Online Auctions

 Commentary by Hossien Pheifeir #68

Over the years I have bought and sold hundreds of numismatic items over eBay and Yahoo. Pieces ranging from encased cents to coal mine scrip; transportation tokens to Seated Liberty Dollars; and everything in between. And there are a few things that I have learned in the mean-time, some the easy-way and a few the hard-way. It is the "hard-way" ones that stick in my craw like the smell of a rotten egg broken in the fryin' pan over a hot flame.

My main gripe is the sellers who gouge their winners with outrageous shipping and handling fees. Having sold dozens of encased cents I know that my total cost for everything that is associated with a single auction is $1.75, as long as the piece goes for $6. or less (which it usually does). This includes the listing fee, eBay/Yahoo commissions, padded envelope, 'flip' holding the piece and postage. Of course if the buyer chooses to insure the item he pays the additional cost.

DO NOT PAY A SELLER MORE THAN 10% OVER THE AMOUNT OF $1.75 ON A SIMILAR TRADE. REMEMBER ALL COSTS INVOLVED ARE WHAT YOU PAID FOR THE PIECE. EXAMPLE: IF YOUR WINNING BID WAS FOR A FAIR MARKET VALUE OF $5.00 AND YOU PAID AN ADDITIONAL $1.75 IN S&H, YOU NOW HAVE $6.75 IN A $5.00 ITEM NOT WITHSTANDING THE COST OF SENDING THE PAYMENT, AN AVERAGE OF AN ADDITIONAL $.50, AND IF A MONEY ORDER OR CASHIER'S CHECK IS REQUIRED, THEN ADD ANOTHER $1.00+ ( THE NEXT THING YOU MAY KNOW IS POSSIBLY THAT SHINY ENCASED CENT IS NOT WORTH THAT MUCH TO YOU AFTER ALL - READ THE DESCRIPTION CAREFULLY - DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT, BID ON AN AUCTION WHERE THE SELLER DOES NOT LIST HIS S&H FEES OR STATES THAT HE WILL CONTACT THE WINNER AFTER THE AUCTION CLOSES WITH THE FEES.

There are several reasons why sellers charge outrageous fees: The first is greed. Second is making up for possible lost profit when a seller lists his auction with a super low starting bid, say $.01. When a seller gambles by starting an auction below his cost in hopes that it will sell for much more, he owns the risk and has to bear the loss should one occur. Third is collecting additional money to help offset in-house overhead. All other "overhead" cost associated with the auction at the seller's place of business has to come from the profit of the sold item, not from the buyer.

You may agree or disagree with my assertions, in any event just remember; every penny you spend over the fair market value of the items worth, is money gone in the short term. Of course if you live long enough and keep the piece long enough, you may realize a value gain to offset your initial cost. Good luck and bid smartly.....HP

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