How the hell does he do it??

[Silver Surfer]

I was browsing epay coins today and find this guy selling very common coins for hundreds of dollars. All of his auctions are "buy it now" and I am simply in awe at what he is getting for them. At first I figured that he can ask anything he wants for them, that doesnt mean he gets it.. WRONG!! I checked on his previous auctions, and he get's the crazy prices for them.. Example... 1916 P Wheat cent... Yeah, nice and shiny, but not slabbed or graded by the big shots... He sold that damn coin for $395!?!? Pretty ordinary Buffalo Nickel, common date, sold for $249.... On and on...
I need to learn his method, as he is doing something right... 100% positive feedback (4000+)... I was going to post a link to his epay store so you could see for yourself, but not sure if that is allowed...

If I could learn his secret, I would start a new career... Maybe it is all in the way you advertise and write? I am adding an untouched photo of his "brilliant GEM uncirculated" buffalo nickel that sold for $249.... Looks like lots of contrast and sharpness added to the photo, is this a GEM BU coin in your opinions?? Worth $249??

 

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[Mackaydon]

Unethical sellers might use shills to 'encourage' bidding to above normal prices.

 

[Silver Surfer]

Unethical sellers might use shills to 'encourage' bidding to above normal prices.

Thats the crazy part though.... He doesnt sell anything except with the "buy it now"... So he is posting these crazy prices and people are paying it... He does offer a 14 day money back guarantee, I wonder what the catch is though.. Gets positive feedback. I cannot fathom anyone paying so much without simply googling the coin like I do, and seeing what they are worth.
I googled the buffalo nickel and the highest I saw one selling for was $28, and in as good condition as his which sold for the $249 in my first post.... I wrote him an email asking if he could enlighten me. I will be curious as to whether I get an answer or not...

This (what I consider average) Capped bust of his sold for $395 recently and according to the guides, in average condition is worth $45-$70...
I should probably not give a darn, but if I could sell coins for what he does, I could make a pretty good living at it... Like I said, these are not even graded/slabbed by the big boys...

 

[AU24K]

Man, I know what you mean!
When I try to sell say a common date silver dollar, I sometimes barely get melt value.
When you find out the secret, let me know!

Scott

 

[AU24K]

Unethical sellers might use shills to 'encourage' bidding to above normal prices.

Wonder if he's the shill for epay and this is how epay encourages people to sell, and for big money. The higher you set the price, the more it costs to list....

Scott

 

[l.cutler]

A 1931-s is not a common date nickel, and that one is a nice one. The 1838 capped bust half is also a beautiful coin, I don't know what you consider average but I would call that one AU and probably worth the money paid. Coins don't have to be slabbed to bring true value, it helps but someone that knows there stuff will pay what it is worth.

 

[Arizona Bob]

I was browsing epay coins today and find this guy selling very common coins for hundreds of dollars. All of his auctions are "buy it now" and I am simply in awe at what he is getting for them. At first I figured that he can ask anything he wants for them, that doesnt mean he gets it.. WRONG!! I checked on his previous auctions, and he get's the crazy prices for them.. Example... 1916 P Wheat cent... Yeah, nice and shiny, but not slabbed or graded by the big shots... He sold that damn coin for $395!?!? Pretty ordinary Buffalo Nickel, common date, sold for $249.... On and on...
I need to learn his method, as he is doing something right... 100% positive feedback (4000+)... I was going to post a link to his epay store so you could see for yourself, but not sure if that is allowed...

Maybe he has found an interesting way to "wash" some "dirty" money? Maybe the associated costs for ads/ebay/paypal are just written-off as the "cleaning" costs. Granted, washing dirty money ($200-300 at a pop) in lower amounts seems like it would take forever, but maybe the lesser amounts allow him to "fly under someone's radar". I'm just spitballin'....

 

[Shortstack]

When you check his "record" on eBay, are the buyers a few of the same people or are they different user names? Of course, that wouldn't matter if he had "helpers" changing names several times a month and "buying" his coins. There has to be a catch in there somewhere, because a past buyer would file a complaint with eBay about over pricing once they caught on..........if they were not in on the "con".

 

[Diver_Down]

The capped bust is worth it. It is an AU-55. It is a beautiful coin and wouldn't hesitate paying his asking price.

 

[Tnmountains]

I can not imagine him running a coin laundering scheme on e-pay. There are a lot of very smart people shopping their from all over the world. Maybe the coins as said are wrth it to..someone.
I have sold some old redfield scopes on there and was amazed as the price went up and people bid.

Why do you not give it a try and sell a coin on a buy in now item and see what happens?
Good luck
TnMtns

 

[Diver_Down]

Also, with the Buy It Now option, it is more attractive to a buyer when you are looking for high grade coins. A buyer doesn't want to risk being sniped at the last seconds trying to obtain a specific coin. Consequently, the seller will add a premium to the actual Red Book value as a privilege for not having to squabble with others to be the high bidder.

 

[l.cutler]

No scam, no con, both those coins are worth what they sold for. The 100% feedback tells you people were happy with there purchases. High grade desirable coins sell for good prices, simple.

