Why buying new releases from flippers costs you twice

New releases sell out quickly. Within hours, sometimes minutes, the same coins appear on auction sites at two or three times the issue price.

You know the listings. Multiples of the same coin, from the same seller, listed the day the release went live.

That is flipping. Someone bought fast, in bulk, with no interest in the coin itself. Their aim was to stand between the mint and you, and to charge you for the privilege.

We would gently encourage you to be careful here.

The first problem is price. You are paying a premium that has nothing to do with the coin's quality or its long-term worth. If the coin softens on the secondary market later, and many do, you are the one carrying that fall.

Condition is the next worry. Flippers move volume. Coins get handled quickly, packed quickly and posted quickly. Cases arrive scratched, certificates go missing, and a proof coin with a fingerprint on it is a proof coin no longer.

Then there is authenticity. Most sellers are honest. Some are not. Buying outside the official stockist network makes it harder to be sure what you are receiving, and harder to fix it if you are wrong.

The last problem is the one that lasts. Every purchase from a flipper tells them the tactic works. It funds the next bulk buy, on the next release, ahead of the next genuine collector. The behaviour continues because we keep paying for it.

Some better habits.

Follow the mints and their authorised stockists directly. Sign up for release notifications and know the on-sale date and time before it arrives.

Set a limit before you start, and keep to it. A coin you missed is easier to live with than one you overpaid for.

Understand that purchase limits are there for you. When a store limits an item to two per household and checks orders manually, it is protecting collectors, not being difficult.

Be willing to wait. Secondary prices on many releases settle within a year. Patience often buys the same coin for less.

Missing out stings. It passes. Coin collecting is a long hobby, and there is always another release worth having.