Well, I've Decided To Start Selling Coins On Ebay...

I am now self insuring coins selling at $100 to $200. I think that the buyer looks at the all-in price. So if you charge more for shipping, it just comes off the sales price. With tracked US shipping at about $17 vs. $1 for regular mail, you have to have 1 in 6 things at $100 go missing to make up for the shipping. I find the actual loss rate is less than 1 in 100. Also, I had my first tracked packet to the US go missing a month or two back.....very disappointing. It looks like I will get my basic $100 back from the post office but it will still be a loss of $100. So if you really want safety, use FedEx.

As far as the $0.99 start goes, after quite a few mistakes/disapointments I am getting better at figuring out when to go at $0.99 and when not too. Generally, coins that have a broad following are safe to sell on that basis. So, for example, if I were selling a 1948 dollar in EF, I would not worry about where I started it. It will sell at "market" with lots of bidders and followers. If the coin is an esoteric one, be careful. I find that the most dangerous things to sell are the high value foreign coins. Coins that theoretically are worth $100 or $200 can sell at melt value....or less.

The big advantage of the $0.99 start is that you will get a lot more people following your auction and can lead to a higher price. If I try to sell, say, an off-centre cent error worth $25 with a $0.99 start I might get 20 or 25 watchers and it proabbly sells at $20 to $30. If I start the coin at $25, it might easily go unsold.

Yes, if auctions start at the full retail price they go nowhere! I see lots of so-called auctions with reserve prices that are full retail or those "Buy it Now" things. I don't even touch those things unless their is "best offer" clause.

I have been selling on ebay for about 2 years. I have learned a number of good lessons.
I agree that auctions that start much higher than .99 often get no bids even though the price is still below what the auction will eventually realize. That being said, there are certain coins that are "safe" to do .99 start no reserve auctions and others that are not. General rule- if you have a large target audience and an affordable coin, pretty safe. A more specific audience such as varieties, vams, foreign coin and the likes, or if most of the audience wont be able to afford the coin, like large gold coins less safe.
Whatever you do- Good Luck

At 50% of trends from ebay, is a whole lot better than any coin store/dealer would offer.

Someone mentioned trying Kijiji.

I wouldn't want all the local people knowing my business and my home address.

Then you have all the haggling that goes on.....no thanks!!

Good luck yo both of you! I believe you will do fine as you have done your home work. MM

Thanks for posting this topic. I've just started (again) listing on ebay after having recently moved. So far I am disappointed by the lack of viewers and interest. Hoping that an auction at my local coin club will be more successful. Kijiji has also been not bad in the past but I live in a much less densely populated area now and not as many people are interested.

This is cynical, sarcastic, and yet, in my experience truthful, advice. If you want to get the best price for these .99 ebay auctions, have your shill bidder lined up. Yes, it's sad and disgusting.

Yup. The old 99 cent auction fail! Start selling like that on ebay and you are sure to get crucified.
To be SUCCESSFUL selling coins or any other collectible on ebay you need more than luck and wishful thinking.
A business background , a large and varied inventory and deep pockets are a very good start. Here is why.
First having a store whether it is bricks and mortar or online requires a solid ability to run a money making operation. Most businesses fail in the first year .
You cannot sell the same old stuff as everyone else unless you are prepared to give it away. Competition of this sort results in what is called a race to the bottom. Keep your inventory varied and be prepared to adapt or die if you don't.
Cash and cash flow are huge if you are to be successful. Remember , when you first start to sell on ebay the amount you are allowed to sell is minimal and you have restricted access to your funds,
Also selling on ebay is awfully hard work especially until you get some systems in place . That said all the best in your endeavours.