 

[Silver Surfer]

The capped bust is worth it. It is an AU-55. It is a beautiful coin and wouldn't hesitate paying his asking price.

Then I am way undergrading my coins..... I guess it hinges on what an individual considers "almost uncirculated".. To me, that means a near mint coin with maybe a couple very fine, not visible to the naked eye, "blurs" on it... What would be the difference between an uncirculated coin and a mint state coin? Patina?
This coin game can really be confusing...

 

[Diver_Down]

The capped bust is worth it. It is an AU-55. It is a beautiful coin and wouldn't hesitate paying his asking price.

Then I am way undergrading my coins..... I guess it hinges on what an individual considers "almost uncirculated".. To me, that means a near mint coin with maybe a couple very fine, not visible to the naked eye, "blurs" on it... What would be the difference between an uncirculated coin and a mint state coin? Patina?
This coin game can really be confusing...

The grime in the "Liberty" and the date are distracting and gives the look of a dirty coin and not what you think of as an "almost uncirculated" coin, but thankfully graders won't be distracted by the grime. Looking around the stars and the rim, you see sharp points on the stars and mint luster still present. Taking a look at the "clasp", all details are there with no apparent wear. With the Bust halves, the "clasp" is one of the first details to become obliterated. Looking at her hair, the curl lines are distinguishable and there are no scratches on the cheek (another high point). Looking at the field, there are no distracting scratches.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

It boils down to what the buyer is willing to pay and what the seller asks.

I have been to Indian artifact auctions in Missouri where farmers who collected their entire life off of their farms along the Missouri river were either going into a nursing homes or had passed away and their collections was being auctioned off. Seen some buyers pay 2 or 3 times the value of a point because it is a point missing from their collection. Some of the bidders were very well financed, being doctors and lawyers and no matter what was bid they bumped it by $10-$25......

I recently turned down $3500 for the water bottle in my collection from a collector who asked me when I turned it it down if there was a price that would tempt me, I told him I didn't really want to sell the bottle so it would take a lot more to tempt me, he asked how much and I told him at the moment, twice his bid wouldn't tempt me. Odds of me ever finding another bottle like it to go in my collection is slim so to me it is irreplaceable.

 

[cedarratt]

If I was doing that I would find it hard to stop... It may have started out has a joke.

 

[Silver Surfer]

The grime in the "Liberty" and the date are distracting and gives the look of a dirty coin and not what you think of as an "almost uncirculated" coin, but thankfully graders won't be distracted by the grime. Looking around the stars and the rim, you see sharp points on the stars and mint luster still present. Taking a look at the "clasp", all details are there with no apparent wear. With the Bust halves, the "clasp" is one of the first details to become obliterated. Looking at her hair, the curl lines are distinguishable and there are no scratches on the cheek (another high point). Looking at the field, there are no distracting scratches.

Then I AM undergrading the coins I have... I thought that the "luster" and "shine" of a coin was the big factor, and since everyone says to never clean a coin, I figured that simple "grime" was the depreciating factor, or at least a big one.. Although when I have sold old coins, I have never attempted to grade them, but rather put up good scans and let the buyer grade them. I would only say they were in great condition... Many have all the crisp details that you describe, fluted edges perfect, no obvious signs of wear at all, but a little dirty or patina'd. Your info helps a lot... I guess I could always put a big price on them and see if they sell... But then I guess I take the chance on losing the posting fees too....
With what silver is up to, maybe I shouldnt be selling any of them now, but wait a while.. LOL.. I AM hanging on to all my pre-64 silver that is just that, no key dates, for a rainy day... It may be really cloudy right now, but not raining...

 

[lazooro]

amazing!! i sell much better coins and just for couple of bucks..like to be seller as good as he is..

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

I realize I'm getting a little off track here, but I have had some eBay experience I think is worthy of mentioning. For example, I have been collecting, hunting, digging, and buying old soda pop bottle for over 25 years now and, like the coin topic, I am amazed what some people will pay for a $2.00 bottle. But one thing I have learned over the years is,"if ya ain't go it", and just "gotta have it," the price is secondary!

This is especially true with soda bottles that are subject to "regional" interest. For example, an old San Diego, California soda bottle, (which is where I live), is of considerable more interest to me than would be a bottle from Timbucktu, Indiana!
(No disrespect intended to you Indiana folks ... just popped off the top of my head!)

And, last but not least, if there are those among you who think soda bottle collecting is kid's stuff, check it out on eBay sometime. I think you will be surprised! Especially certain Mountain Dew bottles with "Hillbilly Names" on them that are extremely hot right now, and something that any one of you might have laying around and didn't realize it! Here's a link to a couple of sodas, one of which is a Mountain Dew, that I predict will eventually sell for over $100.00


http://cgi.ebay.com/MOUNTAIN-DEW-WH...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3efa970075





I say go for it and sell all of your spare coins to the eBay "sharks!"

 

[SODABOTTLEBOB]

I was mistaken about the two bottles listed on the link above, predicting they would sell for "around" $100.00 ............ They sold for $200.69 Check it out!