Coin Town
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- Jul 25, 2012
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Coin Town's Guide to Selling Copper Pennies on eBay
Hello all and HAPPY MONDAY!!!
There have been a few posts recently where people were inquiring about selling copper pennies and the best way to make the biggest profit. I commented on a few of these threads and got some PM's asking me to share my tips for selling copper pennies on eBay. This will be the beginning of that thread...
Before I begin this thread I just want to invite everyone to provide feedback, both positive and negative, as I feel we have a lot of members on here interested in selling their copper pennies to make a few extra bucks. Whether you are in it to get rich, add to your bank roll, or simply get rid of the hoard you started 10 years ago before your wife makes you choose her or the coins, I encourage you to take some time to read this post and let me know your honest feedback. If you still have additional questions or comments after you are done reading please do not hesitate to send me a PM. I am more than happy to continue the conversation outside of this thread.
Now, on to business. Let me start by saying one thing. Selling copper pennies on eBay probably will not make you rich unless you can sort millions of pennies at a time on a regular basis but lets all be realistic, not many of us would have that kind of time. Craigslist Ads, eBay, Classifieds, etc. can all be great ways to get coins sold but I personally think you can turnover the most volume by utilizing ebay. This is simply what I have been doing and I like the way it has worked out so far.
I suppose I will make this somewhat of a step by step tutorial on my process. The first few steps are going to be pretty darn obvious but just bear with me as we go through all of this together. Keep in mind I have been sorting through pennies for many many years so its kind of nice that I already developed a pretty sizable hoard of copper which should help me keep sales posted on eBay regularly:
Step #1
buy AS MANY BOXES and CUSTOMER WRAPPED ROLLS as possible. I have actually had more luck with bank rolled coins over customer rolled. This goes completely against the grain as far as finding keepers in bank rolled vs. customer rolled but for now I personally don't spend much time seeking out the customer rolled coins.
Step #2
I collect Wheaties, Indian Heads, foreign coins, and anything else that looks interesting (stamped coins, holed coins, painted coins, etc...you get the idea). I have Whitman books I have been filling for 20+ years and anytime I find a keeper that is nicer than one already filling a spot I replace it. Along with separating these coins from the large batch I also pull out (only started this recently) all 98, 99, & 00 to search for WAM's. Since I spend time searching for these coins I am almost always looking at the dates of every single one. Because of this it is super easy to separate all of the copper coins from the "go back to the bank" coins. I simply throw all of the copper coins into 5 gallon jugs that used to hold my protein powders.
Step #2b
I know alot of people simply throw back all of the 1982's but I am one that keeps everything. I put the 1982 pennies in a separate 5 gallon jug and occasionally as it starts to get a fair amount inside I pull out my simple gram scale and weigh them. This is a no brainer excercise that I usually do while watching a movie or a game of some sort. I toss all of the copper 1982's in a new jug (to be rolled and sold) and the rest go back to the bank.
Step #3
I roll all of the coins I am going to sell just because it makes it easier for me to track on my spreadsheet exact numbers. Some people I know will sell their pennies based on weight alone. This works just fine but of course you will be selling more or less depending on the wear of your coins and accuracy of your scale. I get the rolls for free from my banks and again this is something I do while watching TV. Boring but it works OK for me.
The first 3 steps are exactly what most people do anyways. The next steps are how I prepare, sell, and ship the pennies
Step#4
Since all of my coins are either in large jugs or rolled at this point I start putting them in small flat rate boxes. If you were to build one of these boxes you can stack two rows neatly with 14 rolls in each. I put one stack as far to one side as possible and the other stack as far to the opposite side as possible. That leaves a nice little pocket in the middle to toss in the last 2 rolls. Since the center has some wiggle room I just use some newspaper or magazine pages to stuff the "void" to keep everything nice and tight.
Step #5
I typically list 6-10 boxes like this at any given time. Deciding if I am going to list them Auction Style or Buy it Now style is usually me just flipping a mental coin and choosing which one I think will be more profitable. I ALWAYS start my auctions at $.01 with no reserve price. <--be careful with this because the break even point is somewhere around $17.68. If I sell for anything less I will actually lose money!
Step #6
COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE!!! I cannot tell you enough how important it is to communicate quickly, politely, and honestly to any potential buyer. I can promise you it goes a long way and you will have happy customers returning to buy more product in the future. I get questions all the time asking to clarify things that may not be clear. Anytime I get a question to clarify something I am sure to update the next listing so it makes sense moving forward.
