Jump to content

Geocoins On Ebay


Bjornian

Recommended Posts

As I have said. I will never ever ever ever put a coin on ebay (unless it is the same buy it now I offer here). I guess I am just not a good capitalist. It drives me crazy to see good geocoins being sold on ebay for 30+ dollars when you can bu ythem from the owner for 6-12 dollars. I do not like profiteering gluttons who's only interest in geocaching in money. Sorry for seeming lie kI a mflaming, it just drives me crazy.

Link to comment

It's a two sided coin. For every geocoin collector today there will be a couple tomorrow. eBay and other places will be the only way they can get some of the older coins. After a time there are no more to be had via trade, or directly at the lesser price. It doesn't change that people will want them and that if the price is right some will be willing to sell them.

 

In time the market will settle down and vintage coins will run in a price range determined in part by how many total coins there are. If there are thousands (and it won't take long before there are) nobody can bid up any one coin to any extreme amount because the other 999 coins they don't have are also out there. Of course some will just be worth more because everone wants that coin.

 

It's the nature of things. What I like is that people make them and sell them essentially at cost, others trade directly, and some people even leave them in caches as a point of honor. I think this makes geocoins special or maybe it's geocachers.

Link to comment

I do not care what geocoin I buy/trade for. It is not the coin that means anything ot me. it is the person who made it. I will stop wanting geocoins at the same point I have friends who are geocachers. If I knew these people, just knowing them would be the value. But since I have not met anyone, the coins make me feel connected ot other geocachers.

Link to comment

I wont be letting anyone get more than 1 of my coin preciesly because of eBay. I don't see anything wrong with selling state/org. coins, but every time I see a personal coin being sold by someone else (barring charity auctions) I get a sick feeling. I don't want that to happen with mine.

Link to comment
I wont be letting anyone get more than 1 of my coin preciesly because of eBay. I don't see anything wrong with selling state/org. coins, but every time I see a personal coin being sold by someone else (barring charity auctions) I get a sick feeling. I don't want that to happen with mine.

I've been selling a few of my extra state coins on ebay, mainly because I want to continue my "coin habit" and need the $$ to do so. I sold one of my personal coins on ebay -- but 100% of that auction went to the Red Cross.

Link to comment
I do not like profiteering gluttons

First off I take offense at being in the catagory of a 'profiteering glutton' and/or a 'bloodsucker'.

 

I put my last GeoLuau coin on ebay and it went for $63. Shocked it fetched that price? Oh yeah. Very!

 

Let me tell you why I listed it on ebay. Only 100 of the coins were made. The people who attended the event had first shot at the coins. What was left over was announced on the forums for sale and they sold out within a couple of hours. There was several dozen people who contacted me for a coin but didn't make the cut. There was only one way I could think of to give everyone who really REALLY wanted this coin to have a shot at it. Ebay.

 

Do I feel guilty for the coin selling that high? Nope. In fact, right after being stunned, I'm a little proud that it would command a price tag that high. It took hours of work to get the design together. It took a leap of faith that the hundreds of dollars I put into the coin wouldn't be a huge loss.

 

I've got another event coin coming out this month and if it doesn't sell out at the event and there's enough desire for it I'll put the last one on ebay again. What ever it sells for, high or low, I'll at least know that everyone had a shot at it.

Link to comment

If you pay for the cost of a coin and it originally belongs to you then its yours to do as you please... The maker of the coin can list on it ebay if they please. Unless you paid for the production of the coins and you find someone else other than you selling the coin then you are entitled to call them names or what ever you see fit to rally a crowd to your cause. Other wise like the old saying goes "stay out of my cool aid and I will stay out of yours". If you don't like what you see then don't bid or pay for it.

 

Obviously someone seen that coin as being worth its cost to have in their collection...

Link to comment

Well, I sold a few State/Org coins on eBay recently. And I'll probably sell a few more in the future. My justification is much like joefrogs.

 

I have been spending a lot of $$$ buying coins over the last 3 weeks, $280 by my estimates. So, why not try and recoup some of that money? Rather than saying I'm a money glutton or whatever, why not look at it that I am a geocoin collector who is funding their collection with the help of eBay? Cause this is how I see it and why I sell some coins on eBay.

 

When I collect something, and I collect items other that geocoins, I attempt to make the hobby self-funded or else I will go broke trying to keep up. This is something I learned LONG ago and it's worked for me very well in the past. After the last 6 non-charity auctions I had on eBay, it appears that it will also work very well for me now.

 

One other point the OP should note, not every geocacher reads the forums. So eBay might possibly be the only way for those folks to aquire geocoins. In this sense, those who sell them on ebay are providing a valued service.

Link to comment
Well, I sold a few State/Org coins on eBay recently. And I'll probably sell a few more in the future. My justification is much like joefrogs.

