Advice on buying proof sets and uncirculated sets

[CC-Hunter]

I am looking at buying a collection that includes a lot of coins that I would like to own but also includes a number of modern (early 90s-present) proof sets and uncirculated sets that I already have or otherwise do not care about owning. There are also a number of silver proof sets that I wouldn't go out of my way to own but would probably hold at the right price (really surprised how much the "premier" silver proof sets sell for on ebay even though they are just 5 coins (3 Ag & 2 clad) in a fancier box than the "regular" silver proof set). The seller prefers to sell the collection as a whole and I believe she has a fair amount of interest.

If you look at ebay sold prices, the proof and uncirculated clad mint sets do have some value, but not a lot. Given their low value and relatively high shipping cost, I have tried to sell some before locally but had no takers. I ended up selling a bunch of uncirculated sets from an auction lot earlier this year to a LCS for just over face.

Not sure there are any easy answers, but if folks here were in the same situation how would you approach the clad proof and uncirculated sets? Since I don't need or want them, I would typically just buy them for a price I could sell them for (perhaps with a little discount for my trouble), but given that ebay is the only realistic way of selling them I expect my buy price would look really low after taking into account fees and shipping.

 

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[huntsman53]

It sounds as if you are paying the shipping costs for items you sell on eBay! It is better to have the Buyer pay the shipping and this eliminates you having to factor these costs into the offer. Since at times, some Proof and Uncirculated Coin Sets only sell for about 80% of the values quoted in PCGS' and Numismedia's (NGC's) Price Guides and sometimes even less, it would be best to only pay 50% to 60% of the values from these sources. This would give you some buffer to hopefully get your' costs and the fees for eBay and PayPal for some and hopefully make a profit on others. Sometimes, it is best to sell the lower valued Proof and Uncirculated Coin Sets in lots of 3, 4, 5, 6 or more which eliminates multiple fees which could put you in the hole on these types of Coin Sets.

Good luck!


Frank

 

[jerseyben]

IMO, I would not pay anything over face for the proof/mint sets if later dates. You will have a hard time getting rid of them.

 

[Joe777Cool]

I purchased a bunch of proof and unc sets awhile back. what a PAIN! they sell, 1 at a time, $3-5 each. Still sitting on some. Dont buy them unless you can get them for just over face value. Many of the modern silver sets carry little to no premium as well. dont pay a premium!

 

[huntsman53]

I don't know why I did not think of this before but here goes! Lets say that you can get the Proof, Uncirculated and Premier Sets fairly cheap, there is a possibility that you can make a bundle on many of the coins. I know a lot of Coin Dealers that inspect each and every coin in these same Sets that they purchase. The Sets that contain a majority of coins that are not perfect (PF-70, MS-70) or near perfect (PF-69, MS-69) and/or the certain Dated Set or their' individual coins inside have very little premium, then these Sets are kept intact and usually sold at a discount...especially so when they get too many in their' inventory. However, the Sets that contain a majority of perfect or near perfect coins and/or certain Dated coins that have significant premium in the higher grades, then the coins are broken out of the Sets, sent in for certification, grading and attribution (if needed due to a Variety or special Type) and when they come back, the coins that come back PF-69, PF-70, MS-69 and MS-70 grades or even some slightly lower grades for specific coins that have very low populations in the grades say above PF-66 or MS-66, are usually sold via eBay or another Auction venue to get the highest price possible for them and sometimes to special customers. Doing the same with the Sets that you purchase as many of these Coin Dealers do, could make you a lot of money if you are up to the task! If you are not extremely good at determining the grades of coins, then you would have to really work on grading skills and it would be advisable that you take some Coin Grading Courses. You would need to be able to tell the difference between PF-66, MS-66 coins from PF-67, MS-67 Coins...between PF-67, MS-67 coins and PF-68, MS-68 coins...between PF-68, MS-68 coins from PF-69, MS-69 coins or between PF-69, MS-69 coins from PF-70, MS-70 coins as the difference can mean the loss or gain of hundreds or even a thousand dollars or more. If you become exceptionally great at grading coins, then doing as some Coin Dealers do, can be a very lucrative and profitable side to coins. In closing, I will leave you with a few examples of coins that were broken out of Sets, certified...graded and attributed if needed and sold for high prices.

