In defense of ebay

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I've never bought a coin worth more than about $50, so my experience with eBay has always been low-risk... but I also have never had a bad experience with eBay. Sometimes you can luck out with a great bargain. Unfortunately, the last coin shop in my hometown closed a couple years ago, so I don't have any local dealers to visit - the only chance I get to purchase from dealers is at coin shows.

 

Agree,,, in fact I'd say 95% on the 'bay are overpriced vs. what a dealer would offer to sell for directly. It's the 5% that I try to focus on...

 

I only collect for myself, I have no intention of ever selling. And my collection is by no means a high-grade collection - I only try to complete sets, not concerning myself with grade at all. I mean, sure, I may have been scammed into buying a counterfeit coin for all I know. But 1) that wouldn't really concern me too much anyway, since my collecting is just a hobby for me, not an investment, and 2) it's pretty unlikely that anybody would bother to make a low-grade common date coin to gyp me out of 10 bucks!

If sometime in the future I decided to acquire a higher-grade collection, I probably wouldn't use eBay at all. I just wouldn't feel comfortable using eBay to buy anything of real value as an investment. And I'm not necessarily detracting from eBay by saying this - my only reason for not trusting eBay is my inexperience.

So I guess what I'm saying is that for a collector like me (inexperienced but learning), for my purposes (low-grade, low cost, common filler coins), eBay can be perfectly fine. For me it's just the fun of trying to find a good deal.

 

...except for the ones that are posted by uninformed heirs and lazy collectors, underpriced by a significant margin, and snatched up within a minute or two of listing. I occasionally camp out at the top of the "newly listed" Buy It Now listings to catch these; occasionally, I'm quick enough.

Here are some lots of proofs that went for 20x face with free shipping this morning:

completed auctions for seller findthiscoin

If you're looking for specific items instead of ones with mass-market appeal, your timing constraints can be a little more relaxed. I picked up a few raw SLQs last night that look to be significantly undergraded and underpriced -- low-end stuff, but nicer than the AG/G examples I have from childhood.

The point is, eBay is a HUGE marketplace, and while there are lots of clueless folks trying to get ridiculously high BIN prices, there are also folks trying to get ridiculously LOW prices -- and succeeding, of course.

 

I have bought and sold on Ebay and have no problems buying, but when it comes to selling I have had problems. One person that I sold a standing liberty quarter wanted their money back. So I gave a refund and they sent me back a quarter of a different date than what I sold them. Had one guy wanted his money back after he cleaned all the coins I sent to him and he did not like how they turned out after the cleaning. Moral of the story is there are good dealers and BAD dealers as there are good buyers and bad buyers. And if you got taken buy a local coin dealer, who forced you to deal with that dealer? A teacher of mine, a long time ago told me " Knowledge is POWER" P.S. Do not ask how long ago I was in school as I can no longer count that high.

 

You're right, it's no different to me really - I guess that's my point. I buy from dealers at coin shows but I guess I'm too lazy to build those relationships with them. And I'm not good at haggling so I usually end up paying full trend. That's why I like to peruse eBay for the 50-60% trend bargains - it's somewhat of an extension of my hobby.

I also miss the opportunity to go to a physical shop and browse the inventory, and see the coins first hand. Nothing beats that.

 

I guess what I'm getting at is that when you are buying from a dealer at another location, whether or not you deal through eBay makes no difference to me. A dealer can be honest or dishonest in either case so the rule for both cases is Buyer Beware. I'm sure you can find good reliable dealers on eBay too. Since I'm somewhat new to this, I don't have any relationships with any dealers yet, so eBay is just as good a place to find them.

 

Realism is often mistaken for cynicism.

 

Hyperbole is not realism.

 

Can't always go by advice like that. I prefer and would love to exclusively buy from just local dealers, but that is almost impossible for most people. If you find a good, trustworthy internet dealer, I don't see a problem buying from them. I do it a few times a year.
Your dealer reminds me of the Snap-on guy telling me not to buy from the Mac dealer.

 

I don't have a neighborhood dealer, so ebay is my choice

 

I have bought silver art bars on ebay in the past and I will continue to do so. Like anything else, you have to know what you are collecting and you have to DYODD when it comes bidding on items and checking out the ebay seller as much as you can.

I have never sold anything on ebay but my experience as a person buying stuff on ebay has been good. Since I became an ebay member in 2006, I only had 2 bad transactions.

Ebay has helped me find rare silver art bars that I cannot find locally at a coin dealer or at a coin show. That is the reason that I am buying on ebay.

Even though I buy silver art bars on ebay, I prefer to buy them from my local dealers and from coin shows because the premiums are much lower than on ebay.

 

Ovalman, call me cynical, but the fact is that a certain percentage of sellers, on ebay and off, are dishonest. Buyers need to figure out which is which somehow. I prefer to be educated and find out in advance of getting screwed.

Skyler, at the risk of being called cynical again, your dealer has a vested interest in you not buying anything online. As cynical as I am, I very much appreciate the ability to buy from dealers nation-wide.

GDJMSP, thanks for the input, I'll be sure to PM Leadfoot.

 

Haha! this gave me a good laugh , I think it's funny but I disagree. I know almost all the dealers at my local coin store very well.

 

I agree but this is a little different than what you proclaimed in your 1st post!

I'm cynical by nature and very cautious when buying coins. Others here support their ebay experiences and I support them for the reasons they cite (mostly, because it's often the "only show in town"). But for me ebay was a major let-down. Of the dozen or so coins I initially purchased, 80% were, if not SNAD, very disappointing compared to their photos; even slabbed coins. The few raw coins I purchased—from "reputable" dealers with nearly 100% positive feedback—proved to be over-dipped or had other problems; one had PVC damage. The others were photographed to conceal obvious flaws (even the slabbed ones): stains, carbon spots, etc.

I learned I was too picky for ebay. All the second-guessing and squinting at bad photos, beyond having to return disappointing coins, wasn't worth it.

You began this thread by defending ebay and yet warning that everybody is trying to screw you (us). Have you tried other, safer auction venues such as Heritage or Teletrade? Better reputations, much better photographs and you're more or less assured of paying FMV.

 

Truth is always cynical.



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