 

I have been spending a lot of $$$ buying coins over the last 3 weeks, $280 by my estimates. So, why not try and recoup some of that money? Rather than saying I'm a money glutton or whatever, why not look at it that I am a geocoin collector who is funding their collection with the help of eBay? Cause this is how I see it and why I sell some coins on eBay.

 

When I collect something, and I collect items other that geocoins, I attempt to make the hobby self-funded or else I will go broke trying to keep up. This is something I learned LONG ago and it's worked for me very well in the past. After the last 6 non-charity auctions I had on eBay, it appears that it will also work very well for me now.

 

One other point the OP should note, not every geocacher reads the forums. So eBay might possibly be the only way for those folks to aquire geocoins. In this sense, those who sell them on ebay are providing a valued service.

I'm with you, AG. I've sold some of my spare organization or event coins on eBay - all but one of which are no longer available for sale from the original producers. All the money I made went right back into buying other geocoins.

Link to comment

There are valid points to both sides of the argument. Nothing wrong with a little capatilism now and then. The person who ends up with an extra one or two coins that have become high demand items has a good outlet on Ebay to offer the coin up.

 

Where this breaks down is where some people have the cash to purchase large numbers of the coins and when a run of say 300 coins become available, they're not limited in what they can purchase. I'm not referring to the coin clubs that are buying for a group. I'm talking about the few people who buy 10% or more of an offering with the intent of Ebaying the coins for large markups. What I think is wrong is the person who has purposely contributed the coin shortage just to profit off of other collectors.

 

Now, with that being said, I wonder what my complete collection of MiGO seasonal coins would bring... ;)

Link to comment

those are the type of people I began wanting ot attack. I NEVER want that to happen. If the creator sells 1 or 2 coins on ebay, or a person has 1 or 2 exrtas it is understandable. But I fear that people will begin buying up the inital public offering to make a massive profic. This would turn geocoins (a cute little thing that travels) into something more like stock.

 

Trust me I know a geocoin habit is expensive. I have bought about 100 dollars in coins in under a month (I buy 1 of every coin I can find because I am a collector).

Link to comment
I do not like profiteering gluttons

What ever it sells for, high or low, I'll at least know that everyone had a shot at it.

That's exactly the beauty of it. There isn't a single one of us that will be in a position to be at every event or to be alert to every single sale. The more avenues for acquiring collectible value coins, the better. But if I get out there for Halloween, I still don't want you to mention the E-Bay coin to my wife. :rolleyes:

Link to comment

The way I see it is that geocoins began as a "calling card" item, then a collectable between cachers that knew each other, and now as an item that allows you to trade and *meet* new cachers via the Internet.

 

That's all cool and something I really relate to.

 

Now....it changes. We are all used to paying wholesale prices on coins in the spirit of the sport. Sort of a communal thing.

 

eBay introduces the era of the "commercial" coin. Coins for profit.

 

How much would you pay for a coin? $5, $10, $15? Not on eBay, but if it was offered here in the forums?

 

A typical coin costs between $3 to $7 to actually mint. If I had a 100 coins made for $500 -- I am willing to bet that my average sales on a place like eBay would exceed $5 per coin. I wouldn't. However, I also wouldn't pay "retail" for a coin (unless it profits a charity -- different reason though). I could then sell my retail coins and (currently) pay wholesale for others I wanted) here! That too will end. Folks won't sell coins here for $5 each when they can realize $7 each on eBay -- pay for the entire run and either take a profit or basically get X% of their coins free. (sell 80, keep 20 -- recoup all costs)

 

eBay is setting the "retail" and "collector" prices for these coins. We'll all just have to be selective on the coins we really want in our collection and why. I know I will NEVER have a MIGO set of coins in my collection for this reason alone.

Link to comment

I agree with Shopp99er. They put a large chunk of change on the table to create an artistic item reflecting a cool party which we could not attend. They could have charged $20 a coin and I would have still bought it! Where do you think we will be in 5 years when you see a 2005 coin come onto the open market? What will it be worth? I know if a 1st edition Moun10bike coin came onto the ebay market now I would try to buy it.

Link to comment

I think that we'll soon see all new coins come out at $10 or more each (even though we all know they cost less to create). What will be interesting is to see if coins that are better designed fetch a premium.

 

Someone I respect, although I never have met him, is this John Lacey fellow. You can only get a coin by meeting him and trading. That's a great idea and one I'd like to emulate somewhat. I think in the future I'll only trade for personal coins directly from the hands of their creators. For state coins I'll by what I can and skip the rest.

 

eBay will be a great option for the 6 or 7 coins I really want. Nothing wrong with it. An original Moun10Bike has got to be worth $1000 from what I've seen.

