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Selling coins online: making money on selling money

Do you sell coins online, or are you thinking about it? Is this a new business venture, — an extension of your brick-and-mortar store — or just a hobby? Whatever your reasons, read this guide to find answers to all your how-to questions, and find the best ways to sell rare or old coins online.

how to sell coins online with Ecwid

Can you sell coins online?

Major auction firms report growing sales of rare U.S. coins and dozens of record prices, even ranging into seven figures. According to the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) information, the coin market is very healthy.

So if you have coin selling on the brain, there’s no better time to try it. And one of the best ways to find buyers is to sell your coins online. This opens your coin collection up to a larger audience, and gives you the potential to close deals faster. It also ensures that if you have rare coins, they go for a fair market price.

Selling coins online is easy, nowadays. You can use public auction platforms, knock on certified online dealer’s doors, or launch your own online store and sell coins everywhere.

Sell coins online

What coins are in high demand?

Silver and gold American Eagles continue to occupy the spot on charts of the most wanted coins. It’s not only because these coin’s existence is rare; some were minted in the thousands. Coins like this are still considered rare because the amount in circulation can't satisfy collector’s demand.

What coins are worth a lot of money?

Flowing Hair dollar is the most expensive coin ever sold. It’s worth $10,016,875. Brasher Doubloon ($7,400,000) and 1933 double eagle ($7,370,000) are the runner up and the third place, respectively.

It’s interesting to note that these coins are not particularly ancient. Most of the treasures sold at these auctions for top dollar weren’t minted in the era of Homer, but rather from the 16th to 20th centuries. However, the top 100 chart of the most valuable coins ever sold (or bought) does show some showstopping dinosaurs, like Decadrachm, dated 409/6 BC, sold for $2,918,000 in October 2012.

Unfortunately, these coins weren’t found in someone’s pocket. But that doesn’t mean coin selling is only for museums. If you want to be profitable in selling coins online, focus on rare U.S. dimes, pennies, and quarters. They are easier to find and sell.

Where can I get my coins appraised?

If you want to know what your coins are worth, you should get them appraised (certified/graded). Two of the most trusted coin certification/grading companies are Professional Coin Grading Services and Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Other respected companies are Independent Coin Grading Company and ANACS. If your coins are certified by one of those, you can price them higher and they still have a good chance of selling.

How can I sell my coins?

Okay, so you’ve found rare coins and gotten them appraised. Now you’re ready to sell! But where are you going to list your treasures? Fortunately, you don’t even need to leave your apartment to start the selling process. The internet has been the best place to sell coins for a long time now.

The best places to sell coins online

eBay. It’s become an unofficial coin marketplace for thousands of sellers from around the world. Its auction and “Buy Now” features perfectly match the coin seller’s needs for e-commerce benefits: broad audience, intuitive rules, small commission — what else do you need?

Amazon. The Collectible Coins section is an excellent alternative to eBay. The good thing is that it’s become a home not only for private sellers but for primary dealers. Amazon has the largest audience of customers in the world. Do you need another reason to start selling coins on Amazon?

Internet Auctions. Usually sponsored by leading off-line dealers, these online marketplaces can be tough to get a listing on, and have extensive deal completion procedures. Online currency auctions have a large flow between sellers and products (coins), so waiting for 30 days to get on their website is average. Plus, they charge large commissions for each closed deal. However, these auctions have a sterling reputation and often attract the wealthiest and most motivated buyers.

Some big platforms to start with: Goldberg Coins, Heritage Auction Galleries, USA Coin Book, David Lawrence.

Your website. The platforms listed above can make great primary distribution channels, as they have a built-in audience. But who said you have to use 3rd-party listings? Create your online store for coin collecting maniacs, with exclusive deals and promotions. With a website, you can collect emails to run engaging campaigns, advertise on Google and through social media, and, most importantly, keep all money for yourself (no commissions!). Another benefit is that your website can be synced with eBay and Amazon, enabling you to automatically improve your capacity for selling rare coins online.

Sell coins online

Selling the coins to a dealer

Doing e-commerce by yourself can be tiresome, especially if you don’t love the direct selling process. If you don’t want to distribute your coins personally, then delegating this labor to a dealer might be your best bet.

Pros of selling coins to a dealer

  • It’s fast to find one. Just open Coin World or Numismatic News and pick the one you like. Some of the dealers have been advertising in these magazines for decades.
  • It’s fast to sell. Online dealers take almost everything that can be sold, whether it’s a single coin or a box of them.

