Let the seller beware? A different kind of buyers remorse...

[macrocoin]

Do you ever feel guilty when you wind up getting more than you expected?

I have had the good fortune on rare occasions to find some choice auctions.

My guess is that in some examples, the folks selling the coin genuinely do not know its true market value and are happy with any token offering.

 

Recently I decided to pick up some mercury dimes. I have been getting them locally for 60-70 cents, mixed dates, circulated, wear....but no culls. Have picked up several hundred and knocked out a nice portion of a whitman folder. When I bought out the last few at a local dealer, I decided to get some on ebay.

 

After a lot of hunting through the 'buy it now' auctions, and after a few days of looking, I landed a good auction where the final price after shipping was factored in came to around 72 cents a piece. Not a bad deal for what were described as "average circulated mercury dime". What I actually got was, a nice mix of early dates, circulated but many approaching AU...and about half had clearly visible seperation between full bands on the reverse. Nice, white, lightly circulated mercs....for 72 cent each. Judging from the email address of the seller (a college .edu address) I am wondering if this was just something they had handed down to them and they decided to make a few bucks on it. I dont know, but I realize I got a great deal on them.

 

Ever get a coin, or a lot of coins and got them home, put a loupe on them and realized you got more than you paid for? Great feeling....but I felt a little bad that they had these great jems and didnt even realize it.

 

My gain I suppose.

[truthteller]

"Do you ever feel guilty when you wind up getting more than you expected?"

 

Yes. A few years back, I used to place up for sale on ebay all sorts of medals, exonumia, odds and ends. Most of which I thought were worth merely a few dollars each. I was wrong indeed. More than a few times, a medal which I had purchased for $2-3, would go for $200+. Initially, I was worried that the buyer did not read the listing correctly. But, as time went on, more and more folks would spend all sorts of money for "stuff".

 

 

 

TRUTH

[physics-fan3.14]

I have two such stories, both on my favorite series - the Franklin Half

 

The first happened at FUN 2004. This was my first major show, and I was blown away by the sheer size of the place. Anyways, towards the end of the day, I see a really nice Franklin in a guy's display, and I picked it up and looked at it. The strike was nice, it was clean, and the color was pleasing. So I bought it, got home, looked at it carefully, and found it was a really nice DDO, worth a decent bit more than I paid.

 

The second was recently on Ebay. This guy had a listing for a 1950 MS-65 FBL NGC, and it looked nice. But the buy it now price was ridiculously low. In the auction he described it as FBL, but the buy it now price was below any of the price guides for plain MS-65. So I bought it. No, I stole it. And it is nice. I will probably sell it and make some money off it and buy a 64 FBL (NGC of course).

[Jazzy]

I've had several experiences like that.

 

One of them turned out to be an two-cent proof that was sold as a AU 55.

 

In the final analysis, though, the dealer wasn't losing his house, so I decided not to worry about.

[Buffalo_Pete]

All I have to say is this................

 

Knowledge is power. Rewards for study come back to you.

 

It all averages out in the long run. Factor in all the

overpriced and overgraded stuff that sells....

 

No one is going bankrupt....enjoy your purchases.

 

Pete

[HaydenTubbs]

I wouldn't worry about it,after all they are "average circulated".

 

Hayden

[gmarguli]

Do you ever feel guilty when you wind up getting more than you expected?

 

Yes. In fact, I cry many times when this happens and then refund the buyer the difference between what they paid and what I feel it is worth. Oh wait, no, none of that happens. I just keep the money.

 

I'd never feel guilty about it if I described the item accurately. The buyer won the item for what they felt it was worth or quite possibly less than they felt it was worth. Why should I feel guilty about that?

 

Many times I've put coins on eBay that I figured at under $50 and had them sell for several hundred. I can't feel guilty about that, but I do wonder if they are going to be returned. And I've had exactly one buyer tell me they felt bad for me when they won a coin really cheap (around $4 when it was a $20 coin). They ended their words of guilt with something to the effect of "but it was good for me".

