Lincoln Cent Struck Off Center

I have been talking about developing a way to value coins that involves educating oneself about the entire marketplace. Ignoring one venue because you think half of the buyers are idiots and the other half are fools is itself not rational, in my opinion. There are several well-respected (by me, anyway) members of this forum who have incredible ebay buying savvy, and I wouldn't want to exclude these purchases from the market value of a coin simply because of an arbitrary 'few-rotten-apples-spoiling-the-whole-bunch' rule.

When I sell coins or anything else on ebay, I post humongous, well-lighted photos. I describe the coins fairly and accurately. I offer a return policy and I don't overcharge for shipping. If I think a particular coin should sell at auction for about $3 and it sells for $5, I don't offer the buyer two bucks back for the good of the hobby. Likewise, if it sells for $2, I don't demand another dollar. I calibrate my 'Buy It Now's based on a survey of completed sales, price guides, and dealer prices. I don't see how this counts on anyone being ignorant. It's how markets work.

In another thread on this site, some people are crowing about someone paying $262 for a 1909VDB that they wouldn't pay more than $50-60 for. Whether the $262 turns out to be a good price for the buyer does not constitute an ethical issue for me. The buyer made a decision based on the available information. No one knows how this one purchase is going to affect the hobby. Say the buyer sends it to PCGS and it comes back 66RD. Stranger things have happened. Maybe they were just looking for a coin that would look awesome in the 7070. Whatever the reason, the transaction amount stays the same.

I report items that violate the rules. I deplore sellers who overgrade, overprice, self-slab, hawk counterfeits, or cross the line in any way to deceive a buyer. Naturally I would love all buyers to care to know something about what they are buying or bidding on. The weight of the hobby is an awfully heavy load to set on one pair of slender shoulders, though.

For what it's worth, I think I would rather buy from you as well. You have faith and confidence in yourself that I don't have in myself. You feel comfortable with your own ability to tell the market what things are worth, whereas I rely on the market to tell me what things are worth.

I'm one of those uneducated buyers.(I would imagine every one, was at one time, a "uneducated buyer"). How do you get educated? You join a forum like this one, you invest in books, you read everything you can get your hands on, you look at pictures in grading books. Getting educated takes work, time and desire to be good at what you do. Oh and you make some mistakes and you learn from them. As far as e-bay is concerned they at least have a way for you to search past items and prices paid. Any one buying on e-bay has a computer and access to way more information than they probably need to make an "educated" decision. We are talking coins, but doing research on anything you buy is a good idea from airplanes to zappers In this day and age it's easier than ever to research. Oh and if you want to buy something it is probably on e-bay and cheaper if they don't rip you on shipping.
Norm

Amen, Bill. Don't think I was disagreeing about unethical sellers, you are dead on. We don't get rich at this anyway and your integrity is worth a whole lot more. By the way, you don't have one of those "Snot Nose Lincolns" do you?
Jim

Too bad, that's not fair.

Maybe I'm just not understanding what you mean by 'the market.' To what market are you referring?

Speaking strictly from a numismatic value, things like run of the mill die cracks tend to sell at ridiculous prices on ebay. I agree whole heartedly that less than scrupulous dealers improperly hype these things and pry on unsuspecting buyers.

My point earlier was that I choose not to take the high brow position that my method of evaluation of a coins' value is necessarily the only one that is relevant. Most here know that I love going to estate auctions that sell coins. There is one on the coast of Delaware I really enjoy, except when a gentleman from India shows up and buys every run of the mill Morgan way above value. He is spending $25 to $30 on a coin that should sell for $15. One day I introduced myself and have come to know him very well. My wife and I visit his store quite often. This is the point, he owns an antique store in a coastal tourist area and has found out that if he puts Morgan dollars in his case by the register, he can sell every one he gets for between $40 and $50. He admits that he does not know a Morgan from a Bob or a Harry, only that they sell to the tourists. This is my position. I will not presume that my preconceived idea of what a coin is worth is the only one that counts.

There is in fact many different markets that a coin can move through and each one may establish an entirely different value on that same coin. I choose to see that the market place is vast with different foundations for value. Moving between these can be very rewarding as my friend has shown. He buys coins at a auction full of coin snobs who by his standard are undervaluing them. We think he is uneducated while he knows we are.

I ask you, who is wrong?
Jim