Overpriced coins and stamps

[oregonbeachbum]

Please be careful when bidding on coins and stamps.  There are several sellers who try to scam bidders by using the words 'Rare', 'Scarce' and/or 'Old' in the items' title or description to get large amounts of money for cheap items.  I have seen common German stamps from WWII with Hitler's portrait being listed for many dollars when they can be purchased from a legitimate dealer for pennies each.  The same thing applies to US coins.  There is a seller trying to get hundreds of dollars for a single common wheat penny that can be purchased from a legitimate dealer for 2-3 cents each.  If you look at the sellers' feedback you may get information about these scam artists.  For example there is a seller with feedback from 'Steven King', 'Larry McMurtry' or any number of famous authors.

There are free websites operated by recognized experts which can be used to get an estimate retail value of stamps and coins.  For stamps use www.stampworld.com; for coins use www.ngc.com.  You may have to sign up to use the websites but there is no charge to use them.

[b-17blinker]

Yes, there are wolves on eBay, but there is no law that sez a seller can't ask whatever $$$ they want and see who bites. L@@KY, just like my grocery store advertises a lb of bacon for ONLY $8.99. One must do their homework. IMHO, third party grading companies are not a very good place to look for coin prices. I try to beat the prices  for US coins listed in the Blue Book, unless I REALLY want the item. Cheers. (Do they have black sand on the beach in Oregon like in Forks, Washington?)

[*smedley*]

good post...

ignore buzz words... do due diligence...

sometimes it takes a bad purchase or two before some buyers understand that there are unscrupulous sellers out there...

one of the best resources for finding out current FMV prices is sold ebay listings... ignore the lows and highs, and see what middle-of-the-road sales are...

[elheron-grande]

Some good words of advice have already been posted by 2 coin and paper money chat

board members.   Yes, the best thing is Caveat Emptor.  In all situations.  It is a good thing

to learn about current pricing of various hobby items.  By searching through eBay and other

websites we can learn how 'rare' an item might be.   Comparing pricing is a good method.

(Heron will admit that he sometimes pays a few more bucks than he should. Primarily because

 he might not have seen a particular item for sale in the 74 years of collecting coins.  An

 example would be a 3 Kreuzer Silver piece from Kaufbeuren.  Heron had never heard of

 Kaufbeuren.  Heron had never seen it listed in any coin catalogs or books about coins.

 And it could be possible that Heron will never see another one a these for sale, at a 

 reasonable price.  (Reasonable being under $50.  A mark set by Heron hisself).

Yes, the best thing for any prospective buyer is to study the 'market place' to find out

if the item is priced 'correctly'.   Then purchase according to the 'want' factor.

[*smedley*]

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@elheron-grande wrote:

(Heron will admit that he sometimes pays a few more bucks than he should.

---

i've done that a couple of times in the last year for silver medals that fit into one of my more esoteric collections, neither of which i remember seeing before... had i only looked at the price of silver i would never considered either one, but to me it was worth overpaying because i doubted i'd have another opportunity to buy them...

[elheron-grande]

That comment is right on the 'mark'!  Last year Heron let a couple of items 'get away' because

he thought the price was too high.  Yeah Heron said - he would wait for a lower priced example.   Well, so far none have been found.   Shoulda bought when the items were available.  Another lesson lernt the 'hard way'!  

[agathetyche]

Indeed, sometimes "overpriced" is a meaningless term.

About forty years I was at the New York International coin show. A dealer there had a coin I had been looking for. In the 1860's Britain had established a penal colony on the Andaman Islands, off the coast of India. They struck copper rupee coins for use in the colony. Extremely rare. The dealer had one, EF with some mint red. Asking $750. At the time the catalogue value was around $250 in that grade, and I knew the dealer valued his coins highly. Decided against buying it. 

That was the last time I ever saw a genuine Andaman Island rupee in person. The last one that I know to appear on the market was about ten years ago, a Good that brought $3000 at auction. An EF would probably bring five figures today. Needless to say, I am never going to get one. 

That coin actually was not overpriced. 

[caz-10]

Hi,do you know the KM number of the coin you are referring to?

Carmine

[b-17blinker]

Me thinks OP was not referring to a specific coin, but rather, the use of certain catch words for common stuff in an attempt to lure noobies. Sorta like using 'vintage' or 'retro' for a pair of old socks with a hole in the big toe and selling for 75.5 simoleons.