[jtryka]

I've had a few experiences like that over the years. Once I was bidding on a 1926 Saint that I needed for my set, and the woman selling it had some pretty bad photos so I asked her to send me nicer ones, and indeed it looked to be a nice MS-64 coin. She never said who certified it, or what, just that it was unc MS-64. So I bid, and was the high bidder but didn't meet the reserve. I asked her what she wanted for it, and I think it was like $500 so I bought it, and it arrives in the mail in an old PCGS rattler, in all a solid coin that still resides in my set. At the time gold was around $400, so well described and photographed, this coin on eBay could have brought $600-700 easy. My second story was buying an NCS commem a few years ago, when the uncs were running about $150 and the proofs about $30. I wanted to get both, but I started looking for the cheaper proof, and I found one advertised as a proof but it looked unc to me. I ended up buying it for about $35, and when it arrived, sure enough it was an unc. I emailed the seller and offered to return it, and they never responded, so I just kept it. I eventually sold it later after I looked in my safe deposit box and found that I already had an unc that I bought in 1996! As buyers we sometimes get lucky, and as sellers we do to. That's just the way the market works.

[RGT]

I haven't had any real deals like this from unknowledgable sellers, but I recall one buy from someone who maybe should have known better.

 

The coin was a raw 1838 seated half dime on ebay. It was described as chioce AU. The pictures were decent and the coin looked nice but I was concerned about the color of a spot on the reverse. I emailed the seller and he sent me some better pictures. I was satisfied and won the coin for around $75.

 

When I received the coin I found that it was indeed original and I couldn't see anything that looked like wear or rub. I sent the coin to NGC and they called it an MS63. There were a few scattered hairlines on the obverse in one area that probably kept it from a higher grade.

 

The seller dealt primarily in darkside material so I guess he wasn't familiar with the grading standards of early US coins.

 

I still have the coin and you can see it in my registry set from the link in my sig line.

[Oldtrader3]

I bought a 1924 Saint in a MS62-ICG holder on Ebay several years ago. It was a very nice example, so I sent it to NGC and got it back as MS64.

[metallbarren-migration]

I've had a few go for more than what they're worth and a few go for less. Luckily thus far I've made more than I've lost. If the tables were turned I don't think any of the buyers would offer to pay me more because they feel bad, so I don't feel bad when someone over bids on an item. That's just how the game works.

[relicsncoins]

I agree, some sell for more than they are probably worth and some sell for less. Here is an Indian I just sold on Ebay with these exact photos. I put in the write up that this coin was uncirculated and probably about 80% red. I did not put a numeric grade in the description. The coin would probably get a 63RB if submitted. This coin brought 63 bucks, thats alot for a 63RB 1899 Indian.

 

 

[cpm9ball]

For me, it's always a good feeling when I can win an auction for less than I expected. If I were a seller intent on flipping, I would naturally want to be able to make a profit from it, but I'm not a seller. I buy what I like, and who is to say that I might pay too much for something that makes me feel good. If I'm watching a particular item and the bidding has gone a little higher than I anticipated, then it is for me, and me alone, to decide how much I really want it.

 

Every buyer and seller must set their own parameters. Can I afford to buy it for this amount? Can I afford to sell it for this amount?

 

Here are two different cases in point:

 

Not long ago, I watched two auctions from one seller that ended with no bids. He started the bidding at $399 for each of two French medals. When it ended, I sent him an e-mail offering to purchase both for $40 each and he accepted.

 

Just a few days ago, I saw another French medal with a starting bid of $450 from a different seller that ended with no bids. When the auction ended, I sent this seller an offer to purchase it for $70 and he nearly went berserk. He claimed that he had "hundreds of dollars" in this medal. To be honest, if he did have that much invested, then he paid too much. I sent him a reply apologizing for offending him and suggested that he drop his opening bid because, in my experience, he would have no takers at even $200. He has relisted the medal again for $425 and there are still no bidders. I really like the medal but I won't even consider that amount. Does anyone think I should send him another offer when the current auction ends or would that just make him more enraged?

 

Chris

[Wihlborg]

Chris,

 

Wait for the auction to end, and send him an e-mail offering $69 this time.

 

John

[John Martinez]

Maybe I'm missing something. Is not half or more of the fun of an auction, estate sales, garage sales, etc. the occasional bargin?