Step #7
After an auction or buy it now has ended I wait for the batch of 6-10 listings to all end in case I need to combine shipping. The best part about these flat rate box system is they can fit neatly inside one another. 6 small flat rate boxes will fit very snugly, to the point that you dont have to do any additional packing, into a medium flat rate box. here are a few numbers while we are on shipping to give you an idea of weight:
I sell all of my pennies in $15 lots. $15.00 in one small flat rate box has usually been about 10.6 lbs.
6 of these boxes can fit inside the medium box so that would be $90.00 and a weight of around 63-64 lbs. <--BE NICE to your post office crew/carrier because this is no joke! a 63-64 lb box once a week is ALOT of work for them to haul around!!!
Step #8
TAPE THE HELL OUT OF THE BOXES!!! I buy my tape from Costco when its on sale. I think it comes in packages of 10-12 rolls. You can never over tape something this heavy. When in doubt...add more tape!!!
Step #9
I schedule my pickups from USPS the night I print my shipping. Usually if an auction ends on a Sunday I will print shipping labels that night and schedule a pickup for the following day. It is FREE and they will simply swing by during your normal mail delivery to grab everything. I usually bring them with me to my office because that mail man carries a push cart with him during his route so its really easy for him to stack everything without working to hard.
This pickup option does not work for same day pickups, only next day. Occasionally I will have an auction end earlier in the day and if that is the case I try to drop it off on my way home from work.
Step #10
Combining shipping...Often times becasue of the multiple listings buyers will win multiple items. This is the best thing again about flat rate boxes. I charge $5.80 for every small flat rate box. when I buy postage online it costs $5.15. The difference helps cover fees and supplies. Since I can fit 6 boxes in one medium box I will combine anything over 3 wins (but no more than 6) and charge $14.00 for shipping. I think it costs me $11.35 to send a medium box so once again the extra helps cover the cost of fees and supplies. IF someone wins more than 6 items I have to send as multiple packages. I recently sent one medium flat rate box and 2 small flat rate boxes to one person but overall the combined shipping saved them over $20.
Look at it this way, if your buyers know you will combine shipping, they will probably outbid people to ensure they get all of your listings. If this happens to be the case you will receive more bids, for higher amounts, and in turn make more money!
Step #11
Always leave feedback as soon as you get paid. Some people choose to leave feedback as a seller ONLY after they receive feedback themselves. I think this is a bad practice and in my opinion once the buyer pays their job is done. No need to wait on this.
Step #12
repeat steps #1-11!!!!!
Additional tips
a) Sell S-Mint Pennies in separate auctions, you can get about $30 for every $6 you sell...people love them
b) If you don't collect wheats those can bring a nice premium if you sell them in $5-$15 lots
c) Always send a followup thank you note to the buyer...it helps build your clients up and encourage repeat business
d) I think I discussed this but weight the 82's. you could sell them in separate listings (this is what I do) or mix them in with the rest. Just be sure to include details about how you weigh every single one for accuracy.
Finally...lets talk about the money...everyone wants to know how to make money selling their copper pennies. As I said initially this is not a get rich quick plan. Since I am already searching through $1,000 worth of pennies each month it made sense for me to start selling what I found. Personally, I am building a collection of American Silver Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs, & Silver Philharmonics. I am putting together a set of 5 from each year and the profits from selling pennies add up quick. Because of that I haven't had to pull money out of my own pocket to buy a silver coin for quite some time.
Anyways, here are some examples of what you can expect to make selling pennies:
Final Sale Price (based on todays copper price) = $17.00-$22.50
shipping = $5.15 (small) $11.35 (medium)
ebay fees = 10% now I think
paypal fees = 2.9% + .30 per transaction (another reason to combine items...only one $.30 fee instead of 6 or more!)
NET PROFIT AFTER FEES & SHIPPING = break even - $5.00
now, after ALL this work $5.00 may not sound like alot of money but lets look at it as a gross profit margin. if you NET $5 and sold the item for $22.50 your GPM would be just over 22%...where in this day and age can you find an investment that would pay you 22%?!?! My average just went up a little bit it is currently sitting at a gross profit margin of about 15.62%. At the end of the day I wont complain about taking an original $15 investment and turning it into an additional $4-$5 profit!!!
One thing I almost forgot, after I get paid via PayPal I always transfer the original $15.00 back to my back account to continue the cycle. I keep all of my profits in my PayPal account until I am ready to make a purchase of silver and then I transfer the exact amount I need. It helps me with the bookkeeping!!!
Thank you for spending time reading this thread...I am sure it is quite long and for all I know since I am not going to go back and proof read anything it may not even make sense!!! Please feel free to ask any additional questions you may have and by all means add your criticism.
