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Sight unseen?? Why??

Started by copper toning,

24 posts in this topic

coinman_23885

coinman_23885

Posted
Posted

Usually these sight unseen bids come at unusually low prices to cover any potential liabilities. You win some and lose some, but if done correctly, I would venture to say that many market makers come out ahead in the end. I'm sure there are exceptions. Think about it statistically. There are under-graded coins, solid coins, and over-graded coins. I would estimate that the latter consist of 10-15% of the market. There is roughly an 85+% chance of a score.

 

Edited to add: I'm referring to sight unseen bid levels for PCGS and NGC coins only with my comments (and are referring predominately to non CAC coins). With CAC coins, the odds go up for the sight unseen bidder IMO.

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James_OldeTowne

James_OldeTowne

Posted
Posted
With the recent CAC posts many have commented on the value CAC brings to sight unseen sales.

 

Who and why in this day and age would anyone buy 100% sight unseen?

The CAC coin sticker business model IS NOT FOR "sight unseen" transactions. The whole point of the sticker is that the coin HAS BEEN SEEN! Presence of the sticker means that someone at CAC physically looked at the coin and is willing to pay some certain level of cash for it, based on the fact that it has been visually inspected.

 

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halfpint

halfpint

Posted
Posted

CAC physically looked at the coin and is willing to pay some certain level of cash for it, based on the fact that it has been visually inspected.

 

...i sure hope PCGS and NGC inspected them too! :devil:

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Walkerfan

Walkerfan

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I would never by sight unseen. You're chances of getting a accurate, technically graded coin are very slim. IMHO. I pass up ALOT of SIGHT SEEN coins, so that tells me something.

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MarkFeld

MarkFeld

Posted
Posted
I would never by sight unseen. You're chances of getting a accurate, technically graded coin are very slim. IMHO. I pass up ALOT of SIGHT SEEN coins, so that tells me something.

 

I don't advocate making sight-unseen purchases. However, if you were speaking of NGC and PCGS coins (and especially those with CAC stickers), I would take strong exception to :

"You're chances of getting a accurate, technically graded coin are very slim". And plenty of coins are passed on for reasons other than inaccurate grading.

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Dudley the 1st

Dudley the 1st

Posted
Posted
I would never by sight unseen. You're chances of getting a accurate, technically graded coin are very slim. IMHO. I pass up ALOT of SIGHT SEEN coins, so that tells me something.

 

I don't advocate making sight-unseen purchases. However, if you were speaking of NGC and PCGS coins (and especially those with CAC stickers), I would take strong exception to :

"You're chances of getting a accurate, technically graded coin are very slim". And plenty of coins are passed on for reasons other than inaccurate grading.

 

Absolutely. I might add, that if your purchase is made from any of the more reputable recognized dealers, that also lesson's the chance of receiving a counterfeit holder or item and anything less than an accurate graded piece.

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Oldtrader3

Oldtrader3

Posted
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Boy, it must be frightfully enabling to live in the world of: "I never buy a coin that I haven't seen personally". However, I suspect that there are quite a few coin collectors who do not fit this model exactly. Personally, I have not been to a coin show since 2006, nor a shop which is not within 30 miles of my house since 2008.

 

This is for the most practical of reasons, I do not want to die from some exposure to some stranger's germs! I have immune disease (CVID) and I am sure that this hobby has other older or health limited collectors who want to participate and collect but can not do so in the usual fashion. I personally have known several people who used to post here that were on some health restrictions and did as I do and went through dealers that they trust with decent results over the years.

 

CAC coins from what the dealers here are saying and from what I have seen are sight-seen, at least twice and tend to be nicer coins for the issue. Plus, with today's digital pics being better than before, you can take a prudent risk or you can stay at home and do nothing! I prefer to collect coins myself.

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e1cnr

e1cnr

Posted
Posted

what is it you buy? and how many in a year?

 

 

this is what CAC will do for my favorite series ->

 

 

Jefferson

 

1938-1942 Proof Only

 

 

 

Will also accept

 

1939 Dbl Monticello & Five Cents, 1943/2-P, and 1949-D/S

 

 

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

 

not that it matters, I don't need someone else to tell me if I like a coin

 

and my best purchases have been from bad pics or sight unseen

 

but it helps if you can tell looking at a raw coin if it is a 63 or a 67

because many people have had and owned coins worth hundreds but they do/did not know it

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Buffalo Head

Buffalo Head

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I will purchase a coin from Andy at Angel Dee's sight unseen. Right now this is the only dealer I'll do this with, not saying there arn't others but I totally trust Andy's word....Joe

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Walkerfan

Walkerfan

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Posted

Let me clarify---Most of my coins that I have purchased were NOT seen personally but came from good (and sometimes not so good) images.

 

I consider buying sight unseen meaning that you have NO IDEA what the coin looks like.

