ebay vs coin dealers

[DanMart]

If you want to get coin sales going on ebid, then you have to list good coins at good prices and leave them on here until buyers find the place.

I was planning on putting up 25 or 30 items in demand and see how they go.

If you keep going back to eblah, then they will keep putting their fees up.

I am also getting back into wholesaler where there are zero fees and more volume.

Ebid is a good place to sell low cost collectibles, why not build it up as a good place for coins as well ?

Good idea.

What about submitting my homepage to the search engines?

[burgyeb]

Shore guy,

PayPal is the entity enforcing the IRS reporting requirements, although it is eBay that will seriously be impacted.

Sorry to hear you cannot make enough profit margin selling coins on eBay. It's a tough market even for full time professionals
with the steep seller fees and PayPal fees. Glad you understand the concept of saturated.

That's why I mostly deal in more esoteric, non-mainstream stuff like Colonials, exonumia, out of print coin reference books,
scarce varieties, lots not listed in the Redbook or CDN.

eBay in the past week or 10 days has make an attempt to globalize sales while maintaining their strict buyer protection program with
ultra strict seller requirements where the buyer can poop all over the seller and the seller is basically powerless.

When an eBay coin seller pops a coin in a first class envelope or registered mail to ship outside their country and it takes 10 to 60
days for the coin to arrive or the coin gets lost or stolen, their buyer protection/globalization combo will implode.

Coin buyers want cheap or free shipping but they will not tolerate waiting 10 to 60 days for a coin or having a coin lost or stolen in
the mail.

I tried eBid years ago and it was so quiet it was not worth the time to list items. I hope this has changed. So far, I have had almost zero
views. Any suggestions, as you are a seasoned eBid veteran?

Any thoughts on the new eBay bullion program? With gross profit margins of 1 to 2% max on gold bullion and eBay seller fees of 3 to 12% plus PayPal fees, how can eBay bullion seller truly be competitive and make money?



All the best,
DanMart

It's great that you have found a niche market in coins, notes, and related products. Observation of some of the larger coin sellers on the Bay leads me to believe that it is possible to turn a profit in this area, but it requires buying power. Many smaller sellers do not have that leverage.

I generally do not fold to buyer expectation of free or low cost shipping. I do not pop coins in an envelope & forward it to buyers. Many sellers do this, but if you deal with untrustworthy buyers, it is too easy to say "I didn't receive my stuff". The seller is then out of a coin, paper money, or other product. They are also out of postal cost, mailing supplies (envelopes & tape). These things are expensive.

eBid sales could be brisker; but eBid is increasing in membership, auction listings, and sales. I was involved in several bidding wars for coins in the we hours this am. Won a nice IHP. I believe this trend of growth is going to continue.

I checked out the Ebay Bullion Center and I must admit I was disappointed. I thought their would be stricter control of the type of bullion allowed to be listed. Quite frankly I am sick of seeing people listing only grains and grams. I miss "the saturation" of high end bullion products, even if the cost is out of my range. I was very surprised that they allowed so much "mill" and gold plated items. I quess they are trying to respond to a down turn in the economy. Needs tightening up.

[burgyeb]

If you want to get coin sales going on ebid, then you have to list good coins at good prices and leave them on here until buyers find the place.

If you keep going back to eblah, then they will keep putting their fees up.

Generally agree with you Julie. However, I had a Full 1 ounce Gold Buffalo MS-70 First Strike Coin that I listed on eBid @ $999 for ages. At the same time I had it here it was selling regularly on the Bay for more. Finally it sold to a NPB. That was the best thing that ever happened to me. That same coin is now valued @ > $1500 Some smart eBid buyers really missed a great buying opportunity. After that I never really gave it a second thought of listing high end bullion products on eBid. Who knows, might change my mind.

