Ebay Beginner Advice Please

Hi,

I'm thinking of selling a few coins on Ebay, but I've never done it before.
Because I've never done it before I have absolutely no reputation in the
place. Will the hugely adversely affect my selling power?

Some of my coins are also sitting loose in bags, rather than in specific
cases (they were purchased in auctions in the seventies). What should I sell
them in?

I also don't have my coins graded - I'm a compete novice - will this have to
be done before I can sell them? Would a high quality, high resolution image
of them suffice?

Does my geographical location affect anything? I'm in the UK - should I only
sell to UK based people? How do I get my coins to them, and payment from
them?

How good should I expect the prices to be? I have, for example, a few double
eagles from the early 1900s.

Thanks in advance for any help.

etre wrote:
I'm thinking of selling a few coins on Ebay, but I've never done it
before. Because I've never done it before I have absolutely no
reputation in the place. Will the hugely adversely affect my selling
power?

How much feedback do you have as a buyer? If you're in the
high-double-digits, you should do OK -- 100+ and you're golden.

Some of my coins are also sitting loose in bags, rather than in
specific cases (they were purchased in auctions in the seventies).
What should I sell them in?

Depends entirely on the coin in question. However, "loose in a bag" is
generally an undesirable way to sell a coin. Put them in 2x2s at least.

I also don't have my coins graded - I'm a compete novice - will this
have to be done before I can sell them?

It would help to have them graded. It doesn't need to be slabbed, but
having a knowledgable numismatist take a look at it and give you an
opinion is probably better than just proclaiming your ignorance.

Would a high quality, high resolution image of them suffice?

A high quality image is an absolute necessity for selling on eBay, IMHO.

Does my geographical location affect anything? I'm in the UK - should
I only sell to UK based people?

Depends -- selling internationally is a bit more trouble, but also
broadens your base of bidders, and potentially increasing your final
values. That's a decision each person has to make for themselves. For
me, I sell internationally and have never had any trouble with it.

How do I get my coins to them,

Via air post gets coins to most places in the world in 7-10 days. Make
sure to insure it, of course.

and payment from them?

For international buyers, PayPal, international money orders, and
Western Union AuctionPayments (formerly BidPay) are easy ways to move
money across borders. Well-concealed cash is also an option, if you're
willing to accept other currencies besides UKP.

How good should I expect the prices to be? I have, for example, a few
double eagles from the early 1900s.

Depends entirely on the grade. And now that you've given us a hint as to
what you have, might I suggest that you do take the time to get them
certified. Raw gold is especially difficult to sell on eBay. Get them
slabbed by either PCGS, NGC, or ANACS, and you will realize much better
prices.

--
Bob

"etre" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I'm thinking of selling a few coins on Ebay, but I've never done it
before.
Because I've never done it before I have absolutely no reputation in the
place. Will the hugely adversely affect my selling power?


I think it will affect your selling power, although I do not know to what
degree. Everybody starts at zero and I try to keep that in mind when I come
across a zero fb seller, but I still go into high caution mode with an
unproven seller because of so many types of sellers on eBay, from the honest
but uninformed to the fraudulent to the expert. If I bid on a zero fb
seller, it may be because the seller has sold himself a little in the
description, as well as his item. But that is just instincts kicking in,
and instincts are not always correct. Keep in mind that as a low or zero fb
seller, you will attract less bids and the bidders will generally be less
trusting of your abilities to accurately describe your item, thus lower
final bids. Be prepared to not do well with the final bids until you have
built a small reputation.

If you feel you have to have a specific minimum for an item, set that
minimum as the starting minimum bid, or start at GBP 0.50 with a reserve
(you can always reveal the reserve in your description, and I recommend
doing so). If you are prepared to let some coins go at whatever the price
brings, sell them first and start at a give-away low with no reserve. Offer
the best image you possibly can, and add anything pertinent in your verbal
description. Be reasonable with your shipping and handling charges. Offer
a liberal "no questions asked" return policy. Communicate quickly with the
winning bidder. Ship quickly with payments with guaranteed funds (money
order, e.g.) and when paid by less safe means (personal check), ship
promptly after the necessary hold period. Ship a coin in secure packaging.
Leave fb either after receiving payment or after the transaction has sucessf
ully concluded, depending upon your personal choice.

