collectors only..........what do you do with your buying mistakes??

[michael]

you are starting out or maybe you are an advanced collector

 

you buy an important coin for your collection and also big for your current coin budget and from day one you made a big mistake

 

after owning the coin for a few months you finally realize this was a HUGE mistake/ERROR IN JUDGMENT as the coin is low end for the grade with at best average eye appeal

 

and now you will be lucky if you can get back 75% of what you paid even on a trade-in and the person whom you bought it from well itis a done deal they do not want it back at all

 

do you sell it outright and cut your losses?????? or try consignment to get 90%+ of your money back????? or do you try to find something you want and do a trade deal maybe netting 80%+ of what you paid??

 

or just keep it???

 

[MunkyMan95]

If I needed the money, I would cut my losses and get rid of it. But, if I didn't need the money, I'd probably just keep it.

[bajablu]

Sell it for 150% to an unsuspecting newbi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Im joking here.

[physics-fan3.14]

In college, I bought a couple of darkside coins (from Cuba and Morocco mostly) that I later learned were cleaned. This was before I really knew that much about cleaning and what to look for. They were large purchases for me at the time, being in the $20 to $30 range each (I know, that seems kind of funny now). I sold them all last summer on Ebay, with full disclosure as to their cleaning. By some strange happenstance, however, I managed to sell them for more than I bought them. I am starting to regret selling one of these coins, since I am now finding it impossible to replace.

 

Today if I made the same mistake, I would try and remedy the situation as soon as getting the coin in hand - I would try to return it. However, if a couple of months went by and the dealer was no longer willing to accept returns, I would probably try and sell it and cut my losses. I would not want a cleaned, ugly, or otherwise unwisely bought coin in my collection.

[bsshog40]

I agree with Chad here. Unless I had one to replace it, I would keep it. If I found a better one in better condition, than I would sell the mistake for what I could to help finance the one I found better. Take my losses and run!

[rexcat]

What I would do depends on how much animosity I had towards the coin, some times I can grow to really dislike a coin after purchasing, (actually I’m mad at myself and the coin reminds me of this and besides, I can’t be blaming myself ).

 

So I tend to dispose these coins quickly and take the hit and consider it the cost of a good education.

 

It seems to me that to get the most for a coin you want to sell takes time and effort; it’s easy and fast to sell to a dealer, but when dealing with the dealer you don’t really get the good deal. If you have the time and patients to get your coin exposed to the market place though consignment or auction you should do better.

 

The first thing I’ll do when I’ve decided to sell a coin is get at least one offer, better a couple, from dealers as to what they’ll give me, (this is the easy way out). Then weigh that against selling the coin myself, like in an Ebay auction; I could go through a lot of effort to only net what a dealer would have gave me or maybe bidding has been strong and there is the chance of doing much better going that route.

 

 

The hardest lesson I just had to learn was don't sell your coins when you are mad or upset about them, like when you find out your new pride and joy is coming back from grading in a bag.

 

Knee jerk decisions are poor decisions, it really hurts to look back at a coin you were dumb about twice.

 

 

 

 

 

So Michael, how do you feel about this coin??

 

[physics-fan3.14]

So I tend to dispose these coins quickly and take the hit and consider it the cost of a good education.

 

I just spent $120k on a diploma, I'll certainly pony up $50 for a good coin lesson.

[World Colonial]

It depends on the coin. I have never made any big mistakes money wise but I still make small ones regularly because I buy most of my coins over the internet or remotely and sometimes the coins are mishandled or just not what they looked like. eBay is a minefield because hardly any sellers ever disclose problems. That is why if I have any doubts about the coin I only bid low and I have still bought many good coins that way.

 

The worst mistake I made was with a 1769 Bolivia Pillar 8R which I bought in 2002 for $850. The coin is actually exceptional in the sense that it is a gem BU on the crown side but it is noticeably corroded on the pillar side. It is in an NCS holder now and when I tried to sell it, I could not get a bid more than $350 for it which I would not accept.

 

Most of the time though, I just get rid of them for whatever I can get and move on.

[michael]

What I would do depends on how much animosity I had towards the coin, some times I can grow to really dislike a coin after purchasing, (actually I’m mad at myself and the coin reminds me of this and besides, I can’t be blaming myself ).

 

So I tend to dispose these coins quickly and take the hit and consider it the cost of a good education.

 

It seems to me that to get the most for a coin you want to sell takes time and effort; it’s easy and fast to sell to a dealer, but when dealing with the dealer you don’t really get the good deal. If you have the time and patients to get your coin exposed to the market place though consignment or auction you should do better.

 

The first thing I’ll do when I’ve decided to sell a coin is get at least one offer, better a couple, from dealers as to what they’ll give me, (this is the easy way out). Then weigh that against selling the coin myself, like in an Ebay auction; I could go through a lot of effort to only net what a dealer would have gave me or maybe bidding has been strong and there is the chance of doing much better going that route.

 

 

The hardest lesson I just had to learn was don't sell your coins when you are mad or upset about them, like when you find out your new pride and joy is coming back from grading in a bag.

 

Knee jerk decisions are poor decisions, it really hurts to look back at a coin you were dumb about twice.

 

 

 

 

 

So Michael, how do you feel about this coin??

 

i totally agree and well said (thumbs u

[Swampboy]

In the two years since I'm back in the coin hobby I've made a few mistakes in purchasing and a few mistakes in storing coins at the upper range of my budget.

The best solution I see is to sell them on ebay with good pics and a return policy. If I could afford to I'd give them away just to turn a page and move on.

[TomB]

I have historically attempted to learn as much as I could about the characteristics that limit the coin, thought about how the original transaction went down, examined the market for the coin and then disposed of the coin so that the money could be recycled, if needed, back into the collection.

