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The ABSOLUTE WORST thing about selling a coin for a loss....
topstuf
Posts: 14,803 ✭✭✭✭✭
...is knowing some clod is gonna get a better buy than you did. 
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You gotta do what you gotta do. You're knowledgeable enough (right ?) to make up any loss and then some the next time.
I can agree with this...but if the buyer cherry-picks from you...I find to be inexcusable...as a variety collector.
I once sold a coin to a dealer (I should have picked up that the dealer tipped his hand when he about fell out of his chair when he saw it), who turned around and sold it to a collector within minutes for a very nice mark-up. I just did not know that this coin was on someone's want list. Knowledge is power.
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It also depends on the cause of the loss and your plans with the proceeds...if prices are down for other coins in the same series, and you're selling to buy other examples, your purchasing power will have not diminished.
If you just bought in high relative for the series then yeah - ouch.
I have sold many, many coin coins for a loss and never worried about it.
I always put the proceeds (loss) into much better coins.
It's nice to think that way, but you NEVER make up a loss...
As even if you make a profit on the next item sold your old loss still impacts you negatively.
Disagree on that one buddy. Taking losses (on error dreck) and reinvesting in error eye appeal has worked out great for me
Plus the learning experience of what not to buy.
I'm happy to hear things worked out well for you although we seem to do math differently.
Math as in mathematics, not meth
Yes, math.
Holding onto a loser for a long time ties up cash, thus opportunity on that cash.
I am not advocating buying losers, it is just most collectors/dealers have coins they are not happy with. I sell those coins for whatever I can (market value) to buy something really nice that appreciates instantly
so yes, math 
As someone with degrees in mathematics and statistics (2 bachelors, 2 masters), I agree with this statement.
Minor Variety Trade dollar's with chop marks set:
More Than It's Chopped Up To Be
Maybe not ... if the market continues to decline.
Well of course you are correct. If I toss a nickel into the fountain, it is lost forever and that is the interest on a few thousand in a checking account these days!
However, I look at things differently as I believe what happens in the past has an effect on the future. That includes selling a coin at a loss. You can figure out how many examples of serendipity we can all come up with to prove my point: "You gotta do what you gotta do."
said well. OP is technically correct but misleading because it ignores all other factors that contribute to reality.
Minor Variety Trade dollar's with chop marks set:
More Than It's Chopped Up To Be
Kinda like staying married just for the kids
So at some point if you are not getting any bites you need to cut bait and move on.
Putting badly spent monies toward something better.
However not too soon as errors can take more time to sell than regular coins.
... is your wife forgetting that it is a hobby and not an investment.
Is the way the IRS treats you. If you can't prove that you are an invester, you can't write off the loss. I don't have a problem with that, but what really makes me angry is the fact that you can't offset losses against gains, even if you would show a net gain.
Years ago if you could show that selling coins was a source of income, you could offset the gains and losses. Now you can't.
The IRS treats gamblers better than they coin collectors. If you win at the gambling tables, you can offset the wins with the losses. That's just not right.
I am just the opposite in that they the buyer got a good deal and I sold them the good deal! I would be HAPPY FOR THEM!
Not anymore with the new tax laws. The winnings are treated as ordinary income. The losses are reported as an itemized deductions (Schedule A). So you need to be able to itemize to get 20 cents on the dollar back as a deduction.
I am okay with this as long as I learn something from the mistake and don't repeat it. That said, the bigger the dollar amount, the more expensive the mistake.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
Opportunity cost @Broadstruck, opportunity cost.
I take the loss and move on. If the loss due to lower bullion price or dropping bids in the sheet it’s a non controllable anyway.
OK, this is simple to me.
Nobody on this board makes a profit 100% of the time. Hopefully, you are talented enough to win most and lose a few. The chief engineer that mentored me said he was happy with making better than 75% good decisions.
Many people on this board brag about their scores (me included), but when you have a loser, sell it and move on.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
If you only ever sell for a gain, you know something I don't.
Keep that going and you will be rich one day!
Capital gains and losses, including collectibles, seem pretty straightforward. https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc409. Would you please cite a current IRS reference for "proving you are an investor" in order to write off a capital loss on a collectible?
Worst thing about taking a loss?
When the dealer you sell it to ends up upgrading the coin (after you tried it at least once) and then doubling up on price .
But the standard the deduction has gotten to be so high that most people are better off using it instead of itemizing.
Thank you for the citation. I will have to study it. I have battled over this issue with two successive CPAs who said I did not qualify as an “investor” despite the fact that I was a dealer for over 12 years.
You only realize a loss if you sell a coin....
As a collector, I buy what I like and I keep it.... A hobby is maintained with disposable income. The picture changes rapidly if you are a dealer...Then it is a business and profit/loss is critical. Cheers, RickO
Glad I am not trying to make a living with coins. I can only think of 2 times that I have made a "profit." And I have purchased a heck of a lot more than 2 coins.
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Nothing like cleansing one's ego with a shower of math, whether it's shelf life, grading tries, return shipping charges or a rejections from those you'd expected to like it.
For me, the worst thing about taking a loss is finding out later someone else got the upgrade
Can I hear a boo-hoo? Is the world's smallest violin playing a sad tune in accompaniment?
The new buyer will have paid less than the OP, but down the road both could well have overpaid.
When I buy a typical coin from a dealer or a big auction house I don’t expect to make money selling the same coin in a short period of time if my tastes change or I find something better. I’m happy if I get 90% of my purchase price back.
I try to keep the coins I really like and sell the ones I am no longer interested in keeping or that I'm tired of. When I sell those coins I'm just glad to be rid of them because they no longer fit my goals. So if some other clod gets them then so be it.
Been there; done that.
Still better than golf as a hobby/investment. Best return is the friends you make.
Or if you just want OUT you smoetimes have to take what you can get. I don't care for those who think I OWE them lowball deals.