Bitcoin Forum

 How do you know when to sell?  Obviously you're shooting for the tip right before it starts to go down, but what are some of the signs to look for?  I've been trading for a little while now, and either sell way too early, or way too late. i didn't study economics, maybe that is my problem.

there's probably threads on this in some of the other forums, but seemed like a good question to ask for newbie.

I say don't ever sell until you have no choice, i.e. you have a need/want that you can't fulfill any other way.  Use all other resources, e.g. US dollars, before touching your stockpile of Bitcoins.

Alternatively, create an investment profile for yourself (or get help) and then adhere to the diversification ratios chosen; rebalance occasionally (not every day!).

Attempting to time the exchange rate is not a healthy endeavor.

Technical indicators like RSI, Stoch RSI and Money Flow Index can help to indicate overbought levels, strong/weak buying pressure and momentum, and divergences from security price that can indicate an incoming reversal. MACD indicator looks at momentum and trend -- divergences from price can indicate incoming reversal, and crossover signals indicate when a trend is broken. Average true range looks at volatility, which can indicate the strength of current price movement. Aroon Oscillator can also indicate trend strength. There are other indicators, but those are what I find most useful.

You could research Eliot Wave Theory, but it takes much time to master. Also, look into chart formations/patterns -- ending diagonals, head and shoulders, flags and pennants, etc.

And remember that whatever tools you use -- there is no guarantee. This is purely in the realm of probability.

Dont worry hardly any traders call bottoms and tops perfectly. In fact Trading is zero sum game, so some have to loose and some profit

The problem is that you can't sell after it starts to dip. So it you are trying to sell high buy low, then you need to be able to guess when it will turn which IMO is the hardest part.

This is due to the fact that when it starts going down again for example, noone is going to buy because a few seconds later, your price will already be more than the average price.

Sell when you're happy with the price. Keep hold of the coins too long and you might see them depreciate. Nobody can answer this question for you; you've just got to sell when you think the time is right. Personally I'd keep hold of the coins for at least a year or so, but you can make quite a bit of money on day trades, but this is time consuming and riskier knowing when to sell.

You can never predict the markets and there's no easy way to know when to sell, but the first principle is buy low and sell high; so just sell when you're happy with what you can get. If you're not; don't sell just yet. Nobody can give you a foolproof guide on how to play the markets, just learn from experience and have fun. Also only invest/gamble with what you can afford to lose.

In my opinion a good trader should sell if price is 50% above invested amount.
Greed is risky - to each his own.

You will find this section interesting once you get past newbie limits
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=7.0

Newbie should not try to trade, probably will pay for hard learned lessons. Just holding seems much safer option so far

Just do not sell until necessary : )

thanks for all the replies. this will get me started with currency trading 101. :) i did hit spots on the way up last night and am up .5 btc, although i already lost that today in another alt coin. learning.

no one can give you an answer that will give you what you need. many indicators, attempt to measure sentiment, chart formations, trends

I believe the general consensus is to sell for a profit.  Better position yourself to buy in for a deal and make more of a profit.  Simple rule of thumb being to buy low and sell high.  I think selling or buying should be done incrementally over a period of time for the most part.

You don't

Do your homework on cryptos and set yourself to hold over a multi year period and you will be fine

You can make quite a bit of money on daytrades, but like you said, I prefer to hold on to my coins and not worry about the stress of buying and continually selling.

Being the founder of a Bitcoin selling website I get many e-mails and reasons for selling. Of Course the latest reason for selling is people who bought or mined bitcoins back when they werent worth anything near what they are now are looking to cash in, especially at the Christmas period. We've also got a few bulk deals to buy a set amount from people who sell services and get paid in Bitcoin, especially with things like web hosting as they ultimately need to convert it into cash to pay suppliers.

Ultimately you decide when to sell. I still personally believe (perhaps its a gamble on my side) that its going to go up in value still.

My strategy is to hold them long term..

I have bought when it was $220 and almost died, but now it seems cheap.. so... I'm here for the long run..

I agree, only sell or spend when you need money, regardless of price

The price of Bitcoin always seems to dip over the weekend. I made 500 mBTC over the weekend by selling some of mine Friday morning and buying back in Sunday.

High flying day trader here :D.

Does it work every week? Seems too easy to be true

It's a gamble. But you have to make more on the weeks it does so , than you would end losing the weekend it does not :).

You can buy and just hold until the price rises. The thing is with Bitcoin it is very easy to make money because the price fluctuates so much and from one exchange to the other.