As you start the process of being an eBay seller, check back to rcc with
your questions. Many here have sold and are willing to be helpful.

Selling raw gold on eBay is tricky. In honesty, I suspect that even if you
"know" the gold is authentic, there is a chance it is counterfeit. Old US
gold coins have been counterfeited to a large extent, and many people think
their gold is real because it has been in the family for fifty years, but
that is not a guarantee that the coin is authentic. It may be advantageous
to pay to have the gold authenticated, hopefully with no unpleasant
surprises when the coins come back.

Bill







Some of my coins are also sitting loose in bags, rather than in specific
cases (they were purchased in auctions in the seventies). What should I
sell
them in?

I also don't have my coins graded - I'm a compete novice - will this have
to
be done before I can sell them? Would a high quality, high resolution
image
of them suffice?

Does my geographical location affect anything? I'm in the UK - should I
only
sell to UK based people? How do I get my coins to them, and payment from
them?

How good should I expect the prices to be? I have, for example, a few
double
eagles from the early 1900s.

Thanks in advance for any help.

In my book, a large, clear photo is most important. A close second is that
you would accept PayPal. A lot of sellers complain about the fees (around
3%), but from the point of view of a buyer, that saves me 1) time and
resources going to the post office, 2) time standing in line at the post
office for a money order, 3) the cost of the money order, 4) the cost of the
stamp, 5) the extra waiting time for payment to get to you, 6) the risk that
the payment won't get to you. And, even though you are not allowed to put
on a surcharge for using PayPal, I'd still be happy to pay it in order to
avoid the hassle. Finally, charge a fair price for shipping. Some eBay
vendors go overboard on this and engender quite a bit of negative commentary
on this newsgroup and elsewhere.

Good luck on your endeavour (I spelled it the British way!) and we look
forward to seeing your wares on eBay.

"etre" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I'm thinking of selling a few coins on Ebay, but I've never done it
before.
Because I've never done it before I have absolutely no reputation in the
place. Will the hugely adversely affect my selling power?

Some of my coins are also sitting loose in bags, rather than in specific
cases (they were purchased in auctions in the seventies). What should I
sell
them in?

I also don't have my coins graded - I'm a compete novice - will this have
to
be done before I can sell them? Would a high quality, high resolution
image
of them suffice?

Does my geographical location affect anything? I'm in the UK - should I
only
sell to UK based people? How do I get my coins to them, and payment from
them?

How good should I expect the prices to be? I have, for example, a few
double
eagles from the early 1900s.

Thanks in advance for any help.

On Thu, 3 Jun 2004 12:18:30 -0500, "Bill Krummel"
wrote:


"etre" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I'm thinking of selling a few coins on Ebay, but I've never done it
before.
Because I've never done it before I have absolutely no reputation in the
place. Will the hugely adversely affect my selling power?


I think it will affect your selling power, although I do not know to what
degree. Everybody starts at zero and I try to keep that in mind when I come
across a zero fb seller, but I still go into high caution mode with an
unproven seller because of so many types of sellers on eBay, from the honest
but uninformed to the fraudulent to the expert. If I bid on a zero fb
seller, it may be because the seller has sold himself a little in the
description, as well as his item. But that is just instincts kicking in,
and instincts are not always correct. Keep in mind that as a low or zero fb
seller, you will attract less bids and the bidders will generally be less
trusting of your abilities to accurately describe your item, thus lower
final bids. Be prepared to not do well with the final bids until you have
built a small reputation.


Bill -

That is a huge leap of faith to bid on a zero feedback
seller!!!! General rule of thumb is to avoid them at all
costs.........usually.

Gary

"no questions asked" return policy. Communicate quickly with the

"Gary Loveless" wrote in message
news

Bill -

That is a huge leap of faith to bid on a zero feedback
seller!!!! General rule of thumb is to avoid them at all
costs.........usually.


If everyone did that no one would ever get feedback because no one would
ever get bids!

I agree with you Gary it's just that it sounds like "Sorry we can't hire you
because you have no experience".

"PCameron" wrote:


"Gary Loveless" wrote in message
news

Bill -

That is a huge leap of faith to bid on a zero feedback
seller!!!! General rule of thumb is to avoid them at all
costs.........usually.


If everyone did that no one would ever get feedback because no one would
ever get bids!

I agree with you Gary it's just that it sounds like "Sorry we can't hire you
because you have no experience".

You can start off by selling lesser expensive items. I'll buy
something for up to 10 to 20 dollars from a 0 to 10 feedback seller
but I won't buy something that goes for over 50 to 100 dollars unless
I see 40 or 50 positive feedback. If the seller has some negative
feedback I'll read it and then decide if I'll bid.
You can build your feedback up by bidding on inexpensive items and
winning the.
You might end up with feedback like mine. I have a few favorite
sellers and while I buy from other sellers I always bid on auctions
from those sellers and now I have about 1200 positive feedback but
only 482 unique feedback. I've been buying on ebay for several years
but if you look at my unique feedback total you'll think I haven't
been at it that long.
Good luck selling your stuff but I would start off buying some
inexpensive things just to get used to the way ebay works and for gosh
sakes, take Paypal. I, usually, won't bid on an auction I can't pay
for with paypal.
Cliff/ebay N5GWU

"PCameron" wrote in message
...

"Gary Loveless" wrote in message
news

Bill -

That is a huge leap of faith to bid on a zero feedback
seller!!!! General rule of thumb is to avoid them at all
costs.........usually.


If everyone did that no one would ever get feedback because no one would
ever get bids!


You can also get feedback by buying.

Dale

PCameron wrote:
That is a huge leap of faith to bid on a zero feedback
seller!!!! General rule of thumb is to avoid them at all
costs.........usually.

If everyone did that no one would ever get feedback because no one
would ever get bids!

True, everyone's gotta start somewhere, but a 0-feedback eBayer selling
double eagles does not raise one's confidence. Perhaps moreso than the
spectre of getting ripped off, you're still dealing with an
inexperienced person, and trouble might arise from the person just not
knowing how the system works. It wouldn't be enough to stop me from
bidding, but I would lower my bid accordingly.

The way to start is either through low value items, perhaps no more than
$20; and through buying. Get comfortable with the eBay way of doing
business. I would suggest waiting until you get to 50 feedbacks (blue
star) before starting in on selling high dollar items.

Of course, there are variables. Does the OP want to sell out quickly, or
does he have the luxury of time to build feedback? Is he looking for the
best price, or just looking to unload ASAP? Guidance can be provided,
but ultimately each newbie needs to answer those questions for
themselves.

--
Bob

"Bob Flaminio" wrote:

PCameron wrote:
That is a huge leap of faith to bid on a zero feedback
seller!!!! General rule of thumb is to avoid them at all
costs.........usually.

If everyone did that no one would ever get feedback because no one
would ever get bids!

True, everyone's gotta start somewhere, but a 0-feedback eBayer selling
double eagles does not raise one's confidence. Perhaps moreso than the
spectre of getting ripped off, you're still dealing with an
inexperienced person, and trouble might arise from the person just not
knowing how the system works. It wouldn't be enough to stop me from
bidding, but I would lower my bid accordingly.

The way to start is either through low value items, perhaps no more than
$20; and through buying. Get comfortable with the eBay way of doing
business. I would suggest waiting until you get to 50 feedbacks (blue
star) before starting in on selling high dollar items.

Of course, there are variables. Does the OP want to sell out quickly, or
does he have the luxury of time to build feedback? Is he looking for the
best price, or just looking to unload ASAP? Guidance can be provided,
but ultimately each newbie needs to answer those questions for
themselves.

If the OP is in a big hurry to sell then perhaps he should investigate
using a coin trading assistant and letting that person do the selling.
Of course that involves a high level of trust in the seller. YMMV
Cliff