Ebay.. Where's the good stuff on it??

BNBAnalytics · November 25, 2009 4:18AM

I spend hours a day sifting through newly listed "Buy it Now" and almost ending auctions in both the coins & bullion sections..

Either I don't know everything about every coin out there so maybe I'm letting some slip through OR

there are just no real steal deals! I just get the impression almost EVERYONE on Ebay knows what they are selling and how to sell it.

I'd love for some people here to prove me wrong with some specific examples of open or closed auctions that were way under priced then what you believed they should be going for.

bnb

SilverEagles92 · November 25, 2009 4:23AM

Why are you only looking to purchase "great deals?"
Buy the coin at a price that seems fair to you. True "steals" are few and far between. If that's all you're looking for, you're going to be sorely disappointed.

BNBAnalytics · November 25, 2009 4:24AM

I have gone that route for a few months and bought only the higher end coins that I liked and had the money for but since the money is out I just want to find some "Oh my god" deals..

Ahrensdad · November 25, 2009 4:27AM

BNB,
Based on your recent posts, it seems as if your more interested in a big score than collecting coins. Be careful, there is no Santa Claus in numismatics...especially for a newbie.

Andrew

SilverEagles92 · November 25, 2009 4:28AM

If you're low on money, save up to buy one of the "high end" coins you're talking about.
If you need a fix, buy a few cheap, interesting coins in between larger purchases.

Perhaps you could put together an inexpensive set of coins - such as a circulated Walking Liberty Half short set. It's not a lot of coins, and they can be had usually for less than $10 each in circulated condition. That would feed the coin bug to tide you over to a larger coin purchase.

Weather11am · November 25, 2009 4:28AM

They are definitely out there.

BNBAnalytics · November 25, 2009 4:33AM

Where though?

And to those who say I want the big steal.. Sure, but who doesn't. lol

I actually do have some really nice coins that I bought a month or two ago that are PCGS and NGC mainly slabbed like an 1885-CC MS65 PCGS Morgan and some other real cool ones..

I just (and i'm sure others) like to look and sift through what ebay has and I'm slowly losing hope with what i find.. it seems most sellers either sell too high or they just don't sell quality..

Just my experience thus far and it is a tad frustrating.

bnb

blu62vette · November 25, 2009 4:36AM

the steals are rarely buy it nows, maybe finding something listed in the wrong category will be a steal if it closes low.

JedPlanchet · November 25, 2009 4:46AM

I have found that most of the "deals" on eBay are mis-tagged/mis-categorized auction items, which makes them difficult to find by strict searching ...

<< Be careful, there is no Santa Claus in numismatics...especially for a newbie.

Andrew >>

True, but based on the Internet Anagram Server, there are some interesting concepts in numismatics, such as:

A Mimic Stuns
Mica Mints Us
Its Minus Cam
A Mint Is Scum

Yeah, what blu62vette said while I was messing around with anagrams

yellowkid · November 25, 2009 4:52AM

With millions of people looking at the listings, why do you think there are "big scores" to be found? I think there are some "good deals", but the "big scores" are probably elsewhere.

ctf_error_coins · November 25, 2009 4:53AM

Yes there are awesome deals, ask me I KNOW.

But, this take a great deal of time and research. You have to know what you are buying.

Sometimes you have to be quick but most times you have to snipe.

The deals are incredible on ebay if you know what to look for and are very educated.

STONE · November 25, 2009 5:08AM

it takes a lot of work, dedication, and the gradual build-up of knowledge to know whats a deal and what isn't.

Right now world coins are moving up ALOT faster in value than us coins...maybe you should start there!

seanq · November 25, 2009 5:31AM

Stuff that is properly described, well photographed, and listed properly on eBay will usually find its correct price level. Where the cherrypicking opportunities come (and really, that's what you're talking about) from is learning how to grade raw coins from pictures, or attribute varieties from terrible pictures, or knowing common mistakes people make in listing items (like misspellings, or miscategorization). It's not like there's a "Coins: U.S: Screaming Deal" category to point you toward, you have to do some work to find them.

On several occasions I've won eBay auctions and immediately flipped a coin for 30 to 50 times what I paid. I'm not even talking about hitting a super-low Buy It Now 20 minutes after a coin is listed, these were auctions which ran a full 7 days and everyone had their shot to bid, but I knew something about the coin that they all didn't. I don't mean to sound immodest, and I'm not going to give away all of my secrets

, but with knowledge and effort you absolutely can find amazing deals on eBay.

In fact, in a couple of days I may even have a concrete example to post here.

Sean Reynolds

sinin1 · November 25, 2009 5:40AM

Either I don't know everything about every coin out there so maybe I'm letting some slip through OR

whats your definition of good stuff?

no need to become very good yourself in something you like

VAMs, errors. early copper, toned, proof, tokens, varieties, a series or 2 (which you can grade very well)

once you have the 'good stuff', what are you going to do with it?

best deals are found from sellers that do not recognize what they have
or have crappy/no pictures to confirm what they have

always a risk in buying so lower your final bid level to correspond to risk

mike92694 · November 25, 2009 5:45AM

<< Where though?

