Newbie needs help to get started

Sorry, I can't recommend any particular dealers, though if you pick up a
copy of Banknote Reporter or Coin News, there are plenty of mail order
dealers from which to choose that offer "grab bags" of coins and notes.


On 4/4/07 11:56 AM, in article ,
"blue" wrote:


"Owen W. Linzmayer" wrote

If you just want to get your feet wet and get a great sample of
inexpensive
world notes, many dealers offer starter packs of 100 different world notes
for $20 or so. You'll be getting a bunch of el cheapo pieces that you'll
ultimately outgrow, but it's a fun way to see a bunch of different designs
without spending a lot of money.


Are there any online (reputable) dealers that do this? I have not made it to
a local dealer I found which is actually a "gun and coin" shop. I wonder how
into the coin part of it he is, a picture of the shop shows a rack of gun
magazines at the counter. But at least my husband will tag along with me,
he'll have something to look at. eyeroll

The dealer is very nice in emails and told me to come in sometime and take a
look. He didn't specify what they have, just that there are bins of foreign
coins for 15 cents. I'm sure I'll find something in there I like, as long as
they're not all Canadian pennies or something.

I can't afford anything more right now because I just bought something else,
but was wondering if any of you have any particular preferences for online
stores (dotcom websites, not Ebay stores, unless there's an exceptionally
good seller) to buy coins from- and again, this is not for pricey rare
high-dollar coins. Maybe this will help the original poster out as well.
What *I* am looking for in an online store- reasonable shipping prices and
reasonable prices for their items, not absurdly overpriced common items. But
I'm looking for stores that sell foreign common currency reasonably so one
can get a wide range of countries, and also I would like to be able to buy
some sets that came from the US Mint (proofs) that I missed out on without
paying 3 times over for it...etc.

I'm interested in starting foreign currency/coins from several
places/regions in particular- Caribbean and South Pacific islands,
Australia, England, Ireland, Scotland, (especially Ireland)... I placed a
small order for US stuff from goldeneaglecoin.com but have not received the
order yet to comment. I see other online stores with higher prices for the
same stuff...if not the US Mint website, where do you order from?

Lots of dealers on eBay try to lure you in with a low item price and sucker
you into paying an outrageous S&H fee. Don't fall for it. They're rip-off
artists and should be avoided. A reputable dealer will charge a fair S&H fee
because they know you'll be coming back in the future as a repeat customer.


On 4/4/07 12:01 PM, in article ,
"blue" wrote:


"WheatPenny" wrote
A catalogue is essential to avoid being overcharged, since a lot of
the stuff on ebay is overpriced. I sue the catalogue price as a
"ceiling price (i.e., never pay more than that for anything).


I am not sure I have seen anything on Ebay yet that is NOT overpriced by at
least 3 times what it should be and often more. It wouldn't be so bad if you
are missing one or two pieces from having a complete collection of something
and you might be ok with paying the price just to complete your set but
darn...not knowing anything about coins yet I will pull up an auction, and
then go search for its value elsewhere and it always seems to be at minimum
3 times higher plus outrageous shipping.

And another thing-- I can't afford a busload lot of anything, so how in the
world can sellers charge- with a seemingly straight face- $25 shipping for a
few pounds of coins?? When their coins are already priced high enough that
they profit even with FREE shipping? I still say the most bizarre was ONE
roll of 50 pennies going for $11.95 shipping. But I've seen something like,
oh....10 rolls list a $25 shipping charge. And it was from my state.

Billy,

Do you really think IBNS officers are power-mad ego trippers?

My comment about becoming a "real" collector wasn't meant to imply that
collectors who aren't members of the IBNS aren't legit or are somehow
inferior.

I was simply acknowledging that someone who is only dabbling in coins and
notes probably doesn't want to spend the money to become a member until they
are sufficiently hooked on our hobby that the application fee makes sense.


On 4/4/07 12:35 PM, in article ,
"note.boy" wrote:

Unfortunately the IBNS is not run by "real" collectors but by those on some
kind of ego/power trip.

