Opinions on selling myself V. consigning to dealer(s)

[goose3]

I had always thought I'd do the selling of my key dates myself but now I am thinking even with paying the dealer commission it is still better than selling myself if you factor in ebay fees, paypal fees, etc.....

[Wihlborg]

Goose,

 

Depending on what and how much one has to sell, I think that sometimes it is better selling through a dealer. You don’t have to be bothered with all the hassles of selling on your own, and if the dealer has customers actively looking for what you have to sell or if he attends large coin shows, you could realize higher prices for your coins because of the exposure to a larger number of serious buyers.

 

Just my opinion.

 

John

[James_OldeTowne]

The only advantage I think there might be for having a dealer take your coins on consignment is (theoretically) he would have a broader exposure to the marketplace. Other than that, I routinely suggest to potential consignors that they consider selling their coins themselves, if they are not in any hurry. If it's cheap stuff, or junk, then I do recommend they consign to me or someone else for sale on eBay.

 

Frankly, the "dealer" is the middleman when you have him sell your coins for you, and he's going to take a cut out of your profit. Even if you get 15% less for your coins selling them yourself, my advice still leans toward people selling their choice or key-date coins themselves and keeping that "cut" - again, provided they are not in a particular hurry to sell.

 

Yes, I'm a part-time delaer myself. But since I don't rely on dealing coins to put food on the table, I always try to help customers maximize their return on their coins, even if it means losing my chance at a "cut". I would assume that anyone dealing coins as a career will insist that your best off consigning.

 

James

[chinook]

In the past when I had coins I needed to sell I always went to a dealer. I almost never received bid for my coins. Usually it was 10% back.

 

Then I started to sell on Ebay. More often than not I sell for ask or above. Even after Ebay and Paypal fees I am well ahead. These are certified coins valued from $200- $5000. Commodity coins-ave circ or proof sets usually sell for more than bid and I can recoup fees even with a modest $2.95 shipping charge.

 

I have also consigned coins to the auction houses, as I felt those coins needed to be in a big show where many people can view them, but I will NEVER sell outright to a dealer again.

[goose3]

Ok here is a partial list that I am considering the sale of to give you an idea of some of the things NOT to solicit offers so please don't offer because I don't know what any of them are worth anymore! Again, these are not for sale and if they do become for sale I will post something in the other board. This is what I can remember I have in cents. I don't have this many of the other denominations.

 

cents

PCGS AU(not PF)50 SNow3 56 FE

PCGS EF40 58/7 FE Early Die (needs reholdered without my name on slab)

PCGS VF35 1877 1c

PCGS MS63RB SVDB

PCGS 64RB? 09S

PCGS 40 14d

PCGS 30 22plain die2

PCGS 64R 31s

ANACS 63RB 55/55 (crossover candidate??? NGC once looked at it and said 64B?)

PCGS 65R 72/72

ANACS 65R 83/83 AND 84/84

NGC 68R 95/95

ANACS 65R 97DDO

 

If I sell these myself, I will have to certainly upgrade my Paypal account which will in turn cost me 3% more to sell in addition to the ebay fees which are probably a few percent including listing fees.

 

I am thinking that if the dealer takes 10% from the sale, I may see more for my coins even after that because chances are his selling prices will be somewhat higher and as some of you have pointed out....exposure.

 

 

[James_OldeTowne]

Goose, I do not accept PayPal, and to be perfectly honest, it hasn't hindered my eBay sales one bit. As far as I'm concerned, PayPal is just another "middleman" (financial) taking another "cut". So, I insist on bidders paying with a check or money order, and I've only had one person complain (and he did write me a check).

 

One more "middleman" you can cut out is the Post Office insurance premiums. I self-insure almost all the coins I sell on eBay.

 

James

 

PS: A couple of the coins you listed, I would pay over greysheet ask for, so I strongly recommend you DON'T dump them, or let a dealer yank your chain and take them on consignment for 10% back of bid!

[TomB]

As long as you provide decent images and descriptions, I would think that ebay would be your best bet. Not only do you remove the consignment fee, as has been mentioned, but you already generate tremendous exposure simply by listing it on ebay. If you can afford to sit on your coins for a little while then you can dictate your lowest acceptable offer via your reserve. Also, don't worry about PayPal, I don't accept PayPal either, simply take postal money orders or take bank money orders but wait for the money to clear before shipping.

[Hoot]

Goose, I do not accept PayPal

 

Also, don't worry about PayPal, I don't accept PayPal either

 

You mean that you two don't want to be Power Sellers!!!

 

I have long accepted PayPal under the (perhaps false) belief that it improved auction prices. Am I a deluded fool? Okay, don't answer that question. Am i wrong about PayPal?