1968 s Washington Quarter PCGS PR69DCAM Below Last Major Auction Price Read | eBay

1968 s Proof Kennedy Half Dollar NGC PF69 Ultra Cameo | eBay

1969 s Lincoln PCGS PR 69 RD Deep Cameo Gorgeous PCGS Guide $1 300 | eBay

1969 s Proof NGC PF69 UCAM Ultra Cameo Kennedy Silver Half Dollar PR69 DCAM Deep | eBay

Kennedy Half Dollar PR 69 Ultra Cameo 1970 s 50c Top Pop | eBay

1994 P Jefferson Nickel 5c PCGS MS69FS SMS Coin | eBay

1970 D Kennedy Half Dollar PCGS MS67 25214551 | eBay

1967 NGC MS68 Cameo SMS Silver Kennedy Half Dollar | eBay


Frank

 

[CC-Hunter]

Thanks for all the advice. I looked up the ebay "sold" prices of the different sets and valued each one at a discount that should cover the costs of selling and shipping, with some room left over. We'll see what happens. The good news is that the value of the other coins I am buying (and which make up about 3/4 of the amount I am paying) has risen with the recent small pop in gold and silver prices. I don't expect to make a killing but do hope to build out my collection with some coins and sell the others for a small gain.

 

[enamel7]

Thanks for all the advice. I looked up the ebay "sold" prices of the different sets and valued each one at a discount that should cover the costs of selling and shipping, with some room left over. We'll see what happens. The good news is that the value of the other coins I am buying (and which make up about 3/4 of the amount I am paying) has risen with the recent small pop in gold and silver prices. I don't expect to make a killing but do hope to build out my collection with some coins and sell the others for a small gain.

Don't pay the shipping cost. Either put it into the price or let the buyer pay.

 

[CC-Hunter]

I didn't think it mattered who paid the shipping cost since I assumed buyers factored into the price anyway. That is, if they are willing to pay up to $100 for a coin that's their max bid, regardless of whether part of that is shipping or the item has free shipping. I welcome people's thoughts on this.

 

[huntsman53]

I didn't think it mattered who paid the shipping cost since I assumed buyers factored into the price anyway. That is, if they are willing to pay up to $100 for a coin that's their max bid, regardless of whether part of that is shipping or the item has free shipping. I welcome people's thoughts on this.

"Free Shipping" on eBay is a marketing gimmic that they came up with as they believe it helps an item sell! However, it does not always work and especially so if potential bidders feel that the price of the item is too high. Besides checking a Seller's Feedback out very closely, I also pay close attention to shipping costs as I do not want to pay $14.50 for Priority Mail shipping when the Seller only pays $5.95 or less for Flat Rate Priority Mail shipping or pay $8 to $10 for Standard Shipping when the Seller only pays $2.32 for First Class shipping without Insurance or $4.42 with the package insured for $10. When I sell on eBay, the Buyer pays only the actual shipping costs. If I and eBay's software underestimate the shipping costs and the Buyer is charged too little, then I eat the rest out of pocket. If I and eBay's software overestimate the shipping costs and the Buyer pays too much, then I refund them the difference. No matter all of the previous, if you are reasonable on shipping costs, then folks will pay a fair or more than fair price for the Proof, Uncirculated and Premier Sets. However, if you offer Free Shipping and factor the shipping costs into the price for the item and the potential bidders feel that it is too high, then they will not buy the item. IMHO, it is better to have reasonable shipping costs and let the potential bidders make the choice on their own as to whether the price of the item is fair or not!


