Buying Coins At Auctions - 5 Advantages And 4 Disadvantages

Obviously, when you are collecting coins, the biggest hurdle is to find the rare coins that everybody is looking to get their hands on. People who can afford it go to auctions to buy their prized coins. The rarer a coin is the more is it difficult to find it, and the more would it cost you if you were to buy it. However you can pick up the odd bargain at auctions if you are lucky. The starting bid price is usually lower than the estimated collectors' value, and if you are among the few collectors at the auction you just might get lucky. The online versions of auctions can take up to a few months to end, while buyers are making their minds up as to how high they would like to go. Here are a few advantage and disadvantages of getting your coins at auctions -


Advantages

1. The negotiations are simple and hassle free at auctions, online and off the net. The coin has a set predetermined starting point, and you can keep this as a guide to help you decide how many times higher that amount you are willing to pay

2. You remain within your budget unless you yourself bid higher than your initial amount.

3. You always stand a chance of winning the item if the actual winner gets disqualified for whatever reason. This could also occur when the reserve price set for the coin hadn't been reached. In such case it will be put up once again for auction and you get another shot.

4. The purchase is safe since you normally have an auction agreement that determines the sale price and item condition, to avoid any chances of deception.

5. You can pay an immediate deposit upon wining the bid, and take a limited amount of time to make the rest of the payment.

Disadvantages

1. When you use an online auction site, the chances of getting cheated are much higher - you cannot see the real item but only an image of it which may or may not be authentic.

2. You could also end up with non-delivery after payment, and are left with little other than the web site to complain to, and all they would be able to do would be to block the user - hardly any consolation to the person who just lost his money to a scammer.

3. At times the reserved price on the auction could be higher than the budget you have in mind. At such times it is tempting to go overboard and bid too much for the coin. Stick to your budget whatever happens - that is a part of being a smart collector.

4. You can really inspect the coin only after it is delivered to you. This is a major drawback since many sellers use the same image for a series of the same coin, and this may not be with the intention to fool the buyer.