Cons of selling coins to a dealer

  • Low profit for you. Dealers are focused on maximizing their profits. Knowing that they will do most of the searching and selling work for you, they will keep 30-40 percent of the retail price for themselves.
  • Reputation lottery. While most of the dealers are life-timers in the industry, there’s still a chance of coming across an unreputable company. Check out each potential dealer at the American Numismatic Association or the Professional Numismatist Guild databases.
Sell coins online

Selling coins online: best practices checklist

Let’s recap all we’ve learned so far about selling coins online with this handy checklist:

  1. Focus on American (U.S.) rare coins. They are the highest demand coins on the market.
  2. Appraise your coins. This is so buyers will trust you, and pay the highest price.
  3. Get a PayPal account. An important tool to ensure smooth payments.
  4. Get listed on the market. Try out eBay, Amazon, and public auctions.
  5. Make your website. Create a home for your fans and sell without commissions.
  6. Invest in good photos. High-quality images will help your buyers to examine your treasures without having to sell in-person.
  7. Write good descriptions. This will generate site traffic and persuade collectors to buy from you instead of your competitors.
  8. Offer free shipping. One of the best purchase drivers out there. Think about adding the cost of shipping to the coin price and offering to ship for free.
  9. Be patient. Selling treasures and rarities takes time because buyers need time to make decisions. Coins sales are not made lightly, so budget in a little extra decision making time.

Sell coins online using Ecwid E-commerce

Selling coins online with Ecwid is free. Our feature-loaded e-commerce shopping cart is a great way to build your business and connect with customers around the world. Whether you're selling antique collections, hard-to-find currency, or mint condition pieces, Ecwid enables you to quickly and easily set up and manage your online coin store.

With Ecwid, your online coin shop will be smoothly integrated into your existing or new website. You will also be able to customize your store’s look and functionality, manage all of your shipping and payment options, connect with customers via social media, and lots more.

Icon | Sell Everywhere
Sell everywhere
Sell simultaneously in-person and through your website, mobile phones, social sites, and marketplaces.
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Responsive design
Ecwid stores look great on any device — phones, laptops, tablets, smart TVs, or smart watches.
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Social commerce
Add an online store to Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, or any other social media site.
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Global reach
Sell globally with multi-currency support, over 100+ payment options, in 50+ languages.

Set up an Ecwid coin store on any platform

Whether you're selling coins as a new business venture, an extension of your brick-and-mortar store, or just as a hobby, Ecwid puts you in complete control of your online coin store. Sign up for a free Ecwid account and you can add your online store to your website in a flash.

Ecwid doesn’t tie you to any one platform. It’s an e-commerce widget that works with all primary website hosts: WordPress, Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, Joomla, GoDaddy, Tumblr, Blogger, and any other CMS or platform that allows you to embed new tools. Take your store with you to any site builder.

Enterprise level speed and security

Ecwid is a PCI DSS Level 1 Certified Service Provider, ensuring all payment and transaction data is secure. With Ecwid, security updates happen automatically. You don’t have to worry about that.

With the help of Ecwid's ultra-fast AJAX interface and massive EC2 servers, your customers will be able to browse through your entire inventory and quickly make purchases conveniently.

Mobile commerce 360 for buyers and sellers

The Ecwid Store Management mobile app is a convenient, fast, reliable, and secure business tool that allows you to fulfill orders, add products, manage inventory, and accept payments on-the-go. You don’t even need a desktop to sell coins online.

All distribution channels in one place

Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, Google Shopping, Snapchat, Pinterest, eBay, and POS — Ecwid helps you show off your products across the internet.

Everything you need to sell coins online

When you sell coins online with Ecwid, you'll be able to select from all-in-one payment solutions, popular payment gateways, and customized methods like bitcoin or cash on delivery.

You also will be able to set up your preferred shipping methods to ensure that your coins get to your customers safely and on-time.

To help you expand your business to international coin collectors, Ecwid offers over 45 automatic language translations for your storefront, so no matter where your customers are, they'll be able to shop from your store.

Connecting with potential buyers is incredibly important when you sell coins online, and Ecwid makes it easy for you to develop a loyal following and gain repeat customers. With Ecwid, you'll be able to track customer data to offer special deals and coupons.

Ecwid also includes social sharing buttons so your customers can share their favorite coins and recent purchases with their friends and followers on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook.

Use Facebook to sell coins online with Ecwid

Setting up an online coin store through Facebook enables you to capture millions of potential customers’ attention. Ecwid retailers who have a Facebook store drive nearly 15% of their total online sales through that social network alone. Facebook also offers a user-friendly platform, which has made the social network a top choice for selling coins online (even for the un-tech-savvy among us).

Setting up a Facebook store requires just a few steps

  1. Sign Up today to begin building your online store.
  2. Add products to your store.
  3. Connect the Facebook app using your Ecwid control panel.
  4. Edit your Facebook settings to enable sales on your page.
  5. In less than 5 minutes, you’re ready to sell coins online with your new Facebook store.

Why Ecwid is the best place to sell coins online

With Ecwid online coin store, you'll watch your business grow in ways you never thought possible.

Ecwid provides an easy-to-navigate online portal, on-the-go apps, and a powerful tracking feature that centralizes all sales and allows you to sell everywhere at once. It can even track your inventory in real-time, send new purchase notifications, store vital customer information, automatically calculate taxes, estimate shipping fees, and more.

Become an Ecwid merchant today and start selling from a single website! Sign up to build a free online store with Ecwid. Or, add Ecwid's shopping cart plug-in to your new website, any existing sites, social media channels, mobile-optimized pages, and any of your other domains to instantly become an online selling machine.

Ready start selling coins today?

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