[ldhair]

what do you do with your buying mistakes??

I save them to remind myself just how stupid I can be.

 

 

[PerryHall]

and now you will be lucky if you can get back 75% of what you paid even on a trade-in and the person whom you bought it from well itis a done deal they do not want it back at all

 

Start by looking for a new coin dealer.

[MorganMan]

Mistakes? You guys make mistakes?

 

MM

[Dcoin]

This has happened to me on several occasions. I will just hold on tight till the market catches up with my mistake and I can get my money out.

 

If it takes 5 years, then so be it. This is part of the lesson learned.

 

[okbustchaser]

It's the same coin it was when I bought it. I wanted it more than I wanted the money I spent on it. It is only a mistake in judgement IF I SELL! I keep it.

[Prethen]

I've already gone through this with my own collection. I sell them, at a loss if necessary. Usually, I've detected my mistakes way late in the game and I actually end up either losing very little or maybe even making a little since prices moved up. I try to be honest about what I have to sell so that way I can inform the buyer about something that I was not so well informed about.

[BillJones]

Since I've never been more than 75% dealer and 25% collector, I'm going to answer this question. For the record, I'm now about 10% dealer and 90% collector.

 

If the mistake is something that I still enjoy as a collector I'll keep it. Sometimes time heals the problem. I've had items for a number years for which I overpaid which eventually recovered to well over 100% of what I paid.

 

On the other hand, if I lose interest in the item OR if I am so damn P.O.'d at the mistake I've made, I'll blow the yucky thing off. A couple of times, many years ago I wish I had gotten back 75% of what I had paid. That would have been a "victory."

 

The two examples? A set of Indian cents I put together has a kid. It was combination of a falling market for the coins and a series of retail purchases and a less than nice experiece with a gold dollar which seriously impaired my relationship with a certain dealer.

[Bruceswar]

I have historically attempted to learn as much as I could about the characteristics that limit the coin, thought about how the original transaction went down, examined the market for the coin and then disposed of the coin so that the money could be recycled, if needed, back into the collection.

 

Oh soo is that why you wanted to keep that 36 D?

[WinstonWare]

I have always sold mistakes as soon as I realized that it was in my collection. I just can’t stomach bad coins. I’d much rather take the financial loss.

[jesbroken]

I agree with Winston. If you buy a coin and find you have paid 25% too much for the coin and cannot return it, then sell it immediately. Replenish your buying power for if you keep it for 5 years and sell it at its cost, you would not have broken even any more than if you respent the 75% and that coin grew in value to the amount you paid in five years. Your loss remains the same. A loss will always be a loss unless it never occurred to begin with.

I do not keep coins purchased with defective thinking. They make me ill to look at them.

Jim

[chinook]

Target pratice. I'm a pretty good shot now.

[MikeInFL]

To date, I have held on to my collecting mistakes by and in large. A few I've used to trade up for better coins.

[rrantique]

All but one has been kept as a reminder.

[Raybo55]

Don't cooks eat all their mistakes?

I still have all of my mistakes.

 

Ray

[Mike D-migration]

I can't seem to part with my mistakes. I have 3 that I see on a regular basis. One of them has turned into a science project. I had a fourth.. which turned out ok after a couple of years- nolonger considered a mistake.

[edmerlr]

Usually my mistakes are of two types:

 

(1) I paid too much for a nice coin - a brief loss of common sense coupled with OCD buying frenzy.

 

or (2) I paid the right price for a nice coin, but discovered an issue with the coin (that would affect the value) at least 24 hours AFTER the return period had expired.

 

Well meaning friends have always advised that I hang onto my mistakes until appreciation makes up for my stupidity.

 

...but in some cases this would take at least 20 years or more. (e.g., the roll of P Mint 1999 Pennsylvania quarters I paid $100 for in 1999 after the State Quarter Program brought me back into coin collecting after a 30 year hiatus to raise a family.)

 

I am not in my 30's any more. I am in my 60's and do not plan on waiting 20 years for appreciation to mitigate my mistakes.

 

Bottom line: I dump my mistakes as soon as possible. I bite the bullet and take the loss. Out of sight, out of mind.

 

I have learned something from each of my mistakes.

 

Education does not come cheaply - whether it be paying tuiton at the university or paying for coins.

 

Ed R.

[World Colonial]

Yes, from a financial standpoint, you are better off cutting your losses and redeploying the funds into new and better material. And this is true not with just coins but with any financial decision.

[Oldtrader3]

I have a couple of MS63, scarce coin mistakes that I bought raw from big name dealers and did not catch the coin doctoring in time to return them. I need to circulate them into pocket change, as others on this site have done, and sell them as AU55 coins. They would be worth more as genuine AU55 than as mint state, net-graded, NCS, problem coins, although the doctoring on the 1857 (S-12) Flying Eagle would fool almost anyone. My wife has a rock polishing machine. Maybe putting the coins into it for an hour, with the proper media, would work. If they don't turn out, I can always buy a sling shot for disposal of them in the woods behind my house (just kidding).

[michael]

Usually my mistakes are of two types:

 

(1) I paid too much for a nice coin - a brief loss of common sense coupled with OCD buying frenzy.

 

or (2) I paid the right price for a nice coin, but discovered an issue with the coin (that would affect the value) at least 24 hours AFTER the return period had expired.

 

Bottom line: I dump my mistakes as soon as possible. I bite the bullet and take the loss. Out of sight, out of mind.

 

I have learned something from each of my mistakes.

 

Education does not come cheaply - whether it be paying tuiton at the university or paying for coins.

 

Ed R.

 

(thumbs u (thumbs u (thumbs u (thumbs u (thumbs u