My Pricing Strategy Is Too Complicated

I've said it before & I'll say it again......if you calculate the average sold price on ebay you know the average price people are willing to pay for that item in the real world. At that point you have 3 choices; pay the average, pay more, or pay less. Why complicate things with percentages of various price guides?

If you want to guarantee you never overpay you should subscribe to the greysheet & never pay over the bid price. The problem with that is you won't be able to buy many coins unless you have a coin business.

Price guides are just that; they are guides. There is no rule that says a coin has to be worth an exact fixed price.

Try not to make it complicated! Just look at the averages/ranges and let that guide you. If you find a coin with exceptional eye appeal -- a coin you must have -- then there is no reason why you should feel bad for paying a little more for what a "guide" says it is worth.

If the coin is one you need, but it just looks "okay" to you, then pay less if able. Do not be afraid to walk away from a sale either.

Its as simple as that. If you want to know what a coins is worth its what people are paying. Save the money you might be spending on price guides and put it towards purchasing coins

Hello,

Based on everyone's replies here is my new system based on an average.

1986 Statue of Liberty Commemorative Proof Silver Dollar

Coin Values PR68 Price
$22.00
Numismedia PR68 Price
$24.00
ebay AVG. Closed Auction paid price
22.25
Highest I'm willing to pay (AVG of above price guide prices)
$23.00
I actually paid $18.00

1986 American Eagle Proof Silver Dollar

Coin Values PR68 Price
$55.00
Numismedia PR68 Price
$43.00
ebay AVG. Closed Auction paid price
$48.50
Highest I'm willing to pay (AVG of above price guide prices)
$49.00

How's that.....better and less tedious? I'm not even messing with percentages or price guides. I'll use a price guide as a starting point for an idea but that is it.

Finding coins with mint box and COA is hard but doable and that is what I'm after.

Thanks,
Rich

If you want an easy method to use at coin shows, do as I do. I use a two or three year old Red Book. I have a list of coins I either want or could possibly buy. I then make a copy of the pages for those coins. At coin shows when I see a coin I want, I check the price against the copy of thoes pages in my copy of those pages. And then too, I still always ask if that is your best price if I think the one quoted is to high
The reason I do that is the Red Book is always about 20% to 25% over on all prices. Therefore a two or three year old edition is a little more up to date with prices.
At coin shows I attempt to ignor dealers with no prices on coins. Over the years I've found those dealers tend to quote a price based on how you look, not what the coin is worth.
As already noted price guides are only guides anyway. Even the grey sheet is ploy used by dealers to pretend they are giving you the best of the latest price.
I too used to spend time prior to a coins show looking up prices on ebay, the PCGS web site, Numismedia, many other dealers and eventually found a two or three year old Red Book was the same thing.

Not easy. You would have to spend a lot of time checking out one coin for all the prices. Then too, they would have to be the same grade and the amount being displayed to may create very different prices. Although ebay prices are a good guide to what a coin sells for, that is only if the coins you want are listed there.
If you could find a lot of the exact same coin in the exact same grade there, then you could average out the costs.

Most people around here carry a Greysheet in their hand at the coin shows...

Wonder where those shows are at? I go to about 2 to 4 coin shows a Month. I would estimate about 1 in a thousand customers have the grey sheet. Most dealers do though. I've wondered around some coin shows for several hours, met people I know, talked to many I didn't know and seldom see a grey sheet in a collectors hands, pockets, etc.
Most usually have a piece of paper with stuff written all over it.