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 Replies: 18 / Views: 3,056 |
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Valued Member
United States
420 Posts |
Hello, I need help simplifying my pricing strategy when purchasing coins. I will give 2 examples below. First Example I'll use my 1986 Statue of Liberty Commemorative Proof Silver Dollar 1. Using PR69 as the grade I go to Coin Values website, look up the price and take 20% off of that price and I get $30.50. 2. Using PR69 as the grade I go to Numismedia's website, look up the price and take 20% off of that price and I get $23.25. 3. I go on ebay and calculate the average price paid from closed auctions and I get $17.75. 4. I calculate the average cost of the coins based on the three numbers above and get $24.00. 5. My range is then $17.75 up to $30.50. I paid $18 for this coin at a coin show. I do not want to overpay for my coins. I'm wanting to start collecting American Eagle Silver Dollars Second Example I'll use a 1986 American Eagle Proof Silver Dollar 1. Using PR69 as the grade I go to Coin Values website, look up the price and take 20% off of that price and I get $52.00. 2. Using PR69 as the grade I go to Numismedia's website, look up the price and take 20% off of that price and I get $50.50. 3. I go on ebay and calculate the average price paid from closed auctions and I get $61.00. 4. I calculate the average cost of the coins based on the three numbers above and get $54.50. 5. My range is then $50.50 up to $61.00. That seems high because the lowest closed auction on ebay was $45.00 total, including shipping. What am I doing wrong here? I need an easier method!! Thanks, Rich |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
797 Posts |
That would get a little tedious. I can't really say I have a "system", but I take a look at some monthly guides to get an idea (hence they are just that, guides)and check ebay or these forums and I am trying to learn more about the greysheets. Once I have a ballpark value I then just consider what the value is to me. Is it something I really want or simply really like? Then I might pay a bit of a premium (especially if it is not readily available). I think it would depend on if it is an investment or not. To me it is about collecting not investing. If I was investing than I would have a much more elaborate way of figuring out a good buy price and sell price. |
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Moderator
 United States
187580 Posts |
Quote:3. I go on ebay and calculate the average price paid from closed auctions and I get $61.00. Quote:That seems high because the lowest closed auction on ebay was $45.00 total, including shipping. You are comparing two different things here; the average and the low price. They are not the same. Often times when looking for an average, one will "throw out" the lowest and highest numbers because they may be unrealistic. In this case, one might say the guy that paid $45.00 made a very good deal. What is the second lowest price? What was the highest? |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
If you are purchasing raw coins, do not use PR-69 pricing because you are not going to see that unless the coin is slabbed. ebay pricing can also be quite erratic due to lousy pics, sellers with poor feedback, etc and all of those factors can raise or lower the final price. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2335 Posts |
I've said it before & I'll say it again......if you calculate the average sold price on ebay you know the average price people are willing to pay for that item in the real world. At that point you have 3 choices; pay the average, pay more, or pay less. Why complicate things with percentages of various price guides? If you want to guarantee you never overpay you should subscribe to the greysheet & never pay over the bid price. The problem with that is you won't be able to buy many coins unless you have a coin business. |
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Valued Member
 United States
420 Posts |
Hello, OK, I'm still confused a little. When looking at price "guides" would PR65 be a better indicator? Also do I really need to assume that all price guides are high by about 20% or is Numismedia really closer to a coins "true value?" ebay pricing is erratic, I usually do Buy it Now, are auctions a better bet for deals? Thanks, Rich |
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Moderator
United States
187580 Posts |
Price guides are just that; they are guides. There is no rule that says a coin has to be worth an exact fixed price.
Try not to make it complicated! Just look at the averages/ranges and let that guide you. If you find a coin with exceptional eye appeal -- a coin you must have -- then there is no reason why you should feel bad for paying a little more for what a "guide" says it is worth.
If the coin is one you need, but it just looks "okay" to you, then pay less if able. Do not be afraid to walk away from a sale either.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5819 Posts |
PR 65 is only a middle ground guide.
Coin collecting is similar to the stock market in some ways, if you are looking into investment for the future. Buy low. Sell high.
And upgrade your collection from low grades to the next one up. Cost averaging is hard when you dealing in numismatic, unless you're in the business. You will and myself included at time get bargains and paid too much for some other.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5953 Posts |
Quote:I've said it before & I'll say it again......if you calculate the average sold price on ebay you know the average price people are willing to pay for that item in the real world. At that point you have 3 choices; pay the average, pay more, or pay less. Why complicate things with percentages of various price guides? Its as simple as that. If you want to know what a coins is worth its what people are paying. Save the money you might be spending on price guides and put it towards purchasing coins |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
585 Posts |
In all that time you spent by researching the price of one coin
I would be working and making money to buy three coins.
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Valued Member
United States
420 Posts |
Hello, Based on everyone's replies here is my new system based on an average. 1986 Statue of Liberty Commemorative Proof Silver Dollar Coin Values PR68 Price $22.00 Numismedia PR68 Price $24.00 ebay AVG. Closed Auction paid price 22.25 Highest I'm willing to pay (AVG of above price guide prices) $23.00 I actually paid $18.00 1986 American Eagle Proof Silver Dollar Coin Values PR68 Price $55.00 Numismedia PR68 Price $43.00 ebay AVG. Closed Auction paid price $48.50 Highest I'm willing to pay (AVG of above price guide prices) $49.00 How's that.....better and less tedious? I'm not even messing with percentages or price guides. I'll use a price guide as a starting point for an idea but that is it. Finding coins with mint box and COA is hard but doable and that is what I'm after. Thanks, Rich Edited by snitchard
01/21/2010 6:31 pm
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Moderator
United States
187580 Posts |
Quote:
How's that.....better and less tedious? I'm not even messing with percentages or price guides. I'll use a price guide as a starting point for an idea but that is it. That sounds like a great plan; but most importantly, you will probably be more comfortable with it!  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
If you want an easy method to use at coin shows, do as I do. I use a two or three year old Red Book. I have a list of coins I either want or could possibly buy. I then make a copy of the pages for those coins. At coin shows when I see a coin I want, I check the price against the copy of thoes pages in my copy of those pages. And then too, I still always ask if that is your best price if I think the one quoted is to high The reason I do that is the Red Book is always about 20% to 25% over on all prices. Therefore a two or three year old edition is a little more up to date with prices. At coin shows I attempt to ignor dealers with no prices on coins. Over the years I've found those dealers tend to quote a price based on how you look, not what the coin is worth. As already noted price guides are only guides anyway. Even the grey sheet is ploy used by dealers to pretend they are giving you the best of the latest price. I too used to spend time prior to a coins show looking up prices on ebay, the PCGS web site, Numismedia, many other dealers and eventually found a two or three year old Red Book was the same thing. |
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Valued Member
United States
94 Posts |
How do you find the average price of a coin on ebay? |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:How do you find the average price of a coin on ebay? Not easy. You would have to spend a lot of time checking out one coin for all the prices. Then too, they would have to be the same grade and the amount being displayed to may create very different prices. Although ebay prices are a good guide to what a coin sells for, that is only if the coins you want are listed there. If you could find a lot of the exact same coin in the exact same grade there, then you could average out the costs. |
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Valued Member
United States
56 Posts |
Quote:How do you find the average price of a coin on ebay? If you do any search on ebay you'll have a bunch of options on the left side of the page. One of those options is "completed listings" if you check that box then you can see all of the old listings for the past few days. The prices in green are items that sold, red prices did not sell. You just take the average from that. |
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Replies: 18 / Views: 3,056 |
Posted 01/21/2010 3:01 pm
