Home Buy, Sell, & Trade - U.S. Coins

Fair and reasonable price

Hello,
What is a fair price to expect when selling coins certified and not.
I have a very nice collection and it seems like everyone is trying to get one over on you.
I think that 70% of retail would be good and fair margin, so if something is a PCGS cert and listed at 1000, Is asking 700 too much?
I am having a hard time finding a buyer that doesn’t flip flop and talks really good like how they are fair ethical and then they start with things like oh I can get those all day for 500.
Is this typical? I do have a very nice collection a lot of US, a lot of world and Canadian coins as well both gold and silver.
Looking for some guidance as what to expect

Comments

  • AnonManAnonMan Posts: 95 ✭✭

    post them here? list on ebay?

    my gut feeling is 70% of retail will get some buyers, i'd certainly be interested (so feel free to PM me what you have)

    As of 6/1/2021, I've had successful BST transactions with: gowithmygut, AlanLastufka, Coinlearner, CXD, tommyrusty7, Coinflip, nurmaler, firstspousecoins

  • HistmanHistman Posts: 212 ✭✭✭
    edited July 21, 2021 8:44AM

    As @AnonMan stated, we need to be able to see what it is you have to offer. There are a lot of great collectors and dealers here who can offer you advice, but they will need to see it as well, or at the very least, a very detailed description of what you have. Asking 70% will definitely get your coins sold. I certainly would be interested in them.

  • skier07skier07 Posts: 3,648 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Look on eBay at completed sales, look at GC archives, go to CoinFacts and look at auction history to get an idea what your coins have sold for recently. Keep in mind that the above sites have fees associated with selling.

  • Namvet69Namvet69 Posts: 8,620 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @IrvingD forum members appreciate close in focus images of the obv and rev of a coin. Good luck. Peace Roy

    BST: endeavor1967, synchr, kliao, Outhaul, Donttellthewife, U1Chicago, ajaan, mCarney1173, SurfinHi, MWallace, Sandman70gt, mustanggt, Pittstate03, Lazybones, Walkerguy21D, coinandcurrency242 , thebigeng, Collectorcoins, JimTyler, USMarine6, Elkevvo, Coll3ctor, Yorkshireman, CUKevin, ranshdow, CoinHunter4, bennybravo, Centsearcher, braddick, Windycity, ZoidMeister, mirabela, JJM, RichURich, Bullsitter, jmski52

  • Walkerguy21DWalkerguy21D Posts: 11,114 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Yes, everyone likes to get a good deal - but a few strive for flat out steals, as you've indicated. So do your homework. Unless you really need to sell, or some of the coins are problem coins, there's no need to accept lowball offers.
    The BST is great as there are no fees, but it's also a more limited, and generally pretty sophisticated audience. Also, since you are new to the forum, unless you have references, you may be asked to ship first before payment. Just a heads-up. Best of luck!

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  • coinbufcoinbuf Posts: 10,712 ✭✭✭✭✭

    If you are set on selling to a dealer then 50% is a more realistic number unless you have something that is really and truly rare or desirable; desirable to the dealer not to you. And yes replies like your example will be common especially if the coins you have to sell are common date/condition coins. There are a few ways you can achieve better returns:
    1) Sell to other collectors thru message boards like here or at local coin clubs.
    2) Consign your slabbed material to Great Collections, if your raw coins are worth submitting Ian can help with that too.
    3) Use eBay and sell yourself, this is time consuming and there are significant costs involved.

    My Lincoln Registry
    My Collection of Old Holders

    Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
  • opportunityopportunity Posts: 1,001 ✭✭✭✭

    You can't go by any one price guide...the pricing is far more nuanced than that.

    Early American Copper, Bust and Seated.

  • fred13fred13 Posts: 193 ✭✭✭
    edited July 21, 2021 5:05PM

    @TomB said:
    Please forgive my blunt response, but your post as written makes me think you really don't know either what you have or how buying and selling operates, which would be odd if you have built a truly nice collection.

    You have all the knowledge in this thread regarding the collection. You know what you bought, when you obtained it, how much you paid, how it was advertised and from whom you acquired the coins. If you have much experience you should also know that there is little hope of finding a one size fits all response as to percentage value from a published price guide. Many PCGS price guide values are far higher than the real world value of the coins and one can easily show this through auction prices. Additionally, some coins are so nice for the grade, or have a quality or two that is so outstanding, that their values will dwarf a published price guide.

    If you are attempting to sell then you should do substantial homework and specifically research items that are as close to what you have as you can. You should also concentrate on actual sales prices and not offers for sale as these can be two wildly different numbers. Obviously, folks on this site can help, but you will extract the most useful information in the most efficient way possible if you are organized, prepared, knowledgeable and provide all the information needed.

    Again, I realize this might come across as me being a grumpy jerk, but my experience on this site goes back decades and I have seen how folks can help themselves quickly or get frustrated and leave entirely. I am actually attempting to help you get the results you want quickly. Good luck.

    the most pragmatic post I've seen in quite a bit of time; well said

  • JJMJJM Posts: 7,973 ✭✭✭✭✭

    If you have quality coins and list them here at 70% of retail they will sell.
    You will save fees, but again, being new you’d need to offer shipping coins for approval first until you build up your cred
    JMO

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  • SonorandesertratSonorandesertrat Posts: 5,695 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 22, 2021 9:52AM

    In addition to comments already posted here, I will note that 'fair and reasonable' is subject to a number of caveats:
    1. There is an old adage that ownership adds a point to the grade. When you are trying to sell something, what will matter is what potential buyers think of the coin(s), not you. What you paid will be of no relevance to buyers.
    2. There are different kinds of buyers--other collectors, vest-pocket dealers, B&M generalist dealers, specialty dealers. Some of these dealers will simply buy coins at low wholesale and then flip them to other dealers. This was an expensive lesson that I learned years ago, when selling a complete set of coins--I sold them to a B&M generalist dealer, and later found out that he took them to Long Beach and flipped the coins to other dealers within a few hours. I could have done that myself. Instead, I effectively left plenty of money on the table.
    3. If you have common coins (e.g., most recent U.S. Mint products, generic Morgans/Walkers/etc.), you cannot expect anything beyond relatively low wholesale unless you get lucky. Dealers will not pay up to get common coins that they already have multiples of in stock.
    4. Do not wait to start selling until you are in need of money for everyday expenses. Most sophisticated buyers can smell blood.
    5. When selling coins by mail in private transactions, it is customary to offer the buyer a return privilege (to give the buyer a chance to see the coins in hand). If you state that there is no return (alternatively, the sale is final), you won't give buyers a chance to physically see what they are buying (sight-unseen trade) and you should expect to reduce your price accordingly and that consummating deals on a sight-unseen basis can be much more difficult.
    6. Coins having wild toning can be exceptionally difficult to price. For these, the bulk of their values lies in the color(s), not the basal grade (which may have been bumped up a bit because of eye-appealing color).
    7. For classic coins above, say, $500 retail, the grade on a slabbed coin may mean different things to different people. If you are given a stack of 20 MS65 1904 Liberty double eagles or 20 MS65 1881-S Morgan dollars to look through, I guarantee that you will notice that some look nicer than others. Don't base 'fair and reasonable' pricing on a third-party grade alone. Quality for the grade can matter a lot, with regard to how a prospective buyer responds. Some coins routinely are found 'nice', and others rarely so.

    Member: EAC, NBS, C4, CWTS, ANA

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  • Thank you all for the amazing responses! Thanks to @TomB and Sonorandesertrat this is good info.
    So we have inherited the collection and yes I have gone through and cataloged about 50% and yes I have been educating myself over the last few years that I have been studying and cataloging them. Over 230 Morgans as an example plus all other denominations so showing pictures or examples is probably not likely on this thread.
    I just find the double speak to be insulting when someone is telling me one thing and a few conversations later they are saying something different how can you expect to trust this individual to be fair. I understand that people want to make money and there is nothing wrong with that, I support it 100%.
    So I gather that probably a mix of all of the above depending on the situation is how one should go about liquidating a collection. I was hoping that they could be sold in lots or as a whole without all of the difficulties. But I guess they were purchased individually or in groups over many years and trying to think that one could sell them without having to offer a major bulk discount is probably not reasonable. Thank you again for the enlightenment and I will try to pm those that are interested

  • silverman68silverman68 Posts: 539 ✭✭✭

    DO NOT sell too quickly. Do some research and then realize that most on this forum are flippers and you can expect some low offers. You may think you have some nice coins only to find out they have been cleaned or altered in some way.

    Good luck

  • BaleyBaley Posts: 22,658 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Sellers are motivated to get as much as they can, at the level of time and effort they are willing to spend, and still sell the coins

    Buyer want to get what they want to buy, for as little as they have to pay. They will go elsewhere if the price is too high for the Quality and difficulty on locating an alternative.

    At the intersection, a deal is made.

    Good luck!

    Liberty: Parent of Science & Industry

  • Namvet69Namvet69 Posts: 8,620 ✭✭✭✭✭

    What @Baley said is referred to as doing the dance. Good luck, hope we see some nice coins. Peace Roy

    BST: endeavor1967, synchr, kliao, Outhaul, Donttellthewife, U1Chicago, ajaan, mCarney1173, SurfinHi, MWallace, Sandman70gt, mustanggt, Pittstate03, Lazybones, Walkerguy21D, coinandcurrency242 , thebigeng, Collectorcoins, JimTyler, USMarine6, Elkevvo, Coll3ctor, Yorkshireman, CUKevin, ranshdow, CoinHunter4, bennybravo, Centsearcher, braddick, Windycity, ZoidMeister, mirabela, JJM, RichURich, Bullsitter, jmski52

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