Saw This On TV Today..

Sad as this is, it isn't as bad as many of the ill-described and counterfeit ebay items that have sold. It's not cheap to market coins on TV, and such marketing does provide jobs, etc. Also, consider that many of the folks who buy the telemarketer's wares are willing to pay for the convenience and privacy of shopping at home.

Personally, I prefer coin shows above all other avenues for purchase. I attended a show this weekend and bought over two dozen Civil War tokens, no culls, Fine to AU, for $10, each. Got an 1897-S and a 1904-O Morgan in AU for $30, each, and an 1808 Bust Half in VG, cleaned but not harshly, with a minor rim ding for $57. These were purchased from three different dealers who know me as a repeat customer. Not much downside at these prices.

Good one!

Newbie question. I'm confused about prices, PCGS charts, etc, undoubtedly complicated by my lack of knowledge of Morgan grading.

When I go the the PCGS charts and look for the 1885-O in MS64, three variations are present, with a range for each. The range for the 1885-O in MS64 is $92-$450.

OK, I get that the coin being sold must be the lowest of these and that the TV customer is paying for his/her ignorance.

On the other end of the spectrum, blackjack paid $80 for the 'same' coin last week. @Blackjack, which variety did you buy? Where does it fit on the PCGS table?

My question is who, if anyone, ever pays the prices listed on PCGS? Is there some average discount that knowledgeable buyers typically get? I'm sure it's a complicated answer and likely varies depending on type of coin, whether just one coin is being purchased, etc.

I appreciate any enlightenment on the pricing/purchasing issue, especially as it related to selling. I'm helping to sort and estimate the value of my family's jumbled collection because Mom wants to sell.

Its so purty and shiny, I must have 4 of them.

Of course their is a price for convenience, when I stop at the gas station for a gallon of milk I'm well aware I will pay 50 cents or so more. But over a hundred dollars above market value is not a price for convience its predatory.

to bad that's a stock picture because the coin in the picture looks a lot better than the grade. These types of shows always have prayed on the uneducated or elderly persons that do not know what the coins are actually worth or have a way around know how to use the internet to find coins. They put the coins in fancy packaging (about just like the US Mint does to sell their products) and call them rare with presentation case and they make a fortune doing so. Companies have done this type of thing for years and it used to be in the back of magazines you would see it, now they have switched to the airways to reach a broader audience. Usually the elderly believe everything that is said on these types of shows because in their generation most people didn't try to get over on others especially if they were on a television show or commercial. Sure the snake oil salesmen have been around for centuries but they were few and far between and the customers had to be in the same area to get taken by them. With these tv shows they can reach millions of people sitting in their own homes where they seem to feel the safest

I was watching this the other night on HSN. It is a total ripoff. They advertise proof sets and show all deep cameo coins. You know you aren't getting a single cameo coin. The prices are really high too. They sell a ton of this stuff though. I always check the prices on ebay just to see the how the pricing is. It's never even close. I can understand how people get taken in though..

rule #2

never buy from TV