Membership has no relation to how "real" a collector you become.

Billy


"Owen W. Linzmayer" wrote in message
...
If you want specific notes, your best bet is to buy from eBay or a local
dealer.

If you just want to get your feet wet and get a great sample of
inexpensive
world notes, many dealers offer starter packs of 100 different world notes
for $20 or so. You'll be getting a bunch of el cheapo pieces that you'll
ultimately outgrow, but it's a fun way to see a bunch of different designs
without spending a lot of money.

Good luck, and be sure to consider joining the IBNS eventually when you
become a collector for real.


On 4/3/07 10:14 AM, in article
, "WisdomSeeker"
wrote:

1. Where do you purchase your foreign currency?

I need some help to get started.

Long version of the story...
I started working on a prototype for an educational simulation and
needed to purchase some quantity of inexpensive foreign notes and
coins from several countries. I contacted my bank (a secure and
trustworthy source) and have ordered some VND from Vietnam. However,
my bank does not offer GHC from Ghana or IRR from Iran or LAK from
Laos or ZWD from Zimbabwe, etc.
And unfortunately, the exchange rate that my bank offers is not as
good as the exchange rate on Yahoo, Blommberg, etc. (but at least I
do not have to pay a shipping charge). Also, unfortunately, my bank
does not allow me to specify the specific denomination of bills that I
want (which I think will turn out to be a BIG problem).
Also, unfortunately, my bank does not offer coin at all (I guess
because of the shipping costs).

So, as I was looking for more inexpensive currencies that my bank
could actually get, I started investigating African countries and
stumbled across the notes for South Africa. Which are not inexpensive
enough for my prototype but seem very cool. So, I think that the bug
has bitten me. And now I am interested in obtaining currency not only
for my prototype but also interested in obtaining a wider range of
currency to start my collection.

So, then I started wondering how note collectors purchased their notes
and are there better sources (than my bank)?? And how do coin
collectors obtain their foreign coins? I am guessing that shipping
costs make obtaining foreign coins EXTREMELY expensive?

So, can you tell me how/where you buy your foreign notes/coins? And
can you point me to any free resources where I can study how to go
about starting this hobby?

Note that I am not interested in doing foreign exchange to generate
vast sums of money. And I am not interested in making this a
business. So, please do not bother to spam me with those kinds of
offers. Also, not interested in gold/silver, etc.

"blue" wrote in message
...

"WheatPenny" wrote
A catalogue is essential to avoid being overcharged, since a lot of
the stuff on ebay is overpriced. I sue the catalogue price as a
"ceiling price (i.e., never pay more than that for anything).


I am not sure I have seen anything on Ebay yet that is NOT overpriced by
at least 3 times what it should be and often more.

Are you talking about items with a high starting bid and BIN prices? There
is an awful lot of .99 starting bid auctions. If you mean that the .99 cent
auctions finish too high then that is hardly a seller's fault.

"PC" wrote in message
...

"blue" wrote in message
...

"WheatPenny" wrote
A catalogue is essential to avoid being overcharged, since a lot of
the stuff on ebay is overpriced. I sue the catalogue price as a
"ceiling price (i.e., never pay more than that for anything).


I am not sure I have seen anything on Ebay yet that is NOT overpriced by
at least 3 times what it should be and often more.

Are you talking about items with a high starting bid and BIN prices?
There is an awful lot of .99 starting bid auctions. If you mean that the
.99 cent auctions finish too high then that is hardly a seller's fault.

No, I am talking about auctions that have no bidding option- Buy-It-Now
only. When I do bidding, I set my highest amount I am willing to part with
and that's that. I usually lose due to last minute sniping, but my highest
price is my highest price. I have learned, and this is so bad, that if i
*really* want something, NOT to put an early bid on it but to snipe myself.
(Not coins just general having been around on Ebay for years). I will do
this even if there are 0 bids, I will only bid at the last minute or two.
Back in the day this involved anxiety because this was when dialup was most
common and my Internet would conk out potentially at any time.

