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Bargain Hunting Versus "List Shopping"?

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BuffalosRock's Avatar
United States
500 Posts
 Posted 06/21/2012  10:19 am Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add BuffalosRock to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
As I get more into coin collecting I find myself doing more "bargain hunting" than looking for specific coins to fill album holes or complete runs I am working on.

At one point, I completely ignored anything not on my "lists". But now, if I see a coin in a type I like, selling for half its FMV, or an auction with minimal time left and extremely low relative price - I track it much more and am much more likely to bid or "jump".

Do you find that is a "natural progression" in the hobby?
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enworb's Avatar
Australia
4411 Posts
 Posted 06/21/2012  10:24 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add enworb to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
i am envious of collectors who have stayed true to their goals. I have developed into the type who goes for anything and everything now. Its great because I can always find something but bad in that I'm yet to finish anything I've started yet.
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52Raymo's Avatar
United States
8515 Posts
 Posted 06/21/2012  10:33 am  Show Profile   Check 52Raymo's eBay Listings Bookmark this reply Add 52Raymo to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I'm that way with Indian pennies. I can't resist a bargain where I know I could sell it for triple. Just takes half way decent pics.
Oregon coin geek.....*** GO BEAVS ! ! ! ***
Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts
 Posted 06/21/2012  10:36 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add just carl to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I always suggest doing as I do. By me we have 4 coin shows a Month, all year long. Prior to going to these shows I always sit down with a list of all the coins I need to complete sets. I also have a list of coins I just would like to buy if there. I sometimes look up all the prices so I know what I'm possibly in for mony wise.
Then I go to a coin show and leave those lists at home.
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CaptainFwiffo's Avatar
United States
4132 Posts
 Posted 06/21/2012  10:42 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add CaptainFwiffo to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Sometimes I see bargains in small lots (like 3-4 coins)... But I only actually need one of them for a set. The lot often goes for way less than the combined FMV for all the coins, but I don't end up buying it because I don't want to put in the effort of turning around the coins I don't need to make it worthwhile.
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The Big Show's Avatar
United States
50 Posts
 Posted 06/21/2012  11:18 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add The Big Show to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Personally I am a list buyer. But my list is really long because I really don't have much of a collection as of right now.
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IndianGoldEagle's Avatar
United States
36678 Posts
 Posted 06/21/2012  11:25 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add IndianGoldEagle to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Nothing wrong with bargain hunting. I always buy what looks good to me and a bargain never hurts.
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stud722's Avatar
United States
1088 Posts
 Posted 06/21/2012  11:30 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add stud722 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I stick strictly to my list.... of course my list includes: all world coins, all animal subject coins, all historical coins, all coins that grab my attention, etc. It really is a great hobby, but very difficult to control yourself to just one type of coin for me anyway.
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BuffalosRock's Avatar
United States
500 Posts
 Posted 06/21/2012  1:10 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add BuffalosRock to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I pass on the "bundle of 2-4" thing too. Not worth the hassle of offloading the spares.

But venturing outside my "lists" has started me down other runs of coins at times. Like buying a PR64 certified Frankie for $18 at a show last year, sticker was $25, that caught my eye got me into a certified proof Frankie run as I found that a number of them could be had at around $20 or so. I'm not a big Frankie or proof lover, but the proof Frankies ( due to so little detail and big fields ) look pretty sweet. A flashy blast white SLQ I picked up at a show has me looking for bargains on those a bit now.

I carry my greysheet around now ( and reading glasses LOL ) in case something "new" off-list strikes my eye.
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IndianGoldEagle's Avatar
United States
36678 Posts
 Posted 06/21/2012  1:22 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add IndianGoldEagle to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
That's the only down side I can see to bargain hunting. You get hooked on too many different issues and create a bigger "got to have" list.
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jbuck's Avatar
United States
187862 Posts
 Posted 06/21/2012  3:50 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add jbuck to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I am a list shopper.

Bargain hunting would only cause me to start more sets before I finish the ones I have.
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Eurocoin's Avatar
Finland
294 Posts
 Posted 06/21/2012  3:53 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Eurocoin to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I'm world coin collector (20th-21st century type sets as a main goals) so it's very cost efficient to look for bargains. My list is so wide that I find easily something to buy at a bargain price. Of course it would be more rewarded if I would complete one country first and then another (minus hardest/high priced ones...) but this is the cheapest way I assume. I rarely buy bargains if they don't fit to my list.
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basebal21's Avatar
13014 Posts
 Posted 06/21/2012  4:53 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add basebal21 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I am mostly a list buyer, but sometimes cannot resist a good bargin like that and will grab the coin. This usually leads to a new "list" for that series being created
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Russian Federation
5172 Posts
 Posted 06/21/2012  5:32 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add january1may to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I'm enough of a bargain hunter that I try to look for bargains even in my relatively few "lists"
Then again, most of what I thought was bargains ended up nothing of the sort, but I've got enough of actual bargains to seriously consider continuing it.

Unfortunately, my main "list" (one-copeck types) is now at the point where the few remaining post-1700 issues either aren't going to be a bargain unless they're fake or are out of my price range even at bargain levels (or sometimes both), and for pre-1700 the list just becomes murky in its own definition (e.g. can I substitute an already uncommon patronymic-less Feodor Ioannovich for a much rarer Feodor Borisovich if you couldn't tell these apart without a catalogue handy?); as for my other "lists", most of those are approximately at "I would certainly love to get that coin, but I haven't ever seen any offered in person", where "that coin" includes such surprising things as Buffalo nickels and Franklin halves (never mind anything actually uncommon, like coins minted in New Orleans).
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jleveille's Avatar
United States
371 Posts
 Posted 06/21/2012  8:43 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add jleveille to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I look for bargains on KEY coins, these are the ones that help me complete my lists.
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