale I use.
WS
Get paypal. Ebay, and here, are about the only places I buy coins.
The nearest B&M coin shop to me is more than a 2+ hour drive. So, in the past few years, I'd estimate that ~30% of my coins have been bought at coins shows and the other ~70% from on line dealers. I expect in the next few years, well over 90% of my buying and selling will be done with on line dealers. I'm getting to know some of these online dealers better than the dealers I have known at the shows for years.
If you’re interested in an eBay coin, check to see if the dealer also has his own site. The price is often cheaper on the dealer site since eBay fees don’t have to be paid.
Well, it's complicated, but I usually hand the owner some money and the owner hands me the coin and we go our separate ways.....or some minor variation on this.
A little bit off Ebay and then mostly coin shows, 4 or 5 a year.
I've given up on shops. The only good one in my area closed.
)
I tried another coin shop across I-405 recently and they wouldn't take a credit card for a Redbook purchase I needed for a class.
I got it cheaper from Wizard and it came in time so I won't darken that shop's doorway again.
(Sorry for the rant
I've pretty much much stopped buying coins online except from several dealers who I can work with and on the BST from members where I have had very pleasant transactions.
Go slow.
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
Shows, local auctions, online auctions, B&M, BST.
I've never purchased a coin from eBay.
"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
Try to get to at least one monthly show every so often in order to view lots of coins in hand. You will see all sorts of things both good and bad, including lots of neat 20th century coins, some 19th century stuff and of course, fake toned modern coins. You will hopefully develop a good eye and a given series or two will strike your fancy. Buy some good reference books once you decide which road to take. Try to be picky on the common coins. No porosity, Verdigris, annoying cleaning, scratched coins, etc. You may want to avoid the MS 69-70 Silver Eagle game. Either way it is just an ounce of silver. You don’t want to be the last guy standing in that situation. Ebay is ok but it isn’t what it used to be, for me at least. I go to one coin shop in my area as the dealer sets aside things that he knows I like. I don’t bother with the monthly shows near me as it is basically a waste of my time though with the same faces and more or less the same stock. I will go to the ANA and a few other very large shows to see my friends and perhaps find something interesting from another source. I have built good relationships with some specialist dealers and they will send me images of coins that I am interested in. They will mail it out on approval to me if I like the image.
Just have fun. It really can become a lifetime of enjoyment!
A couple of local B&M shops !!!
Mostly shows (nothing can compete to seeing the coin in hand), Great Collections, and a few on eBay here and there.
eBay may have the most coins for sale, but it is far from the best venue in my opinion.
I live in a major city, so I have 2 to 3 shows a month that I can attend, and that is where I have bought most of my coins. So far, I have not had to buy online, and I prefer to see the coins and a wide selection of coins when I'm looking to buy.
I understand the limitations of living in a rural area. Either you save up and wait until you can visit a major city during a show weekend, or you buy online. If you are just starting and on a budget, consider working on sets of recent coins by roll-hunting. There is something fun an alluring about search and discovery -- be it at a coin show or through rolls of coins.
My strategy is about collecting what I intend to keep, not investing in what I plan to sell.
how?
very carefully lately
BHNC #203
I used to buy at shows and shops... Now, there are none of either venue where I live. So, I buy some from the BST, occasionally ebay, never have tried Amazon, and some dealer websites. Oh yes, and occasionally from the local antique shops. Cheers, RickO
I like purchasing coins on the BST, once in a while eBay but mostly from on-line dealers and auctions.
+1
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
My Full Walker Registry Set (1916-1947):
https://www.ngccoin.com/registry/competitive-sets/16292/
I will add to this as buying can help you learn. I amend this to say:
I buy now almost exclusively from members here on the B.S.T. board. I have not had a single bad experience and in fact, over half the deals, I have been pleasantly surprised.
Bob Sr CEO Fieldtechs
Cash or PayPal Credit.
online and from people i have done deals with in the past
1997-present
2003- present
Online auctions where the fees aren’t crazy and some dealer websites.