I hate to snipe, it's dirty. I try to look for buy-it-now prices I am ok
with. But sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do, I have done it when there
was something hard to find in stores and unavailable from online stores that
I was trying to get for my daughter or, when I was pregnant, her nursery,
mainly.

It seems you have learned the ins and outs of bidding on eBay.

I agree that if an item is up for auction, the only logical strategy is to
determine your maximum, then snipe. If you lose, someone was willing to pay
more. If you win, great.

I disagree that sniping is "dirty." It's perfectly legal and an intelligent
way to buy items on eBay. Placing a bid early simply acts as a signal to
competitors that you've found something desirable.

When it comes to buying notes in general, I don't bother with eBay. After
all, given all the eBay fees (placement, final value, PayPal's commission,
etc), sellers have much higher overhead they need to recoup. Better to find
a good mail order banknote dealer and buy from them directly. Prices will
almost always be better.

Remember, banknotes are printed in the millions. Most of them are
commodities and there's absolutely no reason to auction them.


On 4/4/07 8:52 PM, in article ,
"blue" wrote:

"PC" wrote in message
...

"blue" wrote in message
...

"WheatPenny" wrote
A catalogue is essential to avoid being overcharged, since a lot of
the stuff on ebay is overpriced. I sue the catalogue price as a
"ceiling price (i.e., never pay more than that for anything).


I am not sure I have seen anything on Ebay yet that is NOT overpriced by
at least 3 times what it should be and often more.

Are you talking about items with a high starting bid and BIN prices?
There is an awful lot of .99 starting bid auctions. If you mean that the
.99 cent auctions finish too high then that is hardly a seller's fault.

No, I am talking about auctions that have no bidding option- Buy-It-Now
only. When I do bidding, I set my highest amount I am willing to part with
and that's that. I usually lose due to last minute sniping, but my highest
price is my highest price. I have learned, and this is so bad, that if i
*really* want something, NOT to put an early bid on it but to snipe myself.
(Not coins just general having been around on Ebay for years). I will do
this even if there are 0 bids, I will only bid at the last minute or two.
Back in the day this involved anxiety because this was when dialup was most
common and my Internet would conk out potentially at any time.

I hate to snipe, it's dirty. I try to look for buy-it-now prices I am ok
with. But sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do, I have done it when there
was something hard to find in stores and unavailable from online stores that
I was trying to get for my daughter or, when I was pregnant, her nursery,
mainly.

Yes I do believe that and with good reason as I've mentioned before.

I would still recommend membership however as it's a great way to meet with
fellow collectors.

The sooner a new collectors talks to fellow collectors the better as this
may help them to avoid making expensive buying mistakes. Billy


"Owen W. Linzmayer" wrote in message
...
Billy,

Do you really think IBNS officers are power-mad ego trippers?

My comment about becoming a "real" collector wasn't meant to imply that
collectors who aren't members of the IBNS aren't legit or are somehow
inferior.

I was simply acknowledging that someone who is only dabbling in coins and
notes probably doesn't want to spend the money to become a member until
they
are sufficiently hooked on our hobby that the application fee makes sense.


On 4/4/07 12:35 PM, in article ,
"note.boy" wrote:

Unfortunately the IBNS is not run by "real" collectors but by those on
some
kind of ego/power trip.

Membership has no relation to how "real" a collector you become.

Billy


"Owen W. Linzmayer" wrote in message
...
If you want specific notes, your best bet is to buy from eBay or a local
dealer.

If you just want to get your feet wet and get a great sample of
inexpensive
world notes, many dealers offer starter packs of 100 different world
notes
for $20 or so. You'll be getting a bunch of el cheapo pieces that you'll
ultimately outgrow, but it's a fun way to see a bunch of different
designs
without spending a lot of money.

Good luck, and be sure to consider joining the IBNS eventually when you
become a collector for real.


On 4/3/07 10:14 AM, in article
, "WisdomSeeker"
wrote:

1. Where do you purchase your foreign currency?

I need some help to get started.