 

Opinions (about PayPal) please...

 

Hoot

[goose3]

yes Hoot, you bring up a good point.

 

Everyone that I have usually heard claims that accepting paypal (credit cards) improves sales overall.

[airplanenut]

Goose,

 

I'm interested in a few of those pieces. How shall I solicit an offer?

 

Seriously, though--if you plan to sell online, all I'll say is make sure you have clear images. That's the one thing I've found to really affect prices on coins sold on eBay. To give an example, I bought a coin on eBay really cheap because I knew what it would look like, but the picture was aweful. I sold it for 3.5x what I paid with a better image. It came back on with an image that didn't show all of the color. I bought it again (at 72% what I sold it for), and sold it again for 1.5x what I paid the second time.

 

I'll stress it. It's all about the images!

 

Jeremy

[gmarguli]

You mean that you two don't want to be Power Sellers!!!

 

We'll just wait until they have a problem on eBay and can only get auto-generated email responses. Us PowerSellers get live human semi-auto-generated cut/paste responses.

 

 

I have long accepted PayPal under the (perhaps false) belief that it improved auction prices. Am I a deluded fool? Okay, don't answer that question. Am i wrong about PayPal?

 

99% of the time I won't bid unless you take PayPal or a credit card direct. I bet most others feel the same way.

[kryptonitecomics]

Hoot,

 

I my opinion........my sales have improved over the last 5 years due to accepting Paypal. I don't have to wait 2 or 3 weeks for some of the Ebay bidders to finally pay up which can be real aggreviating. That alone makes the price bareable, but for many other folks that rely on Credit for their purchases....it's a must.

 

I personally do not bid on anything on Ebay unless Paypal is accepted since it saves my time in getting my items and also their is no work involved in getting payment to the seller.

 

I am not saying that you can't operate a business successfully if you don't take Paypal, but if you aren't accepting credit cards then contrary to what you may think.......you are losing some business in this day and age. It's up to individual sellers to decide what works best for them and if they are happy with their sales, then good for them.

[EVillageProwler]

Only a few months ago did we start accepting PayPal. I have to admit that I am always assessing the value of PayPal.

 

So far, I feel that PayPal has been advantageous in terms of quicker cash flow. It also entices those people who are impulse buyers (couple this with BIN, and it allows folks to complete the transaction in the blink of an eye -- on impulse!).

 

But, I dislike the fees. I don't want us to foot the extra couple of percentage, nor do I want to pass it onto the customers.

 

I sway in the wind on how I feel about PayPal...

 

I think the others in the office are, at best, only slightly positively disposed towards PayPal.

 

EVP

[Smittys]

Goose,

Selling on ebay is ok but you need to protect yourself with a reserve. I've sold many things some bring more than ask others bringing less than bid.

I think if you have a dealer you know and trust based on the coins you listed to sell it would be better to use him (her) they should have a list of people wanting those coins and should be able to get retail prices for them therefore giving you more. Check with them first and they should be able to give you an ideal of want they can get and how long it will take. Consingnment isn't the same as selling to a dealer. On consignment the more they get for the coin the more they recieve so that's best for both parties.

Just my 2 cents worth,

Good Luck

Smitty

[chinook]

90% of the time I wont bid unless the seller accepts Paypal. For me it is a convience thing, I hate standing in line at the post office for a MO or having the seller complain that he didnt get my check.

 

On the selling side, I dont mind paying the fees. On a $200 item, the fee is about $6. I will gladly pay $6 for the convience and peace of mind not worrying about a bad check. I also like to get my items shipped ASAP.

[James_OldeTowne]

I have had eBay both ways, with PayPal, and without. Unless the fee structure drastically changes at PayPal, I'll never go back. Not for a moment do I believe PayPal generates more sales overall, because too many of such "sales" are actually impulse buys and end up getting returned. Someone who has to write a check or buy a money order is more likely to be in control of his or her money.

 

I got tired of the returns from bidders using PayPal, the flimsy excuses, etc., when I knew darned well that they were people who had simply overextended themselves. The "quickness" of the PayPal transaction encourages impulse buying, just as do credit cards. And those are the least committed types of buyers!

 

My rule of thumb is that PayPal ends up siphoning off at least 5% of my profits, and with a markup of only 15%, that's a third of my hard-earned money out the window!

 

If PayPal works for you, then that's great. It just doesn't work out for me.

 

James

[Oldtrader3]

As a person who is strictly a collector, I prefer PayPal listings because: when I purchase, the coin is paid for immediately and is usually shipped to me quickly. Also when selling a coin, I get paid quickly with no hassle.

 

The fees are less important to me than the turn-around time and security of payment.