Getting Started On Ebay

Hi Richard and welcome to the forum! There's plenty of expertise in the family with friendly willingness to share.

Whole books have been written about selling on ebay, so we're passing along only a small fraction of what you should know to be a successful seller. One does not just decide to jump in feet first overnight and start selling on ebay without first learning in depth about the process. And figure you're gonna make mistakes as part of the learning process.

I also regularly buy and sell coins on ebay (dozens or hundreds of us on the forum do so). Like many others, I've had mostly good experiences with a few bad mixed in. I'll go one step further on Rick's very good advice and suggest one does their homework first. Before selling a coin, make sure you know what you have in terms of authenticity, grade, and other qualities, then pass this information along in an accurate and honest description. Good quality images are essential; a poor picture will lower the realized price by 50% or much more from what a coin deserves, if there are any bids at all.

Know the market for a particular coin. Use the ebay Advanced Search function to determine what other recent similar coins' auctions have realized. Keep current with Watches on similar coins, check Heritage Auction's archived history, and monitor the published price guides, both online and printed (e.g., PCGS Price Guide, Coin Values, Coin Prices).

I start my auctions at 99¢ or $9.99 and let the bidders raise the price to the coin's actual market value. Far, far too many sellers start a coin auction with a high start price which is his/her opinion of the coin's value when, in fact the coin is worth less. No surprise s/he gets no bids. If a seller must get a certain amount out of a coin, set a Reserve, not a high start price. With a low start price, bids usually come in right away. Once someone has placed a bid, others see it, figure the first bidder knows something, so try to top it with their own bids. There's a psychology at work here.

ebay fees are irrelevant for me since in almost all coin sales, I make a decent profit which I would not have realized in any other venue. For dealers working on a tight margin, this could make a difference.

I'll reiterate Rick's advice: honesty is the best policy.

Pet peeves: sellers with no stated return policy ( ebay auctions ARE an approval service - there is no way one can determine a coin's qualities from only an image); excessive shipping costs (should be only the actual cost); one line descriptions which tell me nothing, e.g., "See image and judge for yourself"; illiterate descriptions with mis-spelled words and poor grammar (this tells me I am dealing with someone who isn't very bright and is more likely to try to rip me off); "private" bidders (the seller has something to hide); no communications from sellers (or buyers for that matter; I like to know a buyer is actually alive and knows s/he has won); red flag phrases such as "from an estate", "I don't know anything about coins", "grading is subjective", or other phrases which tell me the seller is attempting to abrogate his/her responsibility for an accurate coin description. These are just a few examples of sellers who are potentially bad.

Fred

You might give us specific seller questions so we can better answer. What ebay experiences have you already had? What types of coins might you decide to sell?

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Originally posted by Richard

I was told that it's hard to make a profit on ebay in that a coin often cannot be sold for anythiong close to its market value. Is that true?

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ebay is a market...a huge market. For low end coins, it is the leading market. So no....

I would quickly add that ebay prices should be discounted from full retail (whatever that means). First, it is very cheap to sell on ebay relative to opening a shop--that should be obvious.

Second, there is a "risk discount" involved in ebay sales that will reduce the sales price. Fred mentioned a few aspects: poor pictures introduce a risk of hidden problems, poor feedback and evasive lanugage introduce a risk of dishonesty, errors in the auction text introduce a risk of sloppiness and lack of attention to detail, shipping involves risk too.

Although some (mostly newer) ebayers don't properly assess risk and discount their bids for it, in the aggregate it will reduce prices.

Finally, do you think ebay/paypal fees, mailing supplies and other costs, and shipping should be added to your perceived "market price" or included in it? As a hint, when was the last time you bought from a coin dealer who said, "well, book on this coin is $10, but with rent, electricity, insurance, and my gas prices, it comes to $14"? If that's ever happened, did you buy the coin? Did you go back?

Best of luck

quote:

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Originally posted by Richard

I was told that it's hard to make a profit on ebay in that a coin often cannot be sold for anythiong close to its market value. Is that true?

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You need to have a couple of key things to be a good seller...

1. Large clear picture of both sides of the coin
2. An honest description of any problem areas the coin has, scratches, dents, cleaning, etc.
3. You should have a fair return policy, usually this includes enough time for them to return the coin to you, ie several days. Buyer usually pays for shipping both ways.
4. Charge a reasonable amount for shipping and handling...more than $5 is too much, and some will say more than $3 is too much even.

Some things you don't have to have in your auction...
1. You don't have to accept Paypal !! Really! Many like to use it, but the fees do add up, esp. if you will be selling a lot.
2. You don't have to grade the coin, as long as your pictures are large and clear.
3. You don't have to have a high starting bid....in fact the opposite usually works better, start a coin that you want less than $50 for at $1 for example. Use a 5 day auction, and your coin WILL be bid up to what it's worth.

If you don't have a lot of feedback on ebay, just be honest about it, and make sure you have a generous return policy. You might want to sell some of your less expensive stuff first, just to lay down some good feedback.

I always say in my auctions that I am a collector, not a dealer...just to let buyers know that I'm not interested so much in turning a profit, and that I don't have overhead costs to worry about.

Good luck - its easier than you think to sell online!