Warning against taking coins to a dealer to sell

This is from one of those "question and answer" columns in a local
newspaper.


Q: My friend needs to sell her collection of gold coins to meet
financial obligations. Because she is disabled, she feels that she
can't attend a hobby fair, where she might receive a good price. Are
there any other promising options that she could try?

A: First, I would warn her not to take her collection to coin dealers.
Far be it from me to suggest that they are out to cheat unwary
collectors, but I have never encountered one who was willing to offer a
seller the best price, or even a good price.

Perhaps the best bet nowadays is to auction the coins on eBay. There
are many gold-coin listings on that Web site, and the market is active,
with bids galore on most items.

Before selling, your friend should figure the fair value of each coin.
A $20 gold coin contains 1 ounce of gold, and the price of gold has
been soaring. At today's gold prices, a 1-ounce coin with no numismatic
value would be worth about $600. ($10 gold coins contain a half-ounce
of gold, and so on.)

A rare coin can be worth many times its gold value. And rare coins in
outstanding condition can be worth still more.

Have your friend consult the annual R.S. Yeoman Guide Book of United
States Coins. The values cited in that book may be out of date, because
of gold's continuing surge, but the book still is useful for
distinguishing rare coins from the ordinary and for determining the
conditions of coins.

Depnding on what is "local", the members of this forum might be able to
suggest a reputable dealer.

If you can't attend a regional coin show because of age and/or poor
health, I doubt that one could handle the ins-and-outs of ebay.

Does one bite at the hook in this article? Yes, a lot of coin dealers
with shops (and without shops) will try to rape you if they think you
are a dummy. This includes some of the very biggest "buy" advertisers
in the trade papers. So would a lot of collectors. Caveat vendor!

oly

Got a link? I'd love to drop the writer a note.

Here is where the article came from:

Moneybag appears three times a month in the Sunday Chronicle. Send
questions to or to Arthur M. Louis, Moneybag
column, 901 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94103.

"stonej" wrote in message
ups.com...
This is from one of those "question and answer" columns in a local
newspaper.


Q: My friend needs to sell her collection of gold coins to meet
financial obligations. Because she is disabled, she feels that she
can't attend a hobby fair, where she might receive a good price. Are
there any other promising options that she could try?

A: First, I would warn her not to take her collection to coin dealers.
Far be it from me to suggest that they are out to cheat unwary
collectors, but I have never encountered one who was willing to offer a
seller the best price, or even a good price.

Perhaps the best bet nowadays is to auction the coins on eBay. There
are many gold-coin listings on that Web site, and the market is active,
with bids galore on most items.

Before selling, your friend should figure the fair value of each coin.
A $20 gold coin contains 1 ounce of gold, and the price of gold has
been soaring. At today's gold prices, a 1-ounce coin with no numismatic
value would be worth about $600. ($10 gold coins contain a half-ounce
of gold, and so on.)

A rare coin can be worth many times its gold value. And rare coins in
outstanding condition can be worth still more.

Have your friend consult the annual R.S. Yeoman Guide Book of United
States Coins. The values cited in that book may be out of date, because
of gold's continuing surge, but the book still is useful for
distinguishing rare coins from the ordinary and for determining the
conditions of coins.


A zero feedback newb little old lady in a wheelchair selling some raw gold
on E-bay--what could possibly go wrong?

On 16 Apr 2006 06:57:54 -0700, "oly" wrote:


If you can't attend a regional coin show because of age and/or poor
health, I doubt that one could handle the ins-and-outs of ebay.

I must take issue with that statement. I am personally aquainted with
two people who are very competent at the keyboard, but who are
physically restricted.

On Sun, 16 Apr 2006 15:19:32 GMT, "bri" wrote:

A zero feedback newb little old lady in a wheelchair selling some raw gold
on E-bay--what could possibly go wrong?

And, what could possibly go wrong with the same woman entering a
typical coin shop?

Ever take a coin into a coin shop where you were unknown? Ever try to
sell a coin (as opposed to buying one)? The gent who wrote the article
in the newspaper wasn't all that far off the truth maybe 70% or 80% of
the time.

And doing business on e-bay is more than just being "competent at the
keyboard".

oly

On 17 Apr 2006 01:20:15 -0700, "oly" wrote:

And doing business on e-bay is more than just being "competent at the
keyboard".

I guess I meant to imply that by being competent on the keyboard they
were also somewhat intelligent.

To sell on e-bay, you've got to have the computer, get signed up, have
the items (well, not always, but they have to be available to you),
decide on the starting price (an art and a science), generally have to
have a way of putting up a decent photo of the item, probably need a
post office box or some form of "blind" address (I wouldn't want to
sell gold coins and have my home address up there), probably need a
paypal account, have to have some decent packaging materials, postage,
have to have some way to get the items to the post office (for a price,
all the shippers will maybe come to you).

If you get a paypal payment, you gotta worry about chargebacks. USPS
money orders are good, unless you get a fake. If you get a check or a
draft, you gotta wait while it clears, for certain, lotta fakes and
even more bad checks; and of course the people who send the good checks
often aren't very understanding about why you won't ship for ten
business days. Of course, then you gotta play the feedback game & you
gotta pay fees to e-bay and paypal.

Finally, as was pointed out, until you have a pretty good feedback
rating built up, maybe +50 or +100 or more (and no negatives), a lot of
people will just "pass" on your offerings. A rare gold coin and a
feedback rating of "Zero"? Sure buddy, and maybe you could sell me the
Brooklyn Bridge while you're at it!

E-bay, it's all very simple & highly recommended for the infirm, the
mentally and physically challenged!

oly