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 Replies: 21 / Views: 2,873 |
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Valued Member
United States
212 Posts |
I think I'm about ready to try offering some coins/lots on ebay. I'm not at all nervous about making the ads because I'm experienced at that (I'm the one who posted a while back about raising/auctioning live aquarium fish), and I think I've learned enough about the modern coins I have to list/describe them accurately enough. And I'm not worried about being disappionted by low winning bids. I seriously cannot understand how an exquisitely detailed coin from a century ago, in great condition, with mintages in the single-digit millions or even thousands can go for a few bucks (if that), when a stupid 1980-something Lincoln Penny can fetch thousands. But WHATEVER, I'm braced for it. More importantly, I hope to learn from disappointments, what coins should be sold in lots, what kinds of lots to put together, etc. And it does look like lots are the way to go, as I will never be in the mood for packaging and labeling a single coin that sold for 63 cents or whatever. What I am utterly clueless about is foreign shipping. I never bought or sold fish to/from outside the US. It can be done but involves a "transshipper" (middleman in the destination country who opens the bags, changes/oxygenates water, gives the fish a rest for a few days, etc., before shipping them to the actual address). It's insanely expensive and highly risky with little recourse when things go sideways (and they DO; fish die, transshippers keep exceptional fish for themselves, etc.). As with coins, Americans are generally the most avid hobbyists, so most of us just limit our auctions to US bidders only. But considering there ARE coin hobbyists all over the world and coins are immeasurably easier to pack than live animals in water, do most people find it worthwhile to offer unlimited bidding? How do you ship a foreign package? --Just take it to the post office and have them figure the cost? Are there any specific countries to exclude for any particular reason? Are coins subject to weird 'customs' stuff? Any good/bad stories you'd like to share? Edited by Kawliga
11/05/2018 10:57 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6130 Posts |
The thing with international shipping is that if you need signature confirmation and/or insurance, it will cost you $35 to ship the package, minimum. The rock bottom rate for international first class is $13.50, but if you go directly through PayPal shipping (you can Google it; I don't have the working URL handy) you can ship internationally for $2-5, provided they are registered as a "letter". It's risky, but to date I have only had to refund about 3-4 packages out of about a hundred sent internationally. This is ONLY an option with individual coins or small lots up to a couple ounces!
Can we see a sample of what you are looking to sell? We could perhaps offer some advice on how best go about selling them. A little over a year ago I decided to sell off some of my excess world coin stock; about 30 coins worth $5-10 each. I started them all on 99 cent bids with clearly offered combined shipping, and only sold a few of the coins.
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Bedrock of the Community
13014 Posts |
Quote:
Are there any specific countries to exclude for any particular reason? Yes, most of the world because it isn't reliable enough. Canada, Australia, England, Germany, New Zealand, UK, have reliable post offices. Asia I wouldn't other than maybe Japan and South Korea. Even in Europe Italy is famous for things going missing/stolen so you have to really think about what countries you will allow. Africa, Middle East, South America, Central America all places I would exclude entirely. Quote:
Are coins subject to weird 'customs' stuff?
Any good/bad stories you'd like to share? They can be subject to import taxes. As far as bad stories, if you ship in a way where tracking ends at the US boarder (which depends on how you ship and the country) there is a decent chance it'll disappear. I had one go missing that way. Now I will only ship priority mail or higher internationally and international shipping you really need to charge for. Edited by basebal21
11/05/2018 11:40 am
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Valued Member
 United States
212 Posts |
Ha, I must have wanted affirmation that international shipping ISN'T worth messing with, because yall's replies are giving me a relieved feeling. It's a shame how distance can keep hobbyists apart even with all the technology we have now. Meanwhile if you want some brand new manufactured piece of plastic junk there are corporations who can boldly ship everywhere because they make big profits and are backed by insurance and lawyers.
Finn235 I'm not sure what you would like to see as a sample of my world coins because they're from all different years (none older than 1874 though), and let's see..... one or more coins from each of the following:
Guyana, Tonga, Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Peru, Argentina, Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, Caymen Islands, British Caribbean, Ecuador, Venezuela, Columbia, Uruguay, Bermuda, Jamaica, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Malta, United Arab Emerates, Sudan, South Africa, Nigeria, Liberia, Lesotho, Australia, Indonesia, India, New Zealand, Italy, Slovenia, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Belgium, Portugal, Russia, Poland, Czecheslovakia, Hungary, Austria, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Spain, Greece, France, Ireland, UK, Cuba, Panama, Mexico, Malasia, Singapore, Philippines, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Israel, lots of Germany, tons of Canada (but 95% pennies), and some tokens including 'Comic Coin #5' with a rarity index of 93 on Numista, ha. --Watch that dumb thing be worth more than any coin I've ever touched.
But huh, no China I guess, that's weird. Granted, I haven't yet committed to laying down on my belly and finding out what was in one of the little ziplocs that my ferret hopped away with and stashed under my bed. Dang ferret, WHEN YOU MESS WITH MY MONEY YOU MESS WITH MY EMOTIONS! (He is too cute when he's stealing something; he bounds like he's in snow or something).
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
7956 Posts |
I've shipped abroad, and my answer is: it depends.
