Coins are a wonderful object to collect. Behind every coin is a story, a history or a memory and the wonder of this means that a large collection will very often sneak up on us. But the other side of being a collector is, from time to time, selling and traditionally, that experience is significantly less wonderful. Coins dealers are looking to make a hefty profit and going to physical auction houses is often a time consuming and stressful experience. But Catawiki, which was created specifically for all collectors, combines the best features of online and traditional auctions to make the experience of selling coins online one all collectors should have.
Best of Both Worlds
Catawiki combines the best of aspects from traditional auction houses and online auctions to make selling as easy and productive as possible. The major advantage of online auctions for sellers is the large and international market of potential buyers. Catawiki has 14 million visitors worldwide every month, which is only expanding as you read this...
However, what can make the online experience difficult is the lack of specialist knowledge on most selling platforms. To fix this, Catawiki employs over 190 experts to review, estimate and oversee every single lot that gets uploaded to our site. There are 9 specialist coin experts in our team who review every lot to ensure that we have nothing but the highest possible quality.
Simple Selling
Offering your awesome coins on Catawiki is done in five simple steps:
1) Upload your items: Registering and offering up items for review is totally free and done online. All you have to do is provide a description and photos of your items, submit them and our experts will take it from there.
2) Review for quality: The experts will read your description and examine your photographs to ensure that your lot is authentic and of sufficient quality. The main criteria for an item to be included in an auction is that it must be special, not readily available in your average shop. Furthermore, the expert must estimate that the value of your item is worth at least €75 in order to keep the quality of the auctions high.
3) Set a reserve price: This is an optional step, but if your item has a higher estimated value you can choose to set a minimum price that must be reached in order for the item to sell. If the reserve is not met by the end of the auction then the item will not be sold and you won’t be charged anything.
4) Start selling: Once the experts have approved your item then they will schedule it into an upcoming auction as soon as possible.
5) Watch the bids roll in: All bids at Catawiki start at €1, even for those with a reserve price. It sounds low, but experience has proven that when items have a low bidding price, bidders are more likely to follow the item, and the price quickly builds. We've sold coins for thousands of euros, all starting from a €1 bid.
Trustworthy Transactions
Catawiki’s unique payment system is designed to protect both buyers and sellers. After a buyer has won an item, they must pay the purchase price and shipping costs. The seller is then informed that the item can be shipped or be made available for pickup. This protects the sellers from shipping items that haven’t been paid for and keeps the transaction trustworthy as the buyer and seller are not in contact until after the payment is received.
The payment is held for 14 days after the item has been shipped or picked up. This is organised so that the buyer has time to receive the item and request mediation if there are any issues. After 14 days, the shipping fee and purchase price, minus the 12.5% commission fee, are transferred to the seller. The commission is reinvested into advertising and other marketing efforts in order to bring more attention to the auctions.
Tips From Our Experts
We help our sellers by promoting their lots through advertising, marketing efforts and press coverage for particularly exceptional lots. Our experts are also always available to advise on how to make the most of their efforts and even to help sell entire collections.
Some advice will, however, translate to all of our sellers, so below is our expert’s top tips to getting the best results from your coins:
1) Make sure you have the most accurate and complete description- this not only allows our experts to approve your lot quicker, but also gives potential buyers trust in your item. Some of the best information to include in your description is the exact catalogue number, weight of the coin, and the exact content of precious metal.
2) Have great photos- not only is it important to have good photos in order for the experts to approve them, but also, having good quality photographs is much more appealing to potential buyers. You can find 14 tips to help you take the best photos here.
3) If in doubt, ask- Our experts are excited to help you with anything you need, so never be afraid to ask for advice or help!
Do you think Catawiki seems like a more exciting prospect when it comes to selling your coins? You can experience the thrill of selling with us for yourself by registering here. And Catawiki is not just coins! We hold auctions for just about any exceptional item; such as comics, antiquities, art and much more, so check out our weekly auctions to find out more about what we offer.