Has the Plus System™ put too much pressure on the sight-unseen market, thereby rendering it less eff
Longacre
Posts: 16,717 ✭✭✭
I was taking a look at the blog of an excessively prominent dealer in Southern gold. In it, he writes:
"The pricing of Plus coins is going to be very interesting. I’ve written extensively on how broken the price reporting mechanism in the coin market is and how badly it needs to be fixed. So, if we can’t accurately get the value for an MS63 Charlotte half eagle, how are we going to get the value for a 63+? And how consistently graded will the Plus coins be? Will one MS63+ Charlotte half eagle be a 63.7 while another is a 63.9? PCGS expects there to be sight-unseen trading for these coins so I’m hoping they will be graded with enough consistency for this to occur."
We all know that PCGS created the sight-unseen market for coins. The consistency in grading in the past has allowed for coins of the same grade to be traded without nearly a glance at the coin itself. Similarly, the pricing of coins is supported by the bedrock composed of the graders' abilities.
However, the more we slice and dice grades, the harder it is for graders to continue to grade with the consistency we have grown accustomed to. Has the Plussing of coins resulted in shaking the foundation of the sight-unseen market that PCGS has so deftly created during the past 20+ years? Is the sight-unseen market now less effective than in the PPE?*
* Pre-Plus Era
"The pricing of Plus coins is going to be very interesting. I’ve written extensively on how broken the price reporting mechanism in the coin market is and how badly it needs to be fixed. So, if we can’t accurately get the value for an MS63 Charlotte half eagle, how are we going to get the value for a 63+? And how consistently graded will the Plus coins be? Will one MS63+ Charlotte half eagle be a 63.7 while another is a 63.9? PCGS expects there to be sight-unseen trading for these coins so I’m hoping they will be graded with enough consistency for this to occur."
We all know that PCGS created the sight-unseen market for coins. The consistency in grading in the past has allowed for coins of the same grade to be traded without nearly a glance at the coin itself. Similarly, the pricing of coins is supported by the bedrock composed of the graders' abilities.
However, the more we slice and dice grades, the harder it is for graders to continue to grade with the consistency we have grown accustomed to. Has the Plussing of coins resulted in shaking the foundation of the sight-unseen market that PCGS has so deftly created during the past 20+ years? Is the sight-unseen market now less effective than in the PPE?*
* Pre-Plus Era
Always took candy from strangers
Didn't wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
--"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
Didn't wanna get me no trade
Never want to be like papa
Working for the boss every night and day
--"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
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Comments
I hear there is one, but I've never once participated....Mike
Is a online auction like Heritage has considered a sight unseen market?
Is a online coin dealer that sells coins with photos considered part of it?
Is eBay?
<< <i>Not sure what the sight-unseen market is.
Is a online auction like Heritage has considered a sight unseen market? >>
On-line bidders who have not viewed the lots in hand? No. They have a return privelge if the lot is sufficently not as described.
<< <i>
Is a online coin dealer that sells coins with photos considered part of it? [q]
It has nothing to do with whether or not photos are posted. If the dealer offers a return policy even WITHOUT photos then they are not part of the sight-unseen market since the buyer has the ability to look at his purchase in hand before he finalizes the sale.
<< <i>Is eBay? >>
Same answer as above. If the buyer can look at the coin before he decides whether or not to keep it then it is a "sight seen" transaction.
To answer the OP, although I understand the point that the "excessively prominent dealer" is making no, I don't think the plus coins will be handled in the sight unseen market any differently than before, ie, it will be the "dogs" at whatever grading level--plus or otherwise-- that are traded.
That is not true for Signature sales; perhaps it is true for Heritage internet only auctions. If there is an opportunity to view the coin before you decide on it, it is considered sight seen. That includes approval sales and has nothing to do with images or lack thereof. If you are committing to a coin without viewing it in hand (ie. Heritage Signature sale over the internet, ebay sales with no return privilege, etc.), that is considered a sight unseen purchase.