Frank

 

[boristhespider88]

"Free Shipping" on eBay is a marketing gimmic that they came up with as they believe it helps an item sell! However, it does not always work and especially so if potential bidders feel that the price of the item is too high. Besides checking a Seller's Feedback out very closely, I also pay close attention to shipping costs as I do not want to pay $14.50 for Priority Mail shipping when the Seller only pays $5.95 or less for Flat Rate Priority Mail shipping or pay $8 to $10 for Standard Shipping when the Seller only pays $2.32 for First Class shipping without Insurance or $4.42 with the package insured for $10. When I sell on eBay, the Buyer pays only the actual shipping costs. If I and eBay's software underestimate the shipping costs and the Buyer is charged too little, then I eat the rest out of pocket. If I and eBay's software overestimate the shipping costs and the Buyer pays too much, then I refund them the difference. No matter all of the previous, if you are reasonable on shipping costs, then folks will pay a fair or more than fair price for the Proof, Uncirculated and Premier Sets. However, if you offer Free Shipping and factor the shipping costs into the price for the item and the potential bidders feel that it is too high, then they will not buy the item. IMHO, it is better to have reasonable shipping costs and let the potential bidders make the choice on their own as to whether the price of the item is fair or not!


Frank

99% of the time if I am wanting to buy something right then, I will only look at free shipping auctions and pick the cheapest, best condition item.



CC-Hunter, I could be interested in the sets if you didn't want to fool with listing them (if the price was right). I don't have many clad proof sets or any clad mint sets. PM me.

 

[huntsman53]

99% of the time if I am wanting to buy something right then, I will only look at free shipping auctions and pick the cheapest, best condition item.

You still can if the Seller set the Auction with a "Buy it Now" Price and it does not matter whether they have free shipping or not as long as they setup the Listing (entries into the online Auction build form) correctly! Once you click on the "Buy it Now" button (tab), your' information including address is factored into the calculation of the shipping costs automatically. Even if eBay's software does not show you the shipping costs on the Auction Listing Page, you can click on "see details" out to the right of "Shipping", enter your' zip code on the next page, then click on "Get Rates" and it will give you shipping costs.


Frank

 

[Joe777Cool]

If price is a concern for someone, I figure they do like I would. Search their item and then sort by "price + shipping lowest first." At that point, if my item is $20 with $3 shipping, and my competitors is $25 with "free" shipping, I would like to think that most people would buy my item since the overall cost is lower even though I dont give "free" shipping.

 

[huntsman53]

If price is a concern for someone, I figure they do like I would. Search their item and then sort by "price + shipping lowest first." At that point, if my item is $20 with $3 shipping, and my competitors is $25 with "free" shipping, I would like to think that most people would buy my item since the overall cost is lower even though I dont give "free" shipping.

If Buyers would have a little patience, use common sense and do their homework as in searching and researching, then this would likely be the case and norm! However, as we all know, there is nothing normal about what some Buyers will do as far as eBay is concerned. Take for instance a Seller who has 5,000 items up for auction on eBay at any given time and out of these, 322 auctions are for the same item and their' items have been selling cheaper than any other Seller on eBay. Let's say that these items from this Seller has sold at an average of $90 each with lows of $80 and highs of $95 within a 60 day time frame. Now let's say that this Seller has 20 of these items in which the auctions are closing within 24 hours, 36 (which includes the previous 20) that are closing within 36 hours and a total of 50 (which includes the previous 36) that are closing in 48 hours. The bidding on these 20 items closing within 24 hours is ranging from $70 to $83. However, if you page through this Seller's auctions, you will likely come across an auction that is closing in 34 hours or even 48 hours with a bid of $105 on it. Why? There is no rhyme or reason for such high bidding except for the possibility that the Bidders want to insure that they get one of these items and it doesn't matter to them if they are paying $15 above the average. This type of bidding goes on all the time on eBay and in my mind, there is no need for it if Buyers would have more patience, use common sense and do their homework!

I recently purchased two Shotgun Scopes from the same Seller on eBay and the scenario as described above, is pretty much what happened. I have included a link below to the closed Auctions for these same (identical) scopes from the same Seller. While the Sold Auctions on show 16 of these having been sold, there were many more of these same scopes from this Seller that sold but for some reason, the others are not showing. However, even with only 16 showing having been sold, it will give you an idea as the crazy bidding that goes on on eBay!

http://www.ebay.com/sch/sportsmanss...+kaspa+1-4x24mm&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&rt=nc


Frank