My Rant On Coin Prices On The Bay .

Unhappy with ebay prices? Take a look at Amazon. Sellers pushing the junk they can't sell on ebay at 50%-100%+ more than you might expect to pay on ebay.

I actually prefer this. I invested a good bit of time looking at the coins I eventually bought, to the point that I was really, really looking forward to getting them in hand. I cannot imagine spending that much time on a a coin that I may or may not end up winning. This is not to say the gamble is wrong, it is just not me.

I have no other explanation other than what you suggest, which is the thrill of the chase.

It's moved that way across all the categories. Too many of the true auctions end to low for too many sellers. The other issue is how ebay makes you do the auctions now with the free listings. They used to let you do 1 and 3 day auctions with them which was a good time frame for buyers not to lose interest waiting for it to end. Now the auctions all have to be 5 days or longer or you have to pay an insertion fee.

As Jbuck also mentioned a lot of buyers prefer BIN listings. They'd rather just buy something right away if they see what they want rather than track an auction for a few days that they may or may not win

I usually list a few items on the bay, and most have stayed there for a while, varieties don't have too large of a following. I incorporate a "buffer" into the price for haggling and to absorb the fees. People who have dealt with me could attest that I am more than accommodating.

It never hurts to ask. If they say no, fair enough. As you say, explore the options. I don't see it as pushy, just savy.

Here are a couple of my thoughts, from a seller's perspective:

1. For the most part, people who do this for a living have a pretty good idea of the market, especially in their area of focus. It is simply pointless to offer things at prices where there will not be a sale. Just because a price guide says 'x', and there was an outlying ebay sale for 'y', and there was auction sale at another price, does not mean any of those are the actual real value. There are far too many subjective elements to coins to have any true, absolute value, at any given time. Nearly all professional dealers need coins to sell to make a living, so if it seems all their prices are too high, it's not because they are foolish and don't want collectors to buy coins, it's because that is the real market.

2. Nearly all dealers have some flexibility on most items. Not all items have the same flexibility. Not all buyers will receive the same flexibility. If you purchase a single small value coin one time, the price on the second coin several months later may be a bit different than the one I quote to a buyer who purchases hundreds of coins a month from me.

3. There is nothing wrong with messaging sellers asking for a better price. There is nothing more frustrating for a seller than someone who don't know telling you coins are overpriced, telling you they know the market better than you, then offering a ridiculous (usually under melt value if silver or gold) price. At least once a month for the past couple of years, I have received some variation of the following two messages: 'No one collects world coins. I can give you 'x', which is what I usually get them for., or 'I always buy this piece for 'x', this is what it worth.'