Realcent.org

I'd rather keep my copper than sell at this price.

http://cgi.ebay.com/160613522159

If he used 7,350 pennies as 50 lbs then:
Selling price shipped = +$98.00
eBay Final value fees = -$8.82
Paypal fees = -$3.14
Cost to acquire pennies = -$73.50
USPS medium flat rate price = $10.50
Profit = +$2.04

I don't know Florida's copper percentage, but using 28% as a gauge, it would take 10 1/2 boxes to acquire 7,350 pennies. Even at 4 boxes per hour with a Ryedale that's over 2 1/2 hours of just sorting them.

I sort with a Ryedale sniper as a hobby, so I do understand that there is no big hourly profit to be made unless you go the multiple Ryedale apprentice route, but this seller is obviously looking to make at least some money since he put them up for auction on eBay. Did he try an attractive starting price to entice bidding? Perhaps. IMO that is not the way to go. If I were selling my pennies my practice would be to start the auction at the lowest reasonable price I was willing to accept in case I only get one bid.

Nick

7350 is a bit high on count, 50 pounds should be less than 7300, but point taken. He's got another one posted for $85 min. Shipping on this one now $16, and a BIN price of $125. He's either testing the waters, or he thinks this is a loss-leader for his coin comparitors, which he is also selling.

There is possible gas/auto costs associated also with getting/dumping pennies, going to the P.O., etc. I've never sold any Cu because of the low profit margins for a small time sorter like myself. I agree with CardsNCoins, you have to do large volumes to make it work right now. Either its a loss-leader like Camaro mentioned or he was hoping for a big bid to appear or he didn't feel like doing the math.

He should have given a face value in the listing. Also he had room in his headline for the key word "cents", "facevalue" .

My percentages in the South Florida area have only been around 19-21% too..He must have a lot if he's willing to do that!

I'd bet just about anything that this is a mistake on the seller's part in describing his listing. He meant to say $50 face value, which would then make reasonable sense. Nowhere else does he mention face value or count of cents per pound, which reinforces my contention. Not to say that he won't get bad feedback when the buyer finds out it weighs 34 pounds.

I just looked at his feedback and discovered favorable feedback for previously sold lots described in same fashion and sold for $75! He has ongoing listings marketed in same manner, so I wrote him an email asking if he didn't really intend to say $50 face value, and not 50 pounds. He does charge $16 for shipping, so you can't deduct that from profits.