Getting My Foot In The Door In The Business Of Numismatics

Search Engine Optimization.

Pricing coins for ebay is not as simple as you would think. Remember that ebay and PayPal fee's have to taken into account. So we'll use your original example of 5 coins for $3.75. If you decide to sell those coins individually on ebay we need to sell each coin at 75 Cents just to break even, but we also have to account for ebay and PayPal fees which generally run around 20% of the selling price. 20% of 75 Cents is 15 Cents. So now...just to break even and get our money back, we have to sell each coin at 90 Cents. You then have to consider shipping, to ship one coin through the USPS without tracking or delivery confirmation will cost you around 70 cents give or take. We also have to add in the cost of an envelope, packing material and anything else you use to ship. We'll estimate this at $1 for shipping and handling. So right now...without any profit whatsoever...if someone buys your coin, they will be paying a total of $1.90. Since your in business to make money and not break even, we need to mark up the coin to turn a profit. So let's say you have decided that you need to make an average of around a 40% profit to maintain your business (This is determined by your business plan where you have estimated how much it will cost to run your business). That 40% markup is over the original cost of the coin... so we'll take 75 cents and add 40% which is 30 cents, totaling $1.05. that is our sell price..now we add ebay and PayPal fees of 20% to that and get around $1.26.. then we add our $1 shipping and the total cost to the buyer is now $2.26. So now we look at completed auctions and see what coins of the same date and grade have sold for (including shipping costs). If it's at or more than $2.26 then it may be worthwhile to list the coin. If they sell for less it probably isn't worth your time to list. I don't want to discourage anyone but it is a lot of time and trouble for a 30 cent profit. This is where knowing the market comes into play. You will need experience to identify and purchase coins that people want to buy at a price you can make a profit on.

You'd add the shipping cost on the auction. Auctions offering "free" shipping isn't really free, they just add the shipping cost onto the main price instead. Only advantage with putting the shipping as "free" is that some people filter the results to only show listings with free shipping.

After re-reading this thread and the responses, I think we may be getting overly complicated here. Think of it this way.. After all of Company ABC's business expenses, they need to make an average of a 40% profit to stay in business and make some money. That dosen't mean they will make 40% on every sale. There are different margins on different coins. For example, a 1909 VDB Lincoln Cent, Graded as Good, wholesales at about $10. That is your cost. That coin on average sells for around $11-$12, sometimes less. If you try and markup that coin 40% your customers will buy it elsewhere because your price is to high.. So we mark that one at $12, a 20% profit. The next coin we have is a 1883 No Cents Liberty nickel graded as Very Good that we got a good deal on and only paid $6 for. Because we are paying attention to the coin market and have the knowledge of the coin series and some experience, we know that coin, in that grade, currently sells for around $10. So when they both sell, we only make 20% on the Lincoln Cent, but we made a little over 60% on the Liberty nickel. For an average of around the 40% profit we need to stay in business. Is that a bit more clear?

I am about the same age as you are and I would also become a dealer. What I have done is I have gotten want lists from people and I go everywhere to find what I need. I learned the hard way that junk does not sell. It is a brutal market and while I have made money on everything I bought, it can be very annoying at times. Buy things at shows as you will get a much better price than at a coin shop. also haggle on every purchase- it gives you more room for profit. Trades also work. A few weeks back I traded a very nicely toned Roosevelt dime I bought for $20 plus $20 cash for a Morgan worth $80. Shows are where all the good deals are. I would stay away from the internet as it is filled with people who will try to cheat you out of a coin. I know this post is long but if you have any questions, feel free to PM me. I would be glad to help.

Just click the icon with the envelope on it.

Even though it is a pain at times, it can be quite fun. The reason I do this, is actually because my allowance does not allow me to buy pricier coins.