HH everyone.
Coin Town
Hello all and HAPPY MONDAY!!!
There have been a few posts recently where people were inquiring about selling copper pennies and the best way to make the biggest profit. I commented on a few of these threads and got some PM's asking me to share my tips for selling copper pennies on eBay. This will be the beginning of that thread...
Before I begin this thread I just want to invite everyone to provide feedback, both positive and negative, as I feel we have a lot of members on here interested in selling their copper pennies to make a few extra bucks. Whether you are in it to get rich, add to your bank roll, or simply get rid of the hoard you started 10 years ago before your wife makes you choose her or the coins, I encourage you to take some time to read this post and let me know your honest feedback. If you still have additional questions or comments after you are done reading please do not hesitate to send me a PM. I am more than happy to continue the conversation outside of this thread.
Now, on to business. Let me start by saying one thing. Selling copper pennies on eBay probably will not make you rich unless you can sort millions of pennies at a time on a regular basis but lets all be realistic, not many of us would have that kind of time. Craigslist Ads, eBay, Classifieds, etc. can all be great ways to get coins sold but I personally think you can turnover the most volume by utilizing ebay. This is simply what I have been doing and I like the way it has worked out so far.
I suppose I will make this somewhat of a step by step tutorial on my process. The first few steps are going to be pretty darn obvious but just bear with me as we go through all of this together. Keep in mind I have been sorting through pennies for many many years so its kind of nice that I already developed a pretty sizable hoard of copper which should help me keep sales posted on eBay regularly:
Step #1
buy AS MANY BOXES and CUSTOMER WRAPPED ROLLS as possible. I have actually had more luck with bank rolled coins over customer rolled. This goes completely against the grain as far as finding keepers in bank rolled vs. customer rolled but for now I personally don't spend much time seeking out the customer rolled coins.
Step #2
I collect Wheaties, Indian Heads, foreign coins, and anything else that looks interesting (stamped coins, holed coins, painted coins, etc...you get the idea). I have Whitman books I have been filling for 20+ years and anytime I find a keeper that is nicer than one already filling a spot I replace it. Along with separating these coins from the large batch I also pull out (only started this recently) all 98, 99, & 00 to search for WAM's. Since I spend time searching for these coins I am almost always looking at the dates of every single one. Because of this it is super easy to separate all of the copper coins from the "go back to the bank" coins. I simply throw all of the copper coins into 5 gallon jugs that used to hold my protein powders.
Step #2b
I know alot of people simply throw back all of the 1982's but I am one that keeps everything. I put the 1982 pennies in a separate 5 gallon jug and occasionally as it starts to get a fair amount inside I pull out my simple gram scale and weigh them. This is a no brainer excercise that I usually do while watching a movie or a game of some sort. I toss all of the copper 1982's in a new jug (to be rolled and sold) and the rest go back to the bank.
Step #3
I roll all of the coins I am going to sell just because it makes it easier for me to track on my spreadsheet exact numbers. Some people I know will sell their pennies based on weight alone. This works just fine but of course you will be selling more or less depending on the wear of your coins and accuracy of your scale. I get the rolls for free from my banks and again this is something I do while watching TV. Boring but it works OK for me.
The first 3 steps are exactly what most people do anyways. The next steps are how I prepare, sell, and ship the pennies
Step#4
Since all of my coins are either in large jugs or rolled at this point I start putting them in small flat rate boxes. If you were to build one of these boxes you can stack two rows neatly with 14 rolls in each. I put one stack as far to one side as possible and the other stack as far to the opposite side as possible. That leaves a nice little pocket in the middle to toss in the last 2 rolls. Since the center has some wiggle room I just use some newspaper or magazine pages to stuff the "void" to keep everything nice and tight.
Step #5
I typically list 6-10 boxes like this at any given time. Deciding if I am going to list them Auction Style or Buy it Now style is usually me just flipping a mental coin and choosing which one I think will be more profitable. I ALWAYS start my auctions at $.01 with no reserve price. <--be careful with this because the break even point is somewhere around $17.68. If I sell for anything less I will actually lose money!
Step #6
COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE, COMMUNICATE!!! I cannot tell you enough how important it is to communicate quickly, politely, and honestly to any potential buyer. I can promise you it goes a long way and you will have happy customers returning to buy more product in the future. I get questions all the time asking to clarify things that may not be clear. Anytime I get a question to clarify something I am sure to update the next listing so it makes sense moving forward.