Link to comment

I agree that Johnnie Lacy has a great method of distributing his limited number of coins. Capt Prozac has the same method. Of course it is impossible to tell how many others use the exact same method. You don't see postings in this forum from that particular breed of coin owners. There may be hundreds of cachers doing the same (I am not saying there are, just that we have no way of knowing). The main reason that the JL coin is so highly sought after is that you can't get one. The forbidden fruit. And we only know about it because someone who knows Johnnie posted that they have one. Johnnie didn't log in and tell us about his coin.

 

Of course, if the original post identifying this hard to find coin had said something like "this really obnoxious guy in Georgia has a nice looking coin, but he is so annoying I don't want one", then we may all be thinking the same thing. As it is, JL has had great things said about him by more than one cacher - Proper marketing is important in defining value/demand :rolleyes:

Link to comment
I agree that Johnnie Lacy has a great method of distributing his limited number of coins. The main reason that the JL coin is so highly sought after is that you can't get one. The forbidden fruit.

Says the guy who currently has a $455 bid on a Johnnie Lacy on eBay - wow! <_<

 

But 100% of proceeds are going to Habitat for Humanity for hurricane relief efforts - good on everyone involved!! :ph34r:

Link to comment

I don't see that selling geocoins on ebay is any different from selling them through paypal or a personal website...is it the profit aspect that seems to bother people, or the fact that someone who has never heard of geocaching could buy one?

 

Obtaining a rare geocoin by trading them several geocoins of lesser rarity or perceived value is an exchange of goods with market established values, not all that different from buying the rare geocoin with cash, just using a different medium of exchange...

Can I trade you a three-toed sloth geocoin for 28 2004 New York State Quarters :(

 

That being said, I understand how people would be upset seeing their carefully-planned geocoins being sold on ebay alongside 1-legged Barbie-dolls, and bulk orders of paperclips. :(

Edited by NFA
Link to comment
I agree that Johnnie Lacy has a great method of distributing his limited number of coins. ...

I think I'll be implementing that method on about 10 or so Idaho - 2005 coins that I have. The goal isn't so much to stop them from showing up on eBay but to make sure that all local cachers have a shot at finding one, and not the usual suspects who all have coins.

Link to comment

Being a newbie to the Geocoin world, I have bought two state coins off of e-bay. I have since purchased coins through this forum. Being a newbie, how was I supposed to get the coins I wanted that were sold out and no longer in production. I don't think anyone would have said here's a couple of coins to get you started even at thier costs. I didn't like what I paid for them but I wanted the coins. E-bay give people a chance to get started in coin collecting and if the seller makes a few dollars and the buyer is happy, well this is America. If you want to steer people away from e-bay then offer your "extras" to others using this forum or start a classified forum. Although I am currently not interested in personal coin but there is no telling what the future will bring. ;)

Edited by Slammer180
Link to comment

I don't see whats wrong with ebay'ing geocoins. They are a collectable item and most will eventually find there way there. It's not like they are sacred or regulated by the ftc or anything. I suppose if I saw a custom BadAndy coin on ebay that only went for a couple bucks, I'd be dissapointed.

 

I personally don't collect them, although I do obtain them for swag. I suppose I'll burn in hell for giving away a Moun10bike coin.

 

Do the opponents of auctioning geocoins also have a problem with autographed football cards on ebay?

Link to comment

The true fear i have seen from a lot of geocachers is that 1 person will buy a large quantity (all) of a set of geocins and sell them for a massive premium of ebay. that is why a lot of buyers (and even traders) limit any 1 person to 1 or 2 copies of their geocoins

Link to comment

I sure wish I could figure out what is the huge problem with selling geocoins on eBay?

 

This isn't food for starving people that is being sold. It's just a token. No one NEEDS a geocoin. Why do you care what other people choose to spend their extra $$ on?

 

If you don't want to pay for it, don't buy it. It's that simple. If someone is willing to spend $50 on a coin, then the coin is worth that much to that buyer. That is the way an auction works. No one spends more than they want to.

 

I like to collect icons like the next cacher and I have been buying the state coins, however, one of the state coins was a little too expensive for me, so I chose not to buy that one. That was my choice but I'm not mad at the seller for selling it for a higher price than I would pay and I'm not mad at others for choosing to buy it.

 

Are there not more important things to gripe about than geocoins on ebay?

Link to comment

I don't think the problem is selling coins on Ebay. It is more of selling personal coins on Ebay that people traded for thinking that the person getting the coin is for there collection. I see both side of the coin. ;) That coin is yours to do what you want to do with it. Sell, trade or whatever it is yours. Now on the other side if I made a personal coin and I only set it up for a trade to people would not like to see the coin on ebay because I meant to be traded only and would like to keep it that way. If I had to sell my collection I would email the person that made the coin and tell them why I need to sell the coin I traded with them and see what they say. Most if they know why, I think would say sure I understand. People put a lot of working in making the coins and would like to see the coins they had made for trading only.

