Is It Me Or Are Ebayers Asking To Much?

It's probably a case of just running into a lot overly optimistic sellers. But it happens all the time. There's a lot of stuff on the bay with ridiculous prices.

Check the SOLD prices to see what's really going on price-wise.

Don't look at asking prices. Do a search of sold items. That will tell you how much they are worth on ebay. Remember that sellers have to give between 9-13% of the sale price to ebay and paypal. I'm a full time seller on ebay (not coins) and I charge more for my items there than if I was doing a sale in person for that very reason. Also, ebay is a country wide or even world wide marketplace. WAY more people can look at and buy your coin there than would ever go to a particular coin shop or show. So more potential buyers means higher prices on nice items.

Kyle

Stay away from Buy It Now unless it's a smoking hot deal; focus instead on true uctions that are almost ending (2 hours or less.) You will be much happier.

Welcome to the new reality . In many respects ebay is the market for coins. Remember coin books and periodicals are a guide nothing more. They are out of date before they are printed. Therefore meaningless.
ebay itself is two different coin markets. BIN best offer is the way to go if you are patient and do not need money. Auctions are a crapshoot for a seller and a good way to go broke.

I have seen prices on ebay for Morgans that were so absurd that I thought it must be a misprint. What I see is coins that are priced high as reserves for many auctions and the "Buy it Now" prices are almost always way high. I look for "or best offer" sales because I already know they will settle for less. Real auctions are ok on ebay. If I really want a coin I give a high maximum bid price. This tends to scare away most other bidders because I am willing to overpay if I must to get a coin. On ebay I think we pay the actual retail price for coins.

A price guide is only a guide. It is not the market price. The market price is determined by the customers.

ebay and the internet is a very useful tool in trying to find a coin that you want at a certain price point. I don't mind paying a slightly higher price, because I saved a lot of money by not having to drive to mulitple coin shop locations to find a coin which is not guaranteed to be there. Remember, time and gas are money.

Also, if you are a savvy ebay buyer, you know to wait to find a coin at the price that you want. Unless it is a rare coin, somebody will be selling that coin sometime again. Now, if you really want something bad enough and can't wait, then you might be willing to spend the extra money.

When it comes to buying silver eagles, which I buy as legal tender bullion, that is different. I'm no longer a collector. I am a silver investor. I call mulitple dealers and check ebay for its daily deals to see if someone is having a yard sale. Then I buy in bulk. That requires more research and time.

Look in economic theory the market place determines prices with free interaction between knowledgeable buyers and sellers.

ebay is a place where listers (sellers) offer goods that they feel are special (their coins) and feel they are going to make a profit on "their investment" in short they are often somewhat in "love with their inventory".

Buyers tend to (far) over estimate their knowledge of the market {remember all those coin stores are getting inventory from somewhere...they are not dependent on local private purchase ...there are jobbers and wholesalers that supply this market {for old/issued coins , the mints are not minting back dates except for posssibly some unauthourized ones in China etc.}
We get hung up terms like "collections" etc. AND REMEMBER you are looking at pictures the seller took...

I'm sure any small differentiated market ....le buying a small business is no different in valuation...there's just more back and forth between the buyer and seller.

The only other caveat is that private collectors should be aware that they are buying in a retail market. Therefore they ought to be in it primarily for enjoyment. The likely hood of earning a profit is slim to none {try going to a dealer and getting his offer on you coins}, so we all go to this "tulip bulb" market ( ebay) looking for the "bigger fool".

That said any seller is free is to list at whatever price he feels he can get....buyers have no obligation to purchase {assuming there is no misrepresentation(s) of the "asset"}

@RickV, yes, inflated asking prices seem to be extremely common now on ebay, and not just for coins.

There is a perception that ebay buyers will pay more.

I understand that some sellers feel that they need to charge more to recoup their selling costs.

Whether these higher asking prices are obtained is for the market to decide. Someone pointed out correctly that most "buy it now" items with inflated prices do not sell.

I for one have mostly given up on ebay. I can get far lower prices from dealers/ coin shows.

The advantage of ebay for the buyer is that the selection is greater than in any store. So unless the price is reasonable/ the item is hard to obtain, I would not even bother.