A coin is ultimately worth what someone will pay for it

Okay, so it appears that the FIFTH time is the charm. As some may recall from an earlier journal I wrote, I have been bidding weekly on the 2016 Canada S$2 bimetallic Polar Bear proof issue ( say that in one breath.) Technically it is the 99.9% silver proof issue from the fine silver set and the inner ring is gilt with 24k gold--hence, what one must go through to collect Canadian coins/series.

So this is the fifth time that this coin has appeared, slabbed by NGC in PF69UCAM by this seller. Each time I have entered the same bid-slightly above $40 which I consider fair considering the pricey cost of the whole proof set, the grading fees etc.

If you'll recall, I lost the prior 4 auctions of this item to other bidders on ebay-all of whom had disproportionate numbers of bids on this singular sellers items, LARGE numbers of bid retractions and hundreds of items bid upon per month.

So I finally win the auction at $42 and some change, but what SHOULD I have won the coin for? **** As a disclaimer, I do realize that the value, by understood economics, is the $42 as someone ( myself) was willing to pay that amount***

But what could I expect to receive for it if I were to turn around and list it myself on ebay?

I had placed a bid early in the auction of $42 and "let it ride". The first big jump was from $5 to $25 after a few days--this was by a**v feedback 731 with 69 items bid on the past 30 days and 100% with this seller ( it doesn't take a genius to see what's going on here.)

As the final day neared before auction end there were 3 more accounts that chimed in...l**8 with 69 bids and 89% with this seller in 30 days.....O**N with 2784 total bids on 1600 items at 58% and 9 retractions and finally the last 2 bids to push the final price up another $8 was W**A with 73 feedback total but over 100 items bid on just this month at 78% activity with this lone seller.

Ultimately I am torn on this issue. Through perseverance and discipline not to raise my bid and to place the same bid weekly, I was able to acquire the coin I wanted at a price I was willing to pay--but on the flip side I feel a bit cheated. Haven't I been schill bid for an extra $17 above what the last real bidder had bid?

This is the world of ebay when you bid on coins from the large sellers with 5 digit feedback/sales numbers--they most likely have employees or fellow sellers who network this 40% increase into sales--and every now and then they will get a "live one" who will chase their bids well above a coin's value in the heat of the moment.

Be wise, be patient and know your max bid at all times.....happy hunting all. 2016 Canada Silver Twonie PF69UCAM

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