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Walkerfan

Walkerfan

Posted
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Also-I guess that I'm very picky, b/c I have passed on dozens of coins that I can see images of, until I have found the right one for me for that issue. That is why I would not be really optimistic in purchasing one sight unseen......it would be crazy for me to do so.

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physics-fan3.14

physics-fan3.14

Posted
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I would never buy anything sight unseen, NEVER. Not even from a dealer I trust and who has a good eye, such as Mark. Many of the coins that he lists don't appeal to me, and that goes for any dealer, not just Mark. We have different taste and different things we look for - I trust his judgement and you can take it to the bank (and I can think of several dealers I would say this about) - however, only I can make the decision of whether a coin fits in my collection. Only visual inspection can verify that.

 

An NGC or PCGS graded coin is most likely going to be accurately graded (and a CAC coin is going to be "solid for the grade" based on their tenuous and poorly defined standards) - but with 30 seconds of searching I can find you a dozen accurately graded MS-65 coins that I wouldn't touch.

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Oldtrader3

Oldtrader3

Posted
Posted

Classic, certified (always), many from auctions, some from trusted dealers and for specific sets. The number that I buy fluctuates between finding what I need for which collection that I am working on. Most of what I have bought recently have been early WLH's and specific 19th Century set coins. I do not collect anything minted after about 1939. I have become very focused as I grow older and much more specific about what interests me..

 

This hobby has many ways of collecting and many people persuing their path to get what they want. Different approaches for different folks.

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$ilverHawk

$ilverHawk

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Posted
With the recent CAC posts many have commented on the value CAC brings to sight unseen sales.

 

Who and why in this day and age would anyone buy 100% sight unseen?

The CAC coin sticker business model IS NOT FOR "sight unseen" transactions. The whole point of the sticker is that the coin HAS BEEN SEEN! Presence of the sticker means that someone at CAC physically looked at the coin and is willing to pay some certain level of cash for it, based on the fact that it has been visually inspected.

 

James, very good point that very many posters are missing. CAC makes a market in their labeled coins because they have seen them. Clearly not sight unseen coins.

 

Carl

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coinman_23885

coinman_23885

Posted
Posted
With the recent CAC posts many have commented on the value CAC brings to sight unseen sales.

 

Who and why in this day and age would anyone buy 100% sight unseen?

The CAC coin sticker business model IS NOT FOR "sight unseen" transactions. The whole point of the sticker is that the coin HAS BEEN SEEN! Presence of the sticker means that someone at CAC physically looked at the coin and is willing to pay some certain level of cash for it, based on the fact that it has been visually inspected.

 

James, very good point that very many posters are missing. CAC makes a market in their labeled coins because they have seen them. Clearly not sight unseen coins.

 

Carl

 

But they can be sight unseen for you or other non-CAC buyers. I would have no problems buying a CAC coin sight unseen if the price was right (i.e. I knew I could flip it immediately and at least break even). The maximum that I would offer would mirror what J.A. and his staff would give me if I wanted to sell the coin back to them.

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Oldtrader3

Oldtrader3

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I never buy any coin to flip it. If I do, I am then a dealer competing against the very dealers who enable me to collect. What do they have to do to make a living, charge me two increments of profit to keep up with you? This, instead of maybe giving me a price break? Don't bother to answer, this is rhetorical.

 

Someone has to add value somewhere in this chain. Dealers have overhead and bills to pay for inventory and if they meet my needs, I will gladly do business with them.

 

Sight unseen, sounds pretty basic to me?

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James_OldeTowne

James_OldeTowne

Posted
Posted
With the recent CAC posts many have commented on the value CAC brings to sight unseen sales.

 

Who and why in this day and age would anyone buy 100% sight unseen?

The CAC coin sticker business model IS NOT FOR "sight unseen" transactions. The whole point of the sticker is that the coin HAS BEEN SEEN! Presence of the sticker means that someone at CAC physically looked at the coin and is willing to pay some certain level of cash for it, based on the fact that it has been visually inspected.

 

James, very good point that very many posters are missing. CAC makes a market in their labeled coins because they have seen them. Clearly not sight unseen coins.

 

Carl

But they can be sight unseen for you or other non-CAC buyers. I would have no problems buying a CAC coin sight unseen if the price was right (i.e. I knew I could flip it immediately and at least break even). The maximum that I would offer would mirror what J.A. and his staff would give me if I wanted to sell the coin back to them.

This is why I specifically stated that the CAC coin is actually based on sight-seen transactions only for the CAC coin sticker business model.

 

For anyone who does not participate in that business model, you are indeed executing a sight-unseen transaction, and to me that is a foolish proposition regardless of grade, service, sticker, or representation.

 

(As usual, my comments do not apply to the common sight-unseen situations involving "commodity" kinds of coins.)

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