Ebay Throws ANACS Under the Bus

I'm surprised this part of the backstory hasn't gotten more play. Albanese isn't just a numismatist, he's a heavy-hitting businessman with financial ties to PCGS, NGC and CAC. It's like your state insurance commissioner saying he just spoke with Warren Buffett and has decided that Geico offers the best auto coverage and so will get the most promotion. The whole thing stinks. I just hope ANACS gets their website in order by May 30; it sounds like they will.

 

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What I was pointing out was not what ANACS used to be, compared to what they are today, but rather that they shouldn't be lumped in with the bottom feeders and basement graders, like SGS.

Trust me, I know ANACS' standards are no where near what they were back when they began their grading service, and certainly is not comparable to PCGS or NGC.

 

I feel bad for the error collectors.

 

If I have a raw coin which is a variety rarity which I will not sell for less than $2,500, then I just change to a different auction site. eBay has the right to do what it wants with their site. I have the right to move my business to another site. Heritage and other Auction sites will just have to pick up the slack.

 

Compared to the 1,800 PCGS/NGC listings, I consider that a drop in the bucket and not worth crying over.

 

So long as it is not your ox getting gored, you are correct.

 

By sales volume in dollars Heritage might be ahead of eBay. By number of items sold, Heritage is dwarfed by eBay. And I don't have a problem with the rule demanding that coins over $2500 be certified by only NGC or PCGS. My much more serious concern lies in the way that ANACS will be specifically discrimated against in search arguements on the eBay site. It's just plain wrong, even a child can see that.

 

I must disagree. At 30 bucks a coin we all are giving NGC and PCGS all the kickback they could ever need.

 

Ummm

Perhaps one of the reasons ebay has done what it did concerning ANACS, ICG etc. are postings such as this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1909-S-MINT-ERROR-ICG-EF-40-Lincoln-Wheat-Cent-Penny-/180865738053?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item2a1c702545#ht_685wt_918

I mean seriously,

127,000+ ​

for an error coin? Again isn't this a bit outrageous? Maybe I'm wrong, but like I said, I don't get the extremely high price especially for a third rate TPG.

 

That same, or another, coin could be in a PGCS slab and the seller could still be asking 127,000. It's the seller, not ICG, that is to blame.

 

PCGS & NGC are the brand name grading companies. These are the companies who employ the best talent available for the job they do. They have the most strict standards and are the most respected.

Companies like ANACS and ICG are the value brand or the generic brand. They are cheaper and for all intents and purposes provide a similar service or in some cases even offer services that the other companies don't.

The problem with a value brand is that while it is similar... it will NEVER be exactly the same as the name brand.

It's the Cheerios / Tasty-O's mentality.

 

Every once in awhile I feel the need for some Tasty-O's..........

 

You clearly don't know what you are talking about. The PCGS, NGC, ANACS and ICG all trade in comparable ranges According to the Coin Dealer Newsletter. And these are for SIGHT UNSEEN NO-RETURN BIDS by dealers. When a return privilege or the ability to examine the coin in person is available the price differences will even be less.

 

There is absolutely zero security in having an online lookup of serial numbers. The fake slabs from China almost always show VALID on the PCGS and NGC lookups, because they use a real serial number matching the date and grade obtained from Heritage or Teletrade archives. The other requirements, such as at least one grader having had 5 years experience as a full time dealer and another grader must be a PNG member (with a $250,000 net worth!) are spurious. Same as the trade guilds and country clubs where they tailor the membership requirements so that no one except THEM qualifies to be in control. Is that more important than the fact that ANACS's J.P. Martin has taught grading and authentication classes at the ANA for 20 years (and has often taught the graders at NGC and PCGS!)

 

Only because eBay you can find raw, ungraded and uncertified, coins. Heritage, I didn't find anything that wasn't slabbed.

However, you have to realize that ANACS is not the TPG it once was. Their standards have slipped considerably, and; as Doug pointed out(I think it was Doug) they are no longer attached to the ANA either.

Is it right that they should be grouped with the bottom feeders/basement graders? I don't think they should be. But eBay is free enterprise and can make policy as they see fit.

 

FYI, before there was eBay, PCGS, NGC, ANACS, ICG had made their reputations in grading coins and their future business was based on those reputations.

Kick backs, as in sellers giving either of the TPGs a percentage of what they sell a slabbed coin for, was what I'm referring to.

I'll still bet the answer is none.

 

There is a reason my ox is not getting gored, because I would not purchase ANACS graded coins in that value range. IMO, E-Bay's decision is protecting the newbies from something most experienced collectors already know.

IMO, your chart supports Doug's point, not yours. Those are not comparable ranges and the chart shows that PCGS & NGC are clearly separated from the rest of the pack.

 

Actually, I was a test engineer for Lockheed for 11 years and 68-93, 56-81, 42-90 are indeed comparable
ranges. Even PCI and SEGS are not way out of the ball park. And these ranges are what people are willing to pay without even seeing the coin. As long as there is a return privilege as ebay defacto requires, what's the problem with letting the BUYER decide if the coin meets his standards?

 

It's still illegal to conspire to shut certain players out of the markets. See Sherman Anti-Trust Act. That's been the law since 1890.