Being a customer of both Amazon and Ebay, I've been monitoring the prices of coins on both websites for some time. What I've noticed is that the prices of coins on Amazon tend to be higher than the prices of coins on Ebay. Sometimes, they can be nearly twice as high -- at least, for the coins I'm interested in. For example, at the moment, some Ebay merchants are selling a 2013 Austrian Philharmonics 1 Oz. Silver Coin for about USD $26. However, the Amazon Marketplace merchants are selling the same coin for as much as USD $43. Has anybody else noticed this price difference or am I mistaken? Also, which coin selling website has the lowest prices for the best quality coins? I'm interested in key-date silver bullion world coins. I would appreciate any help here, and thank you in advance for your help.
If you're looking for bullion coins, eBay is a good place to shop. Yes, in the past, I have noticed the difference between Amazon and eBay. I bought one bullion coin off Amazon last year, and have not looked on that site since. Others in no particular order: Modern Coin Mart APMEX Paradise Mint Silver Eagle Store (ebay) SilverTowne Happy collecting. Bullion coins are not my main focus, but I do like many of them on the market.
Amazon is a pretty terrible place to buy coins. From what I've seen, most of the coins seem to be targeted towards non-collectors (a la Littleton) and have correspondingly high prices.
Thanks, jpcienkus! Appreciate the advice and list of stores. I've bought from A.P.M.E.X. before but not from the others.
Thanks, Volante! Yes, I've noticed the same thing, too. The truth is, I started taking an interest in coins after I received some Amazon vouchers and didn't know what else to buy from Amazon. But, then, I started comparing prices and realize that Amazon's coin prices are exorbitant as compared to Ebay, so I started this thread to double check with other coin collectors.
Are we talking asking prices, or completed sales. Big difference between what someone wants and what they actually sell for.
Pull up your pants and run with the big boys on HA. Check out the archieve before ya bid but don't sully yoursef by limiting your horizons to the likes of Ebay or that other one (Amazon?)..........
Yes, I agree that on Ebay, there is often a big difference in the asking price and completed sales price, with the completed sales price being lower. However, this means that the Ebay coin prices are even lower than those on Amazon. Amazon Marketplace is not an auction site, so the asking price is usually the completed sales price as well. I have not tried bargaining with the Amazon Marketplace sellers -- have you done so? It is possible to bargain with an Amazon Marketplace seller? The closest I got to this was when a seller promised a discount on shipping for buying two or more of his coins and I had to chase after him for the shipping discount.
