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 Replies: 15 / Views: 1,815 |
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Valued Member
United States
146 Posts |
I am having trouble winning ebay auctions, I have a blue book and I am aware it shows the prices that a dealer would most likley be willing to pay and that is what I would like to pay. I guess it is part me looking for deals and secondly since I'm pretty new at buying coins I dont want to pay too much. From what I have noticed it seems like there are so many buyers who know what the coins are worth (retail) and also buyers know exactly what to bid. How do you guys do it? any helpor advice on this subject would be helpful. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5953 Posts |
I snipe the auctions I really want to win. I usually wait until the last 2 seconds. If you bid early on and auction it encourages others to bid as well. Know what you are buying and know the current market price for it. The blue book is not accurate. Grey sheet is better but closed ebay auctions will give you an idea of what people are actually paying for coins. Be patient if you loose out on a coin just wait for the next one to come along eventually you will win. Do not be tempted to pay more just to get the coin. |
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Rest in Peace
United States
1729 Posts |
It's not impossible to score deals on ebay, as not every auction will come under close scrutiny by every bidder. For example, I nailed a mint set for $.99 a couple of years ago. My advice is never to bid any higher than you want to pay. Book (blue or red or green or whatever) values are sort of an average of what anyone would be willing to pay for a coin and not necessarily their value (which could even be as low as melt value, for silver or gold). I almost never placed any higher bids after my initial bid, and the few times I did I knew that I'd paid a premium for the item but was still glad to get it. In other words, don't try to outguess other bidders; just place a reasonable bid on each item. As my grandfather used to say, "Even the blind chicken gets a grain of wheat now and then!" |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1116 Posts |
i agree with both of the previous posters I snipe the auctions I really want. also know what you want to pay and don't bid higher. a couple of times though I have tried to snipe and I waited to long with my super slow internet connection and I didn't get me bid in on time that I don't recommend it is really annoying
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2335 Posts |
Take comfort in the fact that if you aren't winning auctions you aren't overpaying. I'm one of those guys that wants a deal on everything I buy. My first step is to find out what things are actually selling for, either by completed auctions or grey sheet. After that it's just a matter of patience, & not getting carried away in the heat of the moment. My purchases are pretty far between, but I hardly ever have buyers regret.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8904 Posts |
Quote:
Do not be tempted to pay more just to get the coin.  What have you heard?  I've never done that... |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
I too say consider yourself lucky. You really saved a lot of money and didn't end up with stories like "It got lost in the mail" or "that's not the coin I saw in the add" or "what is this thing I just won?" or the many other stories like that. You've just got to find yourself some coin shows. No postage, no insurances, no handling, no lost in mail and you get what you see and see what you want.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1418 Posts |
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Valued Member
United States
436 Posts |
First and foremost,  ! I suggest avoiding ebay entirely, dumping a couple extra bucks and using a good local dealer, a reputable on line dealer, and getting your 50 quality posts here and trying here. You will be more likely to get the coin you paid for, you are more likely to be happy with it, and the couple extra bucks is worth the guarentee! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
533 Posts |
I've had good and bad luck with ebay. I don't mind losing an auction because there is always the chance of something going wrong. Find an online dealer or fellow collector in this forum and you will rarely go wrong. Nothing is perfect but the whole ebay process is not my favorite way of getting the coins that I want. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5632 Posts |
I would say You have to find what you want, wait till the last 20-30 seconds, and bid, leaving no one else time to re-bid, this is only if the coin that you are bidding on is what you want, sometimes you have to pay a little more to obtain what you want. I too like to get a deal, but this is not always possible on ebay, there are some very sharp knives in that drawer, also if you go to that site, be prepared for a possible problem at times, the people there are not All straight shooters, good luck.....The idea about this forum being a very good place to find some very nice coins and deals, is a very good one..... |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1291 Posts |
There are a lot of people who are sour on the idea of buying from sellers on ebay, and there are plenty of good reasons for that, but I still think it's a great place to pick up bargains if you manage it correctly. Start with sellers who have thousands of transactions and a rating of 100%. Refine that even further by only considering those that show high quality, close-up photos of the coin. Check their return policy - if they don't have one that seems fair - avoid! Finally, SNIPE the auction, which is to say, don't bid until it's down to 5 seconds or less to go. If you can't be glued to your compuer right to the end of the auction, there are plenty of FREE programs out there that you can use that will place your bid for you with only seconds to go. I can't think of the one I use (I'm not at my regular PC which has it bookmarked) but just type " ebay bid scheduler" into your browser and you'll find some of these programs. |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
868 Posts |
What I do when ever I want to win an auction on ebay is: First I verify my internet speed to know how long it would take to make a refresh most of the time is about 2 sec. When I get my speed time then I go for the auction that I want to win usualy 3 sec,before the end of the auction.I win my auction at 98% of the time. Andre  |
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Valued Member
 United States
146 Posts |
thanks everyone, I think I just dont bid enough, haha. I'm a cheap skate, always looking for a deal of a lifetime.
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Pillar of the Community
555 Posts |
Matt- Do what Nohope said, the last 2 seconds place your bid. Look for auctions closing at weird times. Look for auctions purposely misspelling key words. It doesn't cost anything to bid, so bid all day long.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
just about every coin I own has come from ebay because I don't have any dealers close to me. I have also bought from fellow forum members before also. You can get some good deals on ebay or the forums but you have to know what you are bidding on. Some price guides are on the high side for a specific type of coin and then there are other series of coins where if you could actually get a coin at that price you did great. Type coins in higher grades for example, you can pretty much throw out just about every price guide because you just can't find the coins for the prices they quote |
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Replies: 15 / Views: 1,815 |
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Posted 10/16/2009 3:39 pm