Long version of the story...
I started working on a prototype for an educational simulation and
needed to purchase some quantity of inexpensive foreign notes and
coins from several countries. I contacted my bank (a secure and
trustworthy source) and have ordered some VND from Vietnam. However,
my bank does not offer GHC from Ghana or IRR from Iran or LAK from
Laos or ZWD from Zimbabwe, etc.
And unfortunately, the exchange rate that my bank offers is not as
good as the exchange rate on Yahoo, Blommberg, etc. (but at least I
do not have to pay a shipping charge). Also, unfortunately, my bank
does not allow me to specify the specific denomination of bills that I
want (which I think will turn out to be a BIG problem).
Also, unfortunately, my bank does not offer coin at all (I guess
because of the shipping costs).

So, as I was looking for more inexpensive currencies that my bank
could actually get, I started investigating African countries and
stumbled across the notes for South Africa. Which are not inexpensive
enough for my prototype but seem very cool. So, I think that the bug
has bitten me. And now I am interested in obtaining currency not only
for my prototype but also interested in obtaining a wider range of
currency to start my collection.

So, then I started wondering how note collectors purchased their notes
and are there better sources (than my bank)?? And how do coin
collectors obtain their foreign coins? I am guessing that shipping
costs make obtaining foreign coins EXTREMELY expensive?

So, can you tell me how/where you buy your foreign notes/coins? And
can you point me to any free resources where I can study how to go
about starting this hobby?

Note that I am not interested in doing foreign exchange to generate
vast sums of money. And I am not interested in making this a
business. So, please do not bother to spam me with those kinds of
offers. Also, not interested in gold/silver, etc.

On Apr 6, 2:21 am, "Owen W. Linzmayer" wrote:
It seems you have learned the ins and outs of bidding on eBay.

I agree that if an item is up for auction, the only logical strategy is to
determine your maximum, then snipe. If you lose, someone was willing to pay
more. If you win, great.

I disagree that sniping is "dirty." It's perfectly legal and an intelligent
way to buy items on eBay. Placing a bid early simply acts as a signal to
competitors that you've found something desirable.

When it comes to buying notes in general, I don't bother with eBay. After
all, given all the eBay fees (placement, final value, PayPal's commission,
etc), sellers have much higher overhead they need to recoup. Better to find
a good mail order banknote dealer and buy from them directly. Prices will
almost always be better.

Remember, banknotes are printed in the millions. Most of them are
commodities and there's absolutely no reason to auction them.

On 4/4/07 8:52 PM, in article ,

"blue" wrote:
"PC" wrote in message
...

"blue" wrote in message
. ..

"WheatPenny" wrote
A catalogue is essential to avoid being overcharged, since a lot of
the stuff on ebay is overpriced. I sue the catalogue price as a
"ceiling price (i.e., never pay more than that for anything).

I am not sure I have seen anything on Ebay yet that is NOT overpriced by
at least 3 times what it should be and often more.

Are you talking about items with a high starting bid and BIN prices?
There is an awful lot of .99 starting bid auctions. If you mean that the
.99 cent auctions finish too high then that is hardly a seller's fault.

No, I am talking about auctions that have no bidding option- Buy-It-Now
only. When I do bidding, I set my highest amount I am willing to part with
and that's that. I usually lose due to last minute sniping, but my highest
price is my highest price. I have learned, and this is so bad, that if i
*really* want something, NOT to put an early bid on it but to snipe myself.
(Not coins just general having been around on Ebay for years). I will do
this even if there are 0 bids, I will only bid at the last minute or two.
Back in the day this involved anxiety because this was when dialup was most
common and my Internet would conk out potentially at any time.

I hate to snipe, it's dirty. I try to look for buy-it-now prices I am ok
with. But sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do, I have done it when there
was something hard to find in stores and unavailable from online stores that
I was trying to get for my daughter or, when I was pregnant, her nursery,
mainly.

Try Steve Eyer

http://www.eyersworld.com/

I have bought from him in the past and his prices are very reasonable.
You need to sign up for his mailing list in order to get his current
bulk pricelist.