Any suggestions on buying other peoples coin collections?

[Anthony]

I'm looking to buy coin collections off other people. Primarily ones that were passed down to other family or even ones that people held their entire lives that they're looking to liquidate. First question I have is what do you think would be the best bet to find people looking to sell. Not interested in the estate sale auctions since in the many I've been there's only been a small amount of coin collections and they always end up way over priced. I was thinking about posting an ad up in some local libraries and maybe running one in a local news paper. I've tried Craigslist but that hasn't worked.

Another thing I'm not sure about is how much I should offer them. If someone held their collection until the day they died than the recipient knows it must be worth something. If I just ask them how much they want for it and pay them that price they'll think/know that their offer was low.
If I'm buying from the person who built up the collection then they should have an idea already what it's worth.
Obviously I'm doing this because I want to get a good deal for myself but I'm not in the game of ripping people off.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

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[cudamark]

I would think an heir to a collection would most likely hire a professional to get an appraisal, so, they're unlikely to find someone "off the street" to do that. If you have an official business, you're more likely to have some success. If the owner of the collection is still alive and looking to liquidate, you might be able to offer a bit more than a coin shop would, due to your lower overhead. There are lots of others doing the same thing so you'll have some competition. Knowing how to accurately grade a coin will be key in making money doing this. I have no advice as how to dig up customers....no pun intended.

 

[Iron Patch]

Well it sounds like a pretty tough situation if you can't judge the value, because any seller where you're going to get a good deal probably doesn't know the value and they're going to be looking at you. And if you have nothing to say they're probably going to move on to someone else. I actually do this (buy collections), but I always have an idea of what it's worth and what I'm willing to pay. Now if I woke up tomorrow and decided I was going to buy collections of something I didn't know much about, well I'm pretty sure I would pack that idea in by about noon.

All you can really do is offer what you are comfortable with paying and either they take it or leave it. If they reject it you think about offering higher, if they accept and it ends up being a great deal (no matter how great) you pat yourself on the back and don't concern yourself too much with how well you did, and if you overpay you learn a lesson that may help for the next time around. Most people who do this don't go from zero to 100, they start off slow by taking a general interest in coins, maybe collecting a little, and then doing small deals and working their way up. If you have pretty good instincts you might be able to make a go of it, but with no experience it's pretty tough, especially that you want to walk that fine line that both sides get a good deal. It doesn't really work that way, and that's why a lot of pawn type people "rip people off"... in some cases it's not because they're shady, it's because they can't be experts in everything so they will often only pay a safe price for an item, and quite often this is a super lowball offer... but that's how it goes when you don't really know the item.

 

[BigWaveDave]

Do your research, and use current gray sheet pricing...that has up to the week bid pricing, and don't use red book in buying coins, that is better for ask prices, and are quickly outdated after publication. My best success is hitting yard sales at end of day, and asking if they have coins put away and if they are interested in selling.. Usually yard salers have not had the day they were hoping for, have a driveway full of garbage that nobody wants, and still need a few hundred bucks for a vacation or whatever. You would be surprised at what people will give up after falling short on their preconceived notions of making money on their day off. Good Luck.