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 Replies: 46 / Views: 6,770 |
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Rest in Peace
United States
3039 Posts |
First let me say that I am not affiliated with ebay in any manner other than having bought & sold items on the site for 8 or 9 years. Like most others, I'm not in favor of the hefty fees imposed by ebay for the listing and selling of items. The flat 9% final value fee is a real stinger. The paypal fees can also be a little steep (2.9% + 30c for most items.) There is a break on the listing fees from time to time like free listing or 25c flat rate, etc. Many others and myself have constantly griped about the fees. THEN, I started thinking about it. ebay is a business and they provide a service, albeit expensive. Your items are for sale 24/7 being seen by thousands and thousands of potential buyers. Pretty much only the buyers interested in your items will view them. Contrast that with local coin shows where the table fees run from $50 to $100 and more, drawing only a few hundred local residents as potential customers. In addition, I belong to one of the largest coin clubs in the country (about 300 members). In the auctions in our twice monthly meetings, buy prices are very low. Sometimes items won't even sell at melt! Better items often don't sell at 10% or so back of bid. I've set up at the shows and on a few occasions barely made my table fees. After all is said and done, give me ebay with their high fees AND high number of buyers. IMHO. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
759 Posts |
With all the negative opinions and posts about ebay, it's nice to see a balanced viewpoint. Placing your product in front of the right buyers is key. Good post. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3592 Posts |
I've been saying that all along...there aren't many auctions that charge less and have near the exposure. Even the sellers that don't know what they are doing can yield some nice bargains if you know what to look for.That being said, I still didn't like the fee hike to 9% and the way they promoted it to us sellers....that was an insult to my intelligence and I let them know as much.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Not sure where your located but sounds like you only have gone to coin shows that are really not to popular. I go to about 2 to 4 coin shows a Month. One of them I have to leave early due to way to much of crowd. Some are so crowded it is difficult to get through the aisles. One dealer I know well tells me he makes well into the 6 figure amount per year and only does coin shows. No ebay or other auctions. Not even a web site since he is way to busy. I've never seen any coins on ebay for less than I can purchase them for at a coin show. Not only that but at a coin show, no postage, no handling, no insurances, no lost in mail stuff and you see what you get, not possibly something else. No ebay fees and no paypal stuff either. If you go to coin shows frequently you get to know dealers and then you really get some great deals and they can look for a specific coin for you. At most of the shows I go to there is a table in front with free copies of coin magazines and even a bowl of candy. You get to know people just as easily as if you were in a coin club. I usually get all my Albums free from dealers I know, coin books, such as the Red Book for much less than on any web site. I'll stick to coin shows anytime. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10982 Posts |
I listed my first few coins on ebay this weekend. Bought a lot of coins off ebay but never sold there until now. If I can clear 90% of the hammer price after fees and shipping, it's good by me. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3592 Posts |
Quote:I've never seen any coins on ebay for less than I can purchase them for at a coin show justcarl...that 1917-D SLQ ($3) you inquired about came from ebay...and so did my 09-S vdb for $75...as I stated above, you have to know what to look for,but the deals are there. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Quote:justcarl...that 1917-D SLQ ($3) you inquired about came from ebay...and so did my 09-S vdb for $75...as I stated above, you have to know what to look for,but the deals are there. I really believe that what you say is true and in many instances really great deals. In your case that is what happened and it appears your one of the few that does come out ahead. In many, many instances of people I know, not such good results. Yes it does happen for some but most people I know are the majority and they really don't come out ahead. My Son uses ebay all the time to sell all kinds of stuff I would throw in the garbage and it usually does sell. I'll stick to not taking chances. Did you notice that post about Only on ebay? Edited by just carl
02/28/2011 12:36 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1348 Posts |
ebay also has thousands of coins selling every hour. Could be good/bad
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3184 Posts |
I'd rather try and sell my coins here on coincommunity or other coin forums for free than ebay! |
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Rest in Peace
 United States
3039 Posts |
just carl, I'm in south Florida and our local coin shows are never crowded to the point you describe in yours. Of course we have FUN and summer FUN that are really big. I'm glad someone's making 6 figures a year from coin shows. Wish I could, but it won't happen here in my area.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3592 Posts |
Quote:
I'll stick to not taking chances I also bought a fake 09-S vdb from a dealer, so I'm not sure there is such a thing....but I do agree..eBay is not for everybody. As numismo pointed out,if you know how to use ebay, there is a much bigger audience for sellers and I pointed out,there are some great deals to be had.I've only given two examples,but I have a 3-ring binder full of the deals I got just last year alone. The "only on ebay posts" amuse,but don't concern me at all..I see it on TV, the internet,and in real life every day. That's just life. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
511 Posts |
ebay is bad enough since they raised commissions, but having to use PayPal and pay them to receive my money was the final straw for me.
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Valued Member
United States
341 Posts |
Some of us just don't have the options. I've got one dealer in a 40 mile radius. Just recently we finally started to get coins shows locally (under 25 miles for me). It's once a month. I went to the last one and there were four guys with tables. I even spent 2 1/2 hours there and two other people showed up while I was there. Location, location, location  Edited by General Tso
02/28/2011 3:53 pm
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Valued Member
United States
341 Posts |
I've checked out alot of other online auction sites but haven't found any quality sites. There are a few with lots of coins but they are free sites with no fees. Sounds great in the beginning but if there is no fee then everyone asks top dollar or more for their items. One site doesn't have a limit on how many times you can repost the same item after no one bids on it. My only gripe with ebay is controling how to pay for items. |
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Valued Member
United States
327 Posts |
Quote:I'd rather try and sell my coins here on coin community or other coin forums for free than ebay! Ah, you can't. You need 250 posts before you can sell anything here, despite the fact you've been a member for over two years. Edited by SPQR
03/01/2011 2:09 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1081 Posts |
I love ebay. I have bought and sold off ebay. There are some negatives as mentioned and you have to wait to get the coin to take a look at it, but I think the positive out weight the negatives. I prefer it for buying as you can get good deals. Just off hand, I purchased a raw 1869/9 IHC in G6 for $100, they normally go for between $150-$200, I recently purchased a 1950d Jefferson nickel for $13 and I value it around $50. You just have to know what to look for, realize that 80-90% of the raw coins on there are crap and keep you eye out. As for selling, I've only sold a few coins, but I'm able to get much more than if I sold them to a coin store. The fees are annoying, but it's so convenient and you have the possibility for hundreds of people to see your auction. |
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Replies: 46 / Views: 6,770 |
Posted 02/28/2011 11:21 am
