Why would a coin (1899O, AU 50) that is listed in the Red Book at a value of $20 sell on EBAY $48? Item # 8349158301. One of my siblings requested that I check all coins before selling against EBAY completed items. Can't this be misleading in both directions?

Thanks.

Linda

It can be. You can find coins worth $50 and get them for $25 (provided shipping isn't $25) and the other way around. The true value of a coin is what someone is willing to pay.

Agreed.

If two people both feel like paying $100 for a "common" silver dollar because the date means something to them sentimentally, then it'll sell for $100, even if there's another auction going on with the same thing going for $10-15.

Or maybe someone feels that it's better an AU (correctly or not), and decides to bid higher accordingly to their opinion.

Of course, the book isn't perfect either. It's just a guide, and about 2 years out-of-date from the "cover" date.

it can be misleading in both directions.....if you want to take the time to list every coin on e bay you will get a good amount of money compaired to book but the fees will add up quickly....

It might be better to sell it to people in forum here... the fees DO add up quite quickly and soon when you sell multiples of <5 dollar items, you will be paying more than 10% of your income which makes it pointless.

Some sellers are just luckey and some of them have good friends w/computers

Yes, shill bidding is always a possibility when an item brings more than it's worth.

I disagree. Not completely though. Yeah, I am sure some shill bidding goes on. But, have you guys ever been to a real auction? I have seen people get "auction goggles". I will usually bid an item to about 60% of retail in most cases. But I have seen more often than not people wanting an item so badly, that they will "war" over it. Just go to a very publicized auction, and you'll see this. It basically just depends upon what 2 people are willing to pay for an item to push it up or down.

Yes, I do sell on ebay, under this very same name. I never have and never will do shill bidding. Mainly because I start my auctions for what I want to get minimum for that item. If I start something at .99 and it gets only one bid, it is disappointing, but so be it. Also, price guides are just that GUIDES. Appearantly a particular variety I sold recently is rarer than what price guides suggest. I had 3 people warring over this particular variety, and it went for well over 4x the price guide value. I just wished I had a couple more of those varieties. LOL

So.....you disagree that shill bidding is a possibility, but not completely. I think I get it. Ebay isn't a real auction, though. Instead of several minutes of bidding, you have several days.

Shill bidding is a very common practice on ebay. you don't engage in it and neither do I, but it's unrealistic to assume that it seldom goes on.

I've seen auctions where shill bidding was quite obvious... Large dealers bidding up poor man dd's, etc.... obvious.

If you put your item on ebay and want to incite a 'war' it's best to start the item at well below what you want for it,,, that way you get more folks involved in the auction and get it on thier "my ebay" page when they log in. I've had success at this and always start my stuff at .01,,, even the stuff that's worth hundreds. Been burned too,,,, it's a bit of a gamble so your willingness to lose a bit of $ must be factored in.

In general you'll get more on ebay than in a direct sale, but after the fee's that delta isn't much,,, and you'll be out hours of time spent listing the items, etc...

I buy my fair share on eBay and when I first started I hated shill bidding, now I've come to realize If you know what you want to pay for an item, bid that amount and not get caught up in the bidding war. Shill bids will not affect you..

I see eBay's Power Sellers doing most of it and we know who you are and yes it affect your sales...

< I've come to realize If you know what you want to pay for an item, bid that amount and not get caught up in the bidding war. Shill bids will not affect you.. >
If you do that shill bids will not cause you to bid more than you are willing to pay, but they can still cause yiou to pay well more than you need to.

That's a good policy, but the shill bidding does have the effect of driving your price up to that maximum or at least above your opening bid.

What's as bad as shill bidding is the way some sellers hang out on the community boards and shout down anyone who has a valid concern. The way I see it, if someone is working on making their listings accurate and taking care of their buyers, they wouldn't have time to stay logged in on the community boards flaming buyers who try to report ripoffs and dishonest practices.

Some ebay sellers would have no business at all if not for the people they're allowed to con on ebay. If they tried to pull the same tricks face to face at a flea market or in a shop, they'd go home broke every day.

Exactly.

Please Explain....

I bid $100 on a coin I want to pay $100 for. If no one bids that high I get it for lower then that price. If they do bid that high I dont pay more then I wanted to, I just dont get the coin. I dont get how this can cause you to pay more then you need to?

-Bobby

ttt

< Please Explain....

I bid $100 on a coin I want to pay $100 for. If no one bids that high I get it for lower then that price. If they do bid that high I dont pay more then I wanted to, I just dont get the coin. I dont get how this can cause you to pay more then you need to? >

OK, say you bid that $100 early in the auction when the high bid is $50. If no one bids you win it at $55. But if a shill bidder bids it to $60, then $70, then $80, then $90 before he stops you still win the coin for $95. Less than your maximum bid, but $40 higher than you would have needed to if it wasn't for the shill bidder.

By placing your $100 bid as a snipe bid in the last few seconds of the auction it prevents the possibility of a shill bidder nibbling at your bid to push you close to your max bid.

Who in their right mind would put your max bid (eBay auction) in at the start of an auction.


I edited this I was only talking about ebay....

I would and I often do, mainly because I just don't have time to watch auctions continuously, and many times I don't even see them end. And a lot of times I have sold items that have gone for way more than I expected, and I just don't know why. I am honest in my listing, and try to put up descent pictures, and I offer full returns. I can count on one hand the number of times a buyer has returned an item because they were not satisfied with it, and that's fine by me. Sometimes I start with low bids and it stays low and I am disappointed, other times I know the minimum I can live with and put that as the starting bid. I hardly ever use reserves.

From a buyer perspective I can see how someone could get carried away, especially with a live auction. I've occasionally bid more than I wanted in floor sessions, and even in internet bidding on Heritage auctions. This coin: 1916-D reverse I bought back in 2000 or 2001 and I paid way more than even Ask! But I liked the coin a lot, and I still have it. I took it to the Portland ANA in 2004 just to see what dealers would offer me, and it took till now to get out what I paid for it (that's if I decided to sell it to a dealer!). Of course this one will likely stay in my collection a long time!