I have shipped a fair number of minor/low value (under $25) world coins to other countries by first class mail, and had only one "lost" item. I have always felt it was worth the risk because of the broader market access you mention. But I was also mostly selling "zero cost" items, not items I had bought recently and was flipping.
For coins over, say, $100 you can ship registered to selected countries.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5362 Posts |
I used to sell on ebay and I may start again but the problem is that scam artists exist as buyers as well as sellers. In the case of disputes ebay bends over backwards for sellers and will refund in most cases EVEN if you have proof of shipping. A package lost in the mail comes out of the seller's end period. US shipping is safer. Canada can have problems with customs. Remember a seller will promise anything to get cheaper than cost shipping or to get you to violate customs regulations if it saves a dollar. All of these promises mean NOTHING when a dispute comes up. You can send copies of buyer emails to ebay and they will mean NOTHING. You loose the coin and have to refund the money. It is not fair it just is what it is. |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
709 Posts |
I think basebal21 has it about right.
Every country can produce a dishonest postal worker or buyer, butin some it is endemic.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1554 Posts |
If you print your own postage, the first class international package rate (starting around $13) includes E-DELCON delivery confirmation to 42 countries and satisfies PayPal seller protection requirements for shipments under $750. You can also request free USPS pickup. The E-DELCON service is not available at the post-office counter.
Edited by Kushanshah
11/06/2018 3:58 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7956 Posts |
Quote:
The rock bottom rate for international first class is $13.50 To clarify my earlier comment, I have shipped lower value coins overseas in a first class envelope. The current postage cost is $1.15 for up to one ounce. I would slap on an additional 15 cents to cover the ebay and paypal fees, and charged $1.30. Used to be you could just use an automated kiosk if your Post Office has them, to generate the postage. Or go to a clerk and get lots of questions about what's in the envelope  When I shipped larger coins that might be detected, I would sandwich them between thin cardboard, which required a bit more postage. To customers in some of the countries I shipped to, this was probably comparable to what they would pay for a shipment originating in their own country. This model worked fine for what I was selling. And some of the countries I saw on your list were countries I sold to overseas buyers (Caribbean, African and S.E. Asian countries) Kawliga, I am curious what you think will be the range of typical selling prices for your items? Edited by tdziemia
11/06/2018 5:37 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2490 Posts |
For shipping low value coins I find stiff card CD/DVD mailers ideal. They attract very little attention. I ship world wide from the UK and countries outside the EU must carry a Customs Declaration with weight, value and description. I always described my items as Numismatica and fill the label out by hand, in cursive. Worked well for me so far.
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Valued Member
United States
212 Posts |
Kushanshah, that deal sounds pretty good. I do print my own labels for fish shipments, and I use the free pickup service. But my question would be, is there a way to limit bidders to only citizens of those 42 countries? I know on Aquabid (the fish auction site), I can choose US only, Continental US only, North America only, or International (anywhere, essentially). But that only posts as a line item in the ad, doesn't actually stop people in other countries from bidding. Only once have I had a foreign auction winner (France) and so I had to sell the fish to the next highest bidder, but I know other people to whom it's happened lots of times.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7956 Posts |
Quote:
is there a way to limit bidders to only citizens of those 42 countries? When you create your ebay listing, you go all the way to the bottom, and almost the last option you can choose is called "create exclusion list" for countries you will, or will not ship to. Again, having a more specific idea of what you have to sell can improve the targeting of the advice here: - If the modern coins you have are post WWII (which seems to be a good chunk of your country list) and circulated, don't bother with the international angle. - If they are post WWII and uncirculated or proofs, then maybe yes, and posters here could probably advise you. - Even for coins between 1874 (which you mention as your earliest) and WWII, higher grade coins may have an international market, but lower grades will not unless they are rare types/dates. Edited by tdziemia
11/06/2018 7:48 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1554 Posts |
@Kawliga On ebay, you can edit your shipping locations to include or exclude any country. Those to whom you don't ship, can't bid. I can't speak for other sites. Funny thing. I've never had a claim of non-receipt on a package with E-DELCON. Go figure. |
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Valued Member
United States
212 Posts |
tzemiea Well I have mostly post-WW2 coins, yes. As for rare, the rules seem to be totally different for foreign coins than American. I have this and that foreign coin that I see was minted in single-digit millions.....I look up sold listings and see that it still only sells for a few bucks, whereas if it were a US wheatie or something it would be way valuable.
So anyway, I sure appreciate all you guys have said. Even though international shipping is apparently feasible, it would seem to involve considerable extra work, which would likely not be justifiable given how little money I will probably be getting. So I will stick to the home of the free and the brave, at least for a while.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8715 Posts |
Off topic, I know, but I didn't know that there were many other aquarists other than me on the CCF. Glad to see another fishkeeper here Edited by SilverDollar2017
11/06/2018 10:30 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7956 Posts |
Good luck, and keep us posted on how things work out. If you try auctions and are disappointed with your results, you can also try BIN listings. You will usually get a higher price, but it takes longer (at least for single coins. I don't sell many lots and can't comment on those).
Edited by tdziemia
11/06/2018 10:32 pm
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Replies: 21 / Views: 2,873 |
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Posted 11/05/2018 11:37 am