[burgyeb]

I hear what you are saying. Checked out the site "compete.com" ; very interesting. Thank you for imfo.

eBid can only grow as it's owners & members commit to assuring it's growth. There is nothing wrong with diversifying your activities to include online (different venues) and off-line activities. Why not do wholesaling online, including eBid. I plan to stick with eBid, some combination of other online venues, build up my own web site(s) presence, and assure an off-line business presence.

I notice you have been here awhile, and have a very strong product line. Would it hurt to put up a few thousand auctions, and ride the tides of eBid for awhile. You currently only have 10 auctions running; and they are very nice coins. I put up a few new auctions in my coin shop last night. Can not tell you how long it took me to get around to listing because I saw it as futile & a waste of time. I will be adding more to all of my stores.

[burgyeb]

[QUOTE=DanMart;1352884]Shore guy,

That's why I mostly deal in more esoteric, non-mainstream stuff like Colonials, exonumia, out of print coin reference books,
scarce varieties, lots not listed in the Redbook or CDN.

I tried eBid years ago and it was so quiet it was not worth the time to list items. I hope this has changed. So far, I have had almost zero
views. Any suggestions, as you are a seasoned eBid veteran? [/UNQUOTE]

My only suggestion would be to list a few thousand auctions. List a broad sampling of a your specialty line (at least a thousand). Also list some in demand, main stream items. You can get a sense of the type of coins that sell on eBid by searching completed listings. Buying wars happen here regularly for certain coin types. I also noticed that your coins are a bit pricey for some buyers. Keep a level of high-end coins listed but also try and work in some levels that are affordable for a broader range of buyers.

[DanMart]

I truly belive ebay is tring successfully to kick all world coin dealers off their site.

What do you mean EXACTLY?

Do you mean all dealers of world coins?

Do you mean coin dealers who deal around the world, sell globally in many countries?

thank you

[DanMart]

Thank you.

I do not usually sell coins under $100 anymore as I have too many coins I already own worth much more so it makes more sense to sell the higher ticket items.

Also, I have more issues with $10 to $250 items than $250 to $2500 coins.

The coins I sell are "in demand" irregardless of price. The coins you looked at are coins that quite often nobody else on the internet has for sale.

Certainly not going to spend hundreds of hours on an unproven site. If this site sells $10 and $50 coins then it is not a great fit for moi.

Coin collecting is the hobby of kings and there are plenty of people with money. I used to sell expensive rare US coins with the least expensive
in the $10k range. So $200 or $375 is very affordable. Especially with gold spot at $1500 per troy ounce.

I really appreciate everybody's time and effort to respond !

Many thanks !!!!!

[Juliebabe25]

I have just watched a thread where two ebid buyers paid around $1,000 for coins and bullion and never recieved them.

I was quite surprised that such high priced items do sell on ebid.

But poor sellers wont help ebid either !

@BobbySox1

If you go back to ebay, you are just telling them to keep increasing their fees!

[DanMart]

yes i agree but this is the sellers graveyard,and buyers heaven as there are very few bids.maybe im miss judging this site but to me its plain boring to sell here and wont again until more ebayers move over.could be just the economic climate as with ebay to some extent now,so i think i will just shelve my goods and wait for better times.people are feeling the pinch and as a seller im going to batton down the hatches and emerge again in more prosperous times,regards

Sellers' graveyard YES

Boring site for coins YES

Time are fine for coins with RECORD Gold prices

[DanMart]

I have just watched a thread where two ebid buyers paid around $1,000 for coins and bullion and never recieved them.

I was quite surprised that such high priced items do sell on ebid.

But poor sellers wont help ebid either !

@BobbySox1

If you go back to ebay, you are just telling them to keep increasing their fees!

Julie, Gold is now $1600 per ounce so one 1 oz gold coins are even more than that. 10 coins are almost 20 thousand dollars.

100 coins is over 160 thousand dollars.

Now maybe you understand my point that a $100 item in the coin business is a low priced item.

These are LUXURY items and coin collecting is known as the hobby of Kings