Have public auction prices made easily available over the Internet impacted dealers' ability to real

mercurydimeguy · July 30, 2006 9:21PM

Thoughts

ANACONDA · July 30, 2006 9:30PM

Good question. I think it has. What's cut margins for dealers more than that though, over the years, has been wide acceptance of third party grading. More coins are sold but the mark ups are smaller.

MrEureka · July 30, 2006 9:56PM

On average, yes. In total, no.

Yes, many buyers are now more informed and that puts pressure on margins. However, the ease of accessing P/R data has enlarged the pool of buyers, and to some extent given newbies a false sense of security. As a result, there are even more high-margin opportunities for dealers today than there were in the past.

MrEureka · July 30, 2006 10:03PM

What's cut margins for dealers more than that though, over the years, has been wide acceptance of third party grading.

While that's certainly true for some dealers, I'm not so sure it's true for the industry in the aggregate. The difference between what a dealer pays for a raw coin over the counter and the price at which it ultimately gets retailed for in a slab may be no less today than in the days before slabs.

ANACONDA · July 30, 2006 10:10PM

Stuped question, Eureka:....."P/R data"......population report data?...public records?...price reports?

IGWT · July 30, 2006 10:15PM

You'll kick yourself: price realized.

ANACONDA · July 30, 2006 11:11PM

Well, you're right! That hurt!

MrBreeze · July 30, 2006 11:37PM

A lot of dealers I have dealt with don't follow the "PRs." Their prices are above, below and equal to the public auction prices. I also have had dealers offer me more money for coins than what a public auction would bring. In the end, I think there are so many specific issues to coin transactions that it is hard to make assumptions about anything. Realistically, the collector, dealer and market all meet at a specific point in time where each has needs, desires and fundamental supply and demand. The actual transaction will be specific to the individuals involved at that particular time. And, most importantly, the transaction involves a unique item each time. As we all know, all XF40s, MS60s, F12s, etc. are not equal. Finally, I would add, whether the dealer realizes higher markups or not will depend more on his or her cost, than some "known" price. The dealers ability to acquire, at a "profitable" price, the supply needed to fill the demand in the market, will determine the amount of markup returned to the dealer.

robertpr · July 30, 2006 11:43PM

<< <i>Stuped question, Eureka:....."P/R data"......population report data?...public records?...price reports? >>

I was wondering the same thing myself, so don't feel too bad.

Have public auction prices made easily available over the Internet impacted dealers' ability to real

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