Step #7
After an auction or buy it now has ended I wait for the batch of 6-10 listings to all end in case I need to combine shipping. The best part about these flat rate box system is they can fit neatly inside one another. 6 small flat rate boxes will fit very snugly, to the point that you dont have to do any additional packing, into a medium flat rate box. here are a few numbers while we are on shipping to give you an idea of weight:
I sell all of my pennies in $15 lots. $15.00 in one small flat rate box has usually been about 10.6 lbs.
6 of these boxes can fit inside the medium box so that would be $90.00 and a weight of around 63-64 lbs. <--BE NICE to your post office crew/carrier because this is no joke! a 63-64 lb box once a week is ALOT of work for them to haul around!!!
Step #8
TAPE THE HELL OUT OF THE BOXES!!! I buy my tape from Costco when its on sale. I think it comes in packages of 10-12 rolls. You can never over tape something this heavy. When in doubt...add more tape!!!
Step #9
I schedule my pickups from USPS the night I print my shipping. Usually if an auction ends on a Sunday I will print shipping labels that night and schedule a pickup for the following day. It is FREE and they will simply swing by during your normal mail delivery to grab everything. I usually bring them with me to my office because that mail man carries a push cart with him during his route so its really easy for him to stack everything without working to hard.
This pickup option does not work for same day pickups, only next day. Occasionally I will have an auction end earlier in the day and if that is the case I try to drop it off on my way home from work.
Step #10
Combining shipping...Often times becasue of the multiple listings buyers will win multiple items. This is the best thing again about flat rate boxes. I charge $5.80 for every small flat rate box. when I buy postage online it costs $5.15. The difference helps cover fees and supplies. Since I can fit 6 boxes in one medium box I will combine anything over 3 wins (but no more than 6) and charge $14.00 for shipping. I think it costs me $11.35 to send a medium box so once again the extra helps cover the cost of fees and supplies. IF someone wins more than 6 items I have to send as multiple packages. I recently sent one medium flat rate box and 2 small flat rate boxes to one person but overall the combined shipping saved them over $20.
Look at it this way, if your buyers know you will combine shipping, they will probably outbid people to ensure they get all of your listings. If this happens to be the case you will receive more bids, for higher amounts, and in turn make more money!
Step #11
Always leave feedback as soon as you get paid. Some people choose to leave feedback as a seller ONLY after they receive feedback themselves. I think this is a bad practice and in my opinion once the buyer pays their job is done. No need to wait on this.
Step #12
repeat steps #1-11!!!!!
Additional tips
a) Sell S-Mint Pennies in separate auctions, you can get about $30 for every $6 you sell...people love them
b) If you don't collect wheats those can bring a nice premium if you sell them in $5-$15 lots
c) Always send a followup thank you note to the buyer...it helps build your clients up and encourage repeat business
d) I think I discussed this but weight the 82's. you could sell them in separate listings (this is what I do) or mix them in with the rest. Just be sure to include details about how you weigh every single one for accuracy.
Finally...lets talk about the money...everyone wants to know how to make money selling their copper pennies. As I said initially this is not a get rich quick plan. Since I am already searching through $1,000 worth of pennies each month it made sense for me to start selling what I found. Personally, I am building a collection of American Silver Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs, & Silver Philharmonics. I am putting together a set of 5 from each year and the profits from selling pennies add up quick. Because of that I haven't had to pull money out of my own pocket to buy a silver coin for quite some time.
Anyways, here are some examples of what you can expect to make selling pennies:
Final Sale Price (based on todays copper price) = $17.00-$22.50
shipping = $5.15 (small) $11.35 (medium)
ebay fees = 10% now I think
paypal fees = 2.9% + .30 per transaction (another reason to combine items...only one $.30 fee instead of 6 or more!)
NET PROFIT AFTER FEES & SHIPPING = break even - $5.00
now, after ALL this work $5.00 may not sound like alot of money but lets look at it as a gross profit margin. if you NET $5 and sold the item for $22.50 your GPM would be just over 22%...where in this day and age can you find an investment that would pay you 22%?!?! My average just went up a little bit it is currently sitting at a gross profit margin of about 15.62%. At the end of the day I wont complain about taking an original $15 investment and turning it into an additional $4-$5 profit!!!
One thing I almost forgot, after I get paid via PayPal I always transfer the original $15.00 back to my back account to continue the cycle. I keep all of my profits in my PayPal account until I am ready to make a purchase of silver and then I transfer the exact amount I need. It helps me with the bookkeeping!!!
Thank you for spending time reading this thread...I am sure it is quite long and for all I know since I am not going to go back and proof read anything it may not even make sense!!! Please feel free to ask any additional questions you may have and by all means add your criticism.
HH everyone.
Coin Town
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