I just (and i'm sure others) like to look and sift through what ebay has and I'm slowly losing hope with what i find.. it seems most sellers either sell too high or they just don't sell quality..

Just my experience thus far and it is a tad frustrating.

bnb >>

I agree with you. There isn't that much good stuff on eBay. However, at this point, my perception is that you are looking for super-bargains rather than fair-priced items.

Res · November 25, 2009 6:01AM

If I knew where to find steals, I probably wouldn't tell you (no offense intended)

droopyd · November 25, 2009 6:05AM

<< If I knew where to find steals, I probably wouldn't tell you (no offense intended) >>

Seriously.

ziggy29 · November 25, 2009 6:06AM

The days of eBay being a place for picking up nice coins for considerably below retail are long gone.

MikeInFL · November 25, 2009 6:20AM

Trying to buy cheap without the requisite numismatic knowledge is a sure way to get crappy coins.

If I were the OP, I would focus on gaining knowledge, not finding "good stuff" for "steal deals" (which are, more often than not, mutually exclusive).

All of the above said, I would focus on auctions with crappy pictures.

luckyman · November 25, 2009 6:26AM

Best deals are if you use Bing and get Ebay bucks combined. I happened upon a Jefferson spouse gold NGC ms70 last night for $600, with

cashback and Ebay bucks, cost $540.....1/2 oz. of gold for almost $100 under spot. Doesn't happen often, but it's fun to search anyway.

When searching for treasure, the hunt is what it's all about. Would they call it treasure if it was easy to find? Keep looking and everyone

have a great Thanksgiving!

sebrown · November 25, 2009 6:28AM

Well, I'll share a little something because I definitely can't take advantage of every deal out there. I like this website to help me find many of my better bullion deals. Using the drop-down menus, one can make a selection and quickly identify which items are selling above or below spot and at what percent. Most often the auction doesn't end up as a "deal", but quite often it does.

Use your own due diligence to look at the auction details, shipping fees and seller's feedback as this may be why certain items are selling at a discount.

relicsncoins · November 25, 2009 6:28AM

I picked all of these up in the last couple of months. I think they are all pretty good deals.

1879 S PL Morgan.........Price-$82.00 PCGS priceguide-MS65PL-$285

1934 Washington Quarter....Price $79.00 PCGS Priceguide-MS66-$200

1862 $1 gold price-$185 PCGS priceguide EF40-$275.

Just of a few examples of many good deals I have recieve on Ebay in the last couple of months.

ocon4008 · November 25, 2009 6:31AM

Did you really expect the coin dealers to give you the source of their income for free after they have spent years learning those secrets?

SNMAN · November 25, 2009 6:32AM

Here is a real steal for $11 mil .......if you have the money

tmcsr69 · November 25, 2009 6:33AM

<< If I knew where to find steals, I probably wouldn't tell you (no offense intended) >>

And this is a major part of your problem. Lots of people looking for the same sort of deals you are and pickins are slim.

sebrown · November 25, 2009 6:34AM

<< Here is a real steal for $11 mil .......if you have the money

>>

And more than one available too?

devious · November 25, 2009 6:38AM

On ebay, I have had one great deal. 346 dollars for a huge cent lot. And it was auction style. Poor photos, but I took the chance. I sold 4 of the five proof coins and made my money back plus one-hundred dollars. The last proof coin was free, or sort of like being handed a hundred bucks to take the proof coin off my hands [and it's value anywhere between 2k-3k dollars after having sent it in for grading].

I then gave all the non proofs to my father since he too collects coins. Anyways, they are there to be had, but sometimes it becomes a game of russian roulette when searching out *steals" on the bay. Best of luck.

seanq · November 30, 2009 2:43PM

Here's a great example for you.

Sean Reynolds

Boom · November 30, 2009 3:17PM

It's been said that "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity."

Luckyman hit it just right and I agree with Stone's first sentence.

I wouldn't know about World coins but if what he says is true,

it might pay me to start researching them.

It takes patience - a lot of work, dedication & timing.

Type2 · November 30, 2009 4:46PM

Yes, I did a lot of hunting on the bay but to many looking now so now I go to BM's and Cherrypick, Look for upgrads and so on. Need to look at it this way Mil on the bay and maybe 1000 a week at a BM and most are selling right now so they need to get rid of stock fast to trun $$$ to buy more and that is all I have to say about that.

lkenefic · November 30, 2009 10:18PM

I was watching three auctions last night... same seller.

1- 1794 CBLC, raw, VF20 details, light corrosion spots (not a ground recovery piece)... $450
2- 1827 LC, PCGS AU55, not stickered but fairly nice, ~$350
3- 1851/81 LC, raw, VF nice, ~$40

I guess it depends upon what you consider a "deal". I didn't bid on these coins, but I probably should have pounced on the 1827... there was a couple of spots on the reverse, but these were more of a testement to original surfaces than a detraction.

Leo

coinpictures · November 30, 2009 11:08PM

The steals are already sold.

Ebay.. Where's the good stuff on it??

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