First Page
Previous Page
Posted 05/27/2019 8:17 pm
I use ebay for 90%+ of my purchases. The keys (for me) are to bid with reputable and well-known dealers and to avoid BIN listings like the plague. If the seller is hinky, the photos stink or are blurry, the coin is photographed in a way to hide its surfaces (tilted, etc.), the seller doesn't offer returns/doesn't combine shipping, or is located outside the US, I also stay far, far away. If you are educated, know what to look for, and watch out for these "Gotchas" ebay can shake loose some incredible bargains. It can also lead to some incredibly expensive mistakes if impulse overrides prudence.
Every once in awhile on really cheap items (<$20) I'll risk a bid despite bad photos, but with the full knowledge I might be throwing my money out the window.
As you've found out, 95% of roll listings are scams and the other 5% are just bad deals. Even OBW rolls have often been picked for gems and rerolled, even for moderns and common-date coins. Buying a roll of Morgan dollars is just silly unless you're stacking silver and getting them at a price right around spot. If you want to collect Morgan dollars, it's easier to buy the coins you want one coin at a time rather than buy 20 of them just to get 2 you need and be stuck with 18 you don't.
Remember -- the people that list these Morgan rolls are not idiots. They know exactly what's inside and exactly what it's actually worth. Since they are not in business to lose money, they would not list rolls that don't turn a profit, so they follow the same formula: a couple of better or decent end coins to "hook" the bidder (although even those might not straight grade, you can only see one side of the coin!!) and the rest is junk, overpriced common dates or pure bullion.
Bid on a roll of common date Morgans in bullion grades is right around $225. That's about the most I would bid on a sight-unseen roll of 20 Morgans, maybe an extra $25 if one is a CC, because even junk CC's bring premiums.
You have to admit the "Treasure Hunt" aspect of rolls or grab-bags or mixed lots is exciting, and it can be fun as heck just to see what turns up, but you have to be careful not to let that sucker you into overpaying by a large amount.
Happy hunting!
Every once in awhile on really cheap items (<$20) I'll risk a bid despite bad photos, but with the full knowledge I might be throwing my money out the window.
As you've found out, 95% of roll listings are scams and the other 5% are just bad deals. Even OBW rolls have often been picked for gems and rerolled, even for moderns and common-date coins. Buying a roll of Morgan dollars is just silly unless you're stacking silver and getting them at a price right around spot. If you want to collect Morgan dollars, it's easier to buy the coins you want one coin at a time rather than buy 20 of them just to get 2 you need and be stuck with 18 you don't.
Remember -- the people that list these Morgan rolls are not idiots. They know exactly what's inside and exactly what it's actually worth. Since they are not in business to lose money, they would not list rolls that don't turn a profit, so they follow the same formula: a couple of better or decent end coins to "hook" the bidder (although even those might not straight grade, you can only see one side of the coin!!) and the rest is junk, overpriced common dates or pure bullion.
Bid on a roll of common date Morgans in bullion grades is right around $225. That's about the most I would bid on a sight-unseen roll of 20 Morgans, maybe an extra $25 if one is a CC, because even junk CC's bring premiums.
You have to admit the "Treasure Hunt" aspect of rolls or grab-bags or mixed lots is exciting, and it can be fun as heck just to see what turns up, but you have to be careful not to let that sucker you into overpaying by a large amount.
Happy hunting!
Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890
"Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis
"Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis
