Have you ever bid on a coin only to lose it to a dealer???

[MikeKing]

And then see it up on their website marked up over 30%

Or find it on the website of someone you really don't like, but marked up only 10% but since you don't like them it really bothers you anyway???

Or lose a bid to a dealer at a fraction of the next bid increment!!!?

Doesn't that S--k?

 

or lose to a dealer who posts on the PCGS board only to have them say something unbecoming about a coin you post and you KNOW if they could get it for the right price they'd buy it, mark it up >30% and write a rave description??? Like nothing better exists in THE WORLD?

 

Doesn't that S--k?

[Amanda]

It has never happened to me, but I do not think I would enjoy it.

 

-Amanda

[cpm9ball]

Doesn't that S--k?

 

Yes, it does, Mike, but if you see a coin that you really, really, really want then you have to bid accordingly. If the maximum, maximum, maximum you are willing to pay for it is beaten out by one of the dealers you hate, hate, hate then you can at least take solace in the fact that he/she won't be able to make as much profit from it.

 

Chris

[World Colonial]

Regardless of whether you like the dealer or not, you can use that to your advantage in bidding. If I know a dealer to be knowledgeable in a coin series that I collect, knowing what a dealer is willing to pay is a good indication that you are not overpaying for the coin because they have to be able to buy it at a price low enough to make money. If the coin is not slabbed, this provides better assuarance that the coin will not be rejected. I believe that some dealers realize this and so they will only bid at the last minute which is the same practice that I follow.

[MikeKing]

it's always good to get an optimistic viewpoint to keep the learning going in the right direction. I needed to hear that. Thanks.

[James_OldeTowne]

Have you ever bid on a coin only to lose it to a dealer???And then see it up on their website marked up over 30%

Or find it on the website of someone you really don't like, but marked up only 10% but since you don't like them it really bothers you anyway???

Or lose a bid to a dealer at a fraction of the next bid increment!!!?

Doesn't that S--k?

 

or lose to a dealer who posts on the PCGS board only to have them say something unbecoming about a coin you post and you KNOW if they could get it for the right price they'd buy it, mark it up >30% and write a rave description??? Like nothing better exists in THE WORLD?

 

Doesn't that S--k?

I've lost to dealers many times - it's just part of the process.

 

A markup of 30% or even 35% does not sound that bad to me. You can usually talk them down at least 10%, and factoring in that person's overhead, the actual profit on such a coin might well be only 10% - 15%, which seems fair to me.

 

James

[supertooth]

Hello Mike King---- My thinking goes something like this----I am a collector and mostly think like a collector. So, when I bid on a coin, I usually want to put it into my collection [ not for resale]. For the most part, dealers are not thinking the same way. They buy to resell---to make money---NOT TO COLLECT. So, when they look at a lot---or when they snipe on Ebay, they already have their maximum bid formulated in their head. Not like a nervous collector who might see his max bid go up in smoke----and then quickly bid again. The dealer is calm and calculating---knows the true value of the piece---and its grade---and only bids what he has already decided that the piece is worth to him. Rarely will a good dealer overbid----just to prove a point. Afterall, he is earning a living and overbidding is not part of the normal routine.

 

So, when I know that I will be bidding against guys with equal abilities in grading and determining values, I try to think like a dealer and not a collector. Keep the coin in the proper perspective---keep it as a business move. You must take it this way. You loose some---you win some. The dealer looks at it this way---he doesn't fret over it for very long. He moves on to the next coin.

 

Now, as a collector, you have disadvantages and advantages over the dealer. The best advantage that you have is that you may be bidding on coins that, within your series, you may actually know better than the dealer knows them. In that case, you might want to bid more on coins that you know are not as available. It's funny how it works sometimes. But, then other times, you can bid what you believe is really high---and still get blown out of the water. Did he have a client for X amount of dollars already on the hook? In the end, it is just ONE GIANT GAME.

 

I recently bought some "RAW" 'original' Walkers off of Ebay---over 50 coins----49 of them were MS coins. The toning was NT----I had emailed the seller---was sure of a provenance to the original owner. I WAS EXCITED. I was a collector. I wanted the coins---no matter the price. 32 of them would fill half of my Registry Set. I was determined to keep the set intact. Those 52 Walkers cost me 11,000 total. It was a bargain---in my book. It turned out well---as I got the Walkers in their original old brown Wayte--Raymond holders---including the old loose leaf binder. Most of the coins were toned beautifully. Original skinned----original luster---NO HAIRLINES at all. The buy of a lifetime. Did I act as a dealer would?? Heck no---I was a collector. But, I was bidding against dealers. They knew what the coins were too. They bid high on some of the rarer pieces. But, in the end, my willingness to pay for keeping the set together won out. Sometimes wanting certain coins MUST dictate some special bids. But, keep in mind, my bids were still snipe bids in the last few seconds of time. No one but me knew those bids. If I had been on the auction room floor----it would have been different. That is why I like Ebay bidding.

 

My final words----know your series---be as knowledgable as a dealer would be----think like a dealer when buying or selling----know how to grade your series as well or better than the dealers. But, remember that you are a collector. Deep down, as I did, you will know when some special bid is warranted for that special coin or coins----because you are a collector not a dealer. Bob [supertooth]