 

This is my thought.

 

Richard

Edited by GeoCrickets
Link to comment
I don't think the problem is selling coins on Ebay. It is more of selling personal coins on Ebay that people traded for thinking that the person getting the coin is for there collection. I see both side of the coin. :P That coin is yours to do what you want to do with it. Sell, trade or whatever it is yours. Now on the other side if I made a personal coin and I only set it up for a trade to people would not like to see the coin on ebay because I meant to be traded only and would like to keep it that way. If I had to sell my collection I would email the person that made the coin and tell them why I need to sell the coin I traded with them and see what they say. Most if they know why, I think would say sure I understand. People put a lot of working in making the coins and would like to see the coins they had made for trading only.

 

This is my thought.

 

Richard

 

I think that shows that the buyer off of e-bay wanted the coin more than the trader. If the buyer pays top dollar you should be happy that someone out there was willing to pay top dollars for a chance to get a coin they wouldn't have had the opportunity to get unless they had a trade. Send him/her an e-mail and explain what they have. If I did have a personal coin and saw it on e-bay going for top dollar, I'd think that the seller either needed the cash, as is a case on another post, or didn't value the coin for which it was intended. Would I trade with this person again? No, I don't think so. It was a fair deal if the person traded it or bought it. It's a risk you take when you enter into one of these deals, like it or not. Just my 2 cents. Happy Caching :lol:

Link to comment
I agree that Johnnie Lacy has a great method of distributing his limited number of coins. ...

I think I'll be implementing that method on about 10 or so Idaho - 2005 coins that I have. The goal isn't so much to stop them from showing up on eBay but to make sure that all local cachers have a shot at finding one, and not the usual suspects who all have coins.

You still have those coins?...I can't believe it...you were given those extra coins to give out at events and such I see that hasen't happened...it makes me sorry that those extra coins were even given to you to hand out in the first place... :santa:

Link to comment
I agree that Johnnie Lacy has a great method of distributing his limited number of coins. ...

I think I'll be implementing that method on about 10 or so Idaho - 2005 coins that I have. The goal isn't so much to stop them from showing up on eBay but to make sure that all local cachers have a shot at finding one, and not the usual suspects who all have coins.

You still have those coins?...I can't believe it...you were given those extra coins to give out at events and such I see that hasen't happened...it makes me sorry that those extra coins were even given to you to hand out in the first place... :santa:

Yes I do have them. About 10 or so remain. I've given out a grand total of two at Pocatello events (those being the only events in my area). Then I made a decision that Pocatello is not the only town in SE Idaho and that events left people out since I was seeing the same faces and there are more cachers out there. Then I tried to do a multi county cache challenge to give them out in the entire area. You read about that in the IGO forums. The help I needed to pull that off never materialized and so I've wondered how to do this fairly and read about this solution. You also need to know that I Live in an an area with a cache maggot and I'm not interested in feeding him a stock of coins either.

 

I freely admit that I've been slow to do this, but I will get it done.

Link to comment

I don't see the issue here I guess. If something is considered a "collectable" then by its very nature its going to hold a monetary value to "someone". Ebay is not the one setting the market value for these items, its the people that are buying the coins that set the value. Thats how auctions work. If someone is willing to pay more for a coin than I feel its worth to me, you bet I'm going to sell it. Call me a bloodsucker or whatever, but I've got bills to pay, family to feed and I like to have some spare cash to enjoy my hobbies. If I can sell a coin on ebay to get me some $ for gas to go caching or $ for more coins or whatever, I'm going to take advantage of that. It's nothing personal. If someone is willing to pay for it, there will always be people willing to sell it.

Link to comment
Being a newbie to the Geocoin world, I have bought two state coins off of e-bay.  I have since purchased coins through this forum.  Being a newbie, how was I supposed to get the coins I wanted that were sold out and no longer in production.  I don't think anyone would have said here's a couple of coins to get you started even at thier costs.  I didn't like what I paid for them but I wanted the coins.  E-bay give people a chance to get started in coin collecting and if the seller makes a few dollars and the buyer is happy, well this is America. If you want to steer people away from e-bay then offer your "extras" to others using this forum or start a classified forum.  Although I am currently not interested in personal coin but there is no telling what the future will bring.  :huh:

Ditto!

I'm a working guy. I see clients 5-6 days a week and my days are long. I get to pick up a cache on my weekends or occasionally going to/from another errand. When a coin does show up in a cache there is often a rush for it similar to a getting a FTF and the chance of me picking it up is slim.

I like the coins and I am happy to get them anyway I can. If I can purchase a few coins off ebay to build a base to trade from I say that's great!

Edited by drexotic
Link to comment
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...