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Question for dealers large and small?
Coinstartled
Posts: 10,135 ✭✭✭✭✭
What do you do with your set price coins that do not readily sell.
I see plenty of stuff on Ebay that is substantially overpriced, relative to current market conditions. Collectors or part time dealers can sit and wait...and wait...and wait, for the guys seriously in the game, what is your strategy on Ebay and off?
Do you take incremental markdowns until the coins move or do you create or send the coins off to auction or wholesale them to another dealer or just slow down buying until the market gets better?
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Some dealers just sit on the same coins for years and years.
There is no single answer.
When I had my own business, typically, for any coins that were in inventory more than about 2-3 months, I’d consign them to auction, unreserved.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
No point considering what's happening on eBay. I hear they're going out of business soon.
33 months and counting
best to move them at what they are worth turns r the key to making $$$
Ike Specialist
Finest Toned Ike I've Ever Seen, been looking since 1986
Smart, smart, SMART!!
Automatic inventory control and assurance of fresh stock.
My hold time is a bit longer, but yes, then they get auctioned.
And if you are losing money?
There's simply no single right answer to whether to hold or sell. It really depends on what it is, what your current liquidity is, how active the market is for the genre, etc
I put it in a box and hide it in the closet for 10 years
My job is to BUY coins. I never worry about selling them.
When a couple thousand people look at your item, and state (by virtue of not buying)
"Your price is too high.'
It means
Your price is too high.
Either cut the price or open a museum.
One of my ebay sites, I cut the price 5% - 10% per month, until it is gone.
Depending on what you're selling, it might take years to get a couple thousand views. For some things, there are just not that many people looking to buy.
I'm always quick to adjust to the current market, and I have no problem taking a loss on a coin.
That said, there are many types of coins that cannot be expected to sell quickly in any market, good or bad. In fact, I buy many coins that I expect to sit around for many months, if not years. I couldn't last in business if I limited myself to such coins, but devoting a portion of my capital to slow-moving inventory works for me.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Sometimes, it means that only twelve of the lookers even knew what they were looking at, only two of them needed it, and neither one of them had the money available.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
I like the question!
I’ve always wondered what others strategy was.....
For myself, I think it’s ok to admit/accept I may have bought a coin wrong and sell/trade it for a loss without going down the wormhole thinking about it too much, valuing that against if I need the capitol it could produce. If I don’t really need the money, I just wait. It’s not like they’re gonna rust.
I've sent messages to some sellers and found that they are consignors. They sell other peoples coins for a fee and the client sets the prices. Stupid idea for the most part.
My shop does that and has had the same 1829 dimes up for 6+ years now....he said they are consigned goods.
bob
I've seen that to the point of amazement.
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
I started collecting capped bust quarters nearly 5 years ago, and some of the coins that were on eBay when I started collecting are still for sale for the same price they were 5 years ago. Evidently the sellers of those coins don’t seem too concerned with selling them.
I get a two hundred year old safe, put the coins in there and then have a big marketing campaign on ebay.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
That strategy is trademarked. I would try burying a ancient roman urn in the ground and pull them out of their. A 2000-year-old buried urn is waaay better than an old safe!
Are they full-time dealers or just collector/dealers?
I like to move inventory. BUT, there are some coins I like and I refuse to take a loss on them because I don't mind looking at them for the next 20 years. As a "reseller", anything I bought sales tax free must be for sale of I must pay the sales tax. So, they are on eBay for sale. But I will not compromise on price because I'm not going to lose money on a coin I like just to "move inventory".
Other widgets, move 'em along.
We raise the price and then it sells
Have had that happen on auctions. No buys at a given price and a substantially higher price at auction. Doesn't happen all that often though.
That does work at times.
I always thought they just ate them... With mustard
I've put stuff on Ebay for a set price that didn't sell and then reduced the price and put it in an auction format and surprisingly sold for more than what my set price was.
Inexpensive coins, stuff cut out of pf sets, and raw I but in 2x2 then binder pages to stack in one of my cases at shows for retail. Like 1964 PF 5c cut out from PF set priced at $2 (will buy burger off Mcd $ menu). Or some Roman ancient coins at $60 plus stacks of WPM from $2 up. A nice 1906 AU Mexican silver 50 centavos is $20. Some nice Circ Barber 50c at $20 or BVI Silver PF coins at $20 (cost of lap dance). If they won’t even spend that they’re no fun just forgetta about it.
I may thin out things via auction (high pop generics not going anywhere) but for most part will stay with base game plan.
Because so many times surprised - You never really know what will retail so your shooting yourself in the foot blowing it out. Just reduce investment.
Due to market conditions, I stick to a plan investment level target which includes ASW, AGW position. No blowout unless inventory level too high vs plan. Acquisition wise I am seeking quality slabbed low pop world (so cheap vs US) or quality slabbed gold close to melt. CC material a fav too -goal stuff the competition may not likely have.
We become more flexible on our selling prices (E-Bay) only if we are accumulating new coins too quickly and wish to balance our position.
Otherwise, if the coins sit we are just as happy to hold onto them. Since we only sell double eagles, the number of ounces
of gold we want to hold drives everything.
I remember back in the early 1970's, I had a very rare National Bank Note. I took it to many shows. There was a lot of interest in it but no one wanted to pay my price. I had paid $712.50. I kept dropping the price for a couple of years. It was finally down to $750. I decided to keep it if I could not get that for it. I put it in the lock box for a couple of years. In about 1978 or so I put it on a price list at $1250. I received 12 orders for it!
Yes had similar situation with really nice Choice AU 1882 $10 brownback NBN picked up at auction Dallas Currency show. Takes right buyer at right time. Got my price!
A lot of them would look at it from my table at show and online store but would not pay the money. Eventually somebody did. That’s what I call a keeper - it sells for what I want for it (my retail price) Or I just keep it as eye candy for my store or case at shows.
Smart business plan when you're literally selling junk.
I am not a dealer... not even a casual seller, however, as I have mentioned in another thread, I have seen coins languish in dealers display cases for up to ten years, without a price change...I have no idea if they really want to sell coins or just come to the show for the social atmosphere. Cheers, RickO
That’s probably keeper material which they will get their price or just keep if cant make decent money on. I had one coin low pop super scarce 1902 GBR slabbed silver piece I held 10 years before I finally got my price.
In addition walk up sellers will offer you similar material you can pickup at your price say for example they see a quality world coin in your case. Kind of like a TE who is an edge sealant for the smash mouth ground game vs a WR.
Holding on to a keeper coin the smart play. In this market lots of time it’s just fun and games anyway.
Over on the sports card side. At shows many customers would not look twice at bargain basement priced cards. They said if it was selling so cheap it must not be worth much(junk). They believed if it was, it would be priced higher. Since many were looking at items as an investment, they felt the higher priced items had better value. They would start the dickering on the high valued items and pass on the lower priced items. Most of the time the lower priced cards would go to the collectors putting sets together, not too concerned with long term value.
That can work if the coin or series isn't losing share of wallet which I believe is going to happen to many coins, regardless of whether aggregate conditions are favorable or not. I have heard of dealers and seen coins especially on eBay sit for years. Holding a coin under these circumstances just means postponing an even bigger loss to a later date. Better to cut your losses and put the funds to use elsewhere.
As a collector, it depends upon the need and alternative uses for the money. There are coins I would like to get rid of but the effort and money make it pointless. I should have dumped it back in 2010 or 2011. Whenever, I decide a coin doesn't it fit in my collection, I'd rather get rid of it and put it into something I want more. I've basically made up my mind what I will be mostly buying for the rest of my collecting tenure, so don't intend to sell much otherwise.