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 Replies: 30 / Views: 4,646 |
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Valued Member
United States
53 Posts |
My father-in-law passed earlier this year, leaving several hundred high grade (but not super rare) silver and gold coins, mostly U.S. coins. The proceeds will be split three ways to my wife and her two siblings. I am the only family member with coin knowledge. We had the coins appraised locally, and sent off a number of them to PCGS where it appeared that small increments in grade could make a difference in their market value. The coins are now all back, and I selected some to be sold by an auction house, once CAC is done with them. That leaves a bunch of slabbed coins (well suited for type collectors) and raw coins to dispose of, and I'm inclined to just list them on ebay over a period of months in an auction format. The family is not in any hurry to liquidate them, but I don't have the time or patience to try and run fixed price auctions in an attempt to get full retail. I have some nagging uncertainty, though. I would like to have both collectors and dealers looking at the listings. For collectors, I would think that auctions ending on Sunday night would be best - people with day jobs often can't easily access commercial sites at work. But are dealers watching ebay at night? I've ruled out Heritage and Proxibid because I personally find their user interfaces annoying, especially on a mobile device. Also, I know they justify their existence by HD photos, variety attribution and fulfillment. I can do all that myself, I have a copy stand and a 35mm camera with a macro lens. Going to the post office is not a problem. However, if you all are diligent followers of HA and Proxibid, I could be persuaded. Finally, some of the coins came back (sad face) as cleaned/unc details. Should I remove them from their slabs before auctioning them? I will disclose that PCGS body bagged them, I'm just wondering what the average collector prefers. Most of the silver coins will be in the $200-$1000 range. The gold coins are a different set of issues, but this post is already too long and I'll post separately in a few days. All feedback will be gratefully accepted.  , |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4691 Posts |
Keep the slabbed cleaned coins in the slabs. They will appeal to type collectors who will know they are authentic. Without much more info, can't advise beyond this. I'm assuming the slabs are PCGS, NGC, ANACS, or ICG -- anything else is of no added value.
Edited by jimbucks
09/19/2018 10:43 pm
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Rest in Peace
10197 Posts |
Sorry to hear of your loss, but sounds like you have you game plan set. I am a vociferous buyer of Proxibid items. I have also consigned with a house in my state with quite favorable results...i would give my recommendation to try them on a few items of mid value, get your feet wet. Heritage, for high dollar is OK, but watch the fees. If you haven't done sales on ebay and feel uncomfortable, then truly you need to stay away. If you don't know what to price out at or are timid, you'll get your clock cleaned. Be very cautious there, need the sales experience to do well. |
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12477 Posts |
I agree with @jimbucks to leave the details coins slabbed. At the very least, that confirms authenticity and protects them. As to sales venue, it sounds to me that ebay auctions would be a great way to go. However, as @Crazyb0 pointed out, I don't know how much experience you have selling there. There really isn't all that much to worry about, though, because of the protections operations like ebay and PayPal offer. I actually don't think you would regret listing them all as 7-day auctions starting at $0.99 with no reserve. There are tons of people competing for all types of coins on ebay (including international buyers). The number of potential buyers reached surpasses nearly every other platform, if not all others. Offer free shipping and 30-day returns, and add insurance to coins you couldn't stand to get lost in the mail (probably most, in this case).  In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
Edited by spru
09/19/2018 11:35 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4691 Posts |
Be aware that if you are a new seller on ebay a lot of Buyers will be hesitant. Also there can be a lot of fees by the time you add up ebay fees and PayPal fees, so be sure you know what you are doing. |
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Multiple venues is generally the best way to sell a large collection. Some things will be best on ebay, some things will be best on another auction site, and some things you will be better off just selling to a dealer and being done with it. Without knowing what is there it's hard to say where would be best other than most collections have some things in the price ranges where ebay is best. Quote:
For collectors, I would think that auctions ending on Sunday night would be best - people with day jobs often can't easily access commercial sites at work. Some people swear by Sunday night, I personally think it's an over saturated time frame as multiple auction companies end their auctions then. Auctions on ebay will be very risky for you as a new seller with no following. ebay very likely is the best venue for at least a portion of the collection but when you put it in auction format there's no assurance the people that want it will see it. Your listings will be below those with stores and the promoted listing ect and aside from people being hesitant for a new seller it is very easy for common things to slip through the cracks and go significantly below what they should. Quote:
Finally, some of the coins came back (sad face) as cleaned/unc details. Should I remove them from their slabs before auctioning them? No leave them especially for online sales. The only reason to remove them would be to try and get someone to buy it as a problem free coin which no one is going to recommend. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12477 Posts |
Quote:Also there can be a lot of fees by the time you add up ebay fees and PayPal fees, so be sure you know what you are doing. When I sell on ebay, I prefer using PayPal and I generally calculate the eBay+PayPal fee for a sale at 12%. That may be a little off now, I don't know. One important point is that ebay charges its Final Value Fee as a percentage of what your item sells for plus shipping charges. For coins like this, it should not be much of an issue. That's why offering combined shipping in your case can help, and offering free shipping for everything is best (assuming the lower value coins are around $200). In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1301 Posts |
Lots of coins are being sold on Facebook, but no matter where you sell, BE CAREFUL.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5029 Posts |
scott - I understand your desire for a large amount of exposure to collectors and dealers. Since you mention there is not a time crunch to move these items you could work your way up to 50 posts and put some on here for sale. No fees for posting items in the sale section here once you meet the criteria. Just another option to keep in your mind when you are ready to start selling.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4468 Posts |
One site that you did not note is Great Collections that works well with coins in the $200 to $1,000 range. New sellers on ebay using the 99 cent start auction may leave some money on the table because the bidders are cautious with new sellers, and new sellers contribute to the issue with the way the coin is listed and title description. |
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Moderator
United States
187654 Posts |
Quote:
Since you mention there is not a time crunch to move these items you could work your way up to 50 posts and put some on here for sale. 250 to sell. 50 to buy.  Buy/Sell/Trade Rules |
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Valued Member
United States
210 Posts |
Quote:
250 to sell. Not to hijack the thread but this is a very high bar. Been a member (with mostly "quality" posts) for over 7 years and still can't sell here. Rules could be loosened along the lines of "250 quality posts required to sell, or at least 100 posts and 5 or more years of membership". What can I say but I'm a man of few words. |
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Rest in Peace
10197 Posts |
There are on-line sites similsr to ebay but with fees of only 3%, no listing fees, sell most of my stuff there ebay kills my profit margins when prices are rock bottom offers as is! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3540 Posts |
ebay would be the last venue to choose, because of the TIME, FEES, SHIPPING, and the returns. Cost will be in the 20-25% range, IF you don't have any returns. Great Collections is a possibility (fourth choice) Local coin show to rent a table at? (third choice) Local coin club meeting would be my second choice. CCF (yes, here, would be my first).
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Rest in Peace
United States
17900 Posts |
If you are in no hurry, ebay is fine. If you have little or no experience with ebay don't assume logic is always what works in that venue. Sunday night closings that started at 99 cents will give you the very best results 80+% of the time. You can usually work with Great collections to sell the raw stuff as batches on their site. You will find they have a much lower average charge that the really big boys, like Heritage. If you have coins that will sell for $1000+ both Great Collections, and sometimes Heritage, will sell them with NO SELLERS FEES. But they gotta be a grand or better. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
My suggestion is to look up coin shows in your area. Should be one or more close by. Go to one and ask dealers if they are interested in giving you and estimate of total value and possibly buying the entire collection. This way you could get rid of everything all at one time. And no pay pal, no ebay fees either. |
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Replies: 30 / Views: 4,646 |
Posted 09/19/2018 10:53 pm
