The fact that ebay sent this as an email making it sound like it's "the deal of a lifetime". The subject line was "our best offer yet on silver coins". orThe fact that apmex sold these for $24.39 each: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-1-oz-Silver-Canadian-Maple-Leaf-Lot-5-/111092121024?pt=US_Bullion_Coins&hash=item19dd9b3dc0 or 892 of them sold. or Provident metals had these for $22.15 each, but 892 people (or several people with a total of 892 orders) thought $24.39 was a better price. I've never used Apmex, considering they charge close to $12 to ship a single coin, and Provident is $6.95 flat rate.
people can sell at whatever price they want, and buyers can buy at whatever price they want. why do you care if they paid 24.39?
Because that alone is proof that people don't check around 1st to see who has it the cheapest, they bought it because ebay said "our best offer yet on silver coins". It appears Apmex and Ebay are now in bed together since Apmex has teamed up with eBay. Of course...I'm sure Apmex is being charged fees, so they jack their prices up. What I find funny is the 2013 maple leaf is $23.23 on the Apmex website, so it appears that Apmex does indeed charge higher prices on eBay.
APMEX shipping on Ebay is like $4.95 for first coin and I think a $1 each coin thereafter. Also their price would assume you are using PayPal so you would have to compare it to Provident's credit card price not the cash price. Lastly, if the buyers are from Texas they would have to pay 8% sales tax on orders under $1,000 from Provident but ZERO from APMEX on Ebay.
I charge higher prices on Ebay as well. you have to factor in the fees. If I offer a coin for sale on cointalk for 10.00, I will ask 12.00 on ebay. Ebays job is to market to potential buyers, to increase sales, so they can make more fees.
It's all about perspective. If the buyer clicks on the "buy it now" and believes