Ebay - A protovdo dissertation

And therein lies part of the problem. How many times a day do you think a vendor hears that statement? And this goes both ways. How many vendors will say "That's selling for more than that on eBay"?

Again, I don't discount eBay as an option, but like it's been said earlier, you need to be very careful. Too many people get a couple coins and think they're a numismatist. Too many people believe selling a couple coins makes them "dealers". And the internet creates too many "experts".

 

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There are so many misrepresent coin errors on ebay as well. If you are not familiar with coin production, it's best to keep away from them.

 

Good lord......Ebay is just another source of coins. It is a secondary auction market for dealers, hobbyists, collectors changing coins, and other auction houses. To put it down is insane--I have gotten so many coins on Ebay that are gorgeous, and priced far better than the dealers in my area. As far as bad coins, and returned items, and misrepresented items, I have had maybe a handful of bad experiences in the 11 years that I have been using Ebay. Do I go to dealers and use auction houses as well? Of course. Honestly, the prices are MUCH higher from a lot of brick and mortar shops than if one finds a good deal, or makes a good offer on Ebay. One has to know what one is looking for, obviously, but it is a huge and valuable resource.

 

Just for the record, I buy my coins wherever I can.

 

Local coin shows (not the large national ones that I'd have to buy a plane ticket to get to) might as well be held at nursing homes given the demographics there....and there are almost NEVER good deals to be found. B&M shops in the past 3-5 years have become precious metal exchange points.

Heritage and Teletrade (as Doug you mentioned) are also good online sources of coins (and GreatCollections.com I might add). TT and Heritage both take what I consider borderline "bad" pictures of coins, but I know several sellers on eBay that take FAR better pictures of coins, and are willing to work with you on price and have seriously top notch coins and great return policies. The key is knowing who are the good and who are the bad on eBay. Making a generalized statement or "dissertation" as the OP has about eBay is just outright silly and uninformed. Also saying that eBay should be a "last resort" is unfair...and makes it clear that Doug has been away from collecting for a while (with all due respect).

For beginners eBay can be a labyrinth to traverse. But, if you've been buying there for several years you learn how to interpret pictures, you look for things like return policies, and you develop relationships with good dealers that lead to recurring purchases (sometimes taken off of eBay to save a little money). One addition source of great coins not mentioned by Doug is from fellow members of coin forums (like this one). Some of my favorite coins in my collection come from the buy/sell/trade boards of coin forums.

Just my 2 cents...

 

That is funny! And true!

 

Originally Posted by mill rat41
I would rely on eBay less if my local shops and shows were open at 2am and would allow me in the door with a beer in my hand wearing my boxers.

tenacious

• That is funny! And true!
  
  Me
  
  And I might add leads to dissapointment on what we sometimes buy.
  

 

I prefer shopping in person at my loacl coin shops. But, to be honest, they only carry the basics. Where would one go to find a rare token of which only 10 are known, or a rare note from a local bank? Ebay and other online venues open up a world of collecting that 1000 shops cannot compete with. It's just not possible for any one shop to have everything one collector might want, requiring other options be needed.

I'm luck in that I have three shops within a 20 mile drive. I work on-call and don't have the luxury of planning a trip to a distand shop or a show, nor do I have the option of taking days off. But, I have friends who would have to drive in excess of 300 miles to locate the nearest coin shop. That would consume an entire day.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge advocate for shopping in and experiencing the personal attention that only a coin shop can offer. But many times other means must be utilized. Thats just life.
Guy

 

No sir, what we are saying is there ARE just as good if not better sources for many coins, but far too many people think they can ONLY get coins from Ebay because by definition Ebay will be cheapest. That used to be true to an extent 10+ years ago, but not any longer. For normal dealer coins I actually find Ebay more expensive than most other sources.

 

I prefer the shops and shows but the other venues work too.

 

Why Ebay when you can http://www.webstore.com/index.php with no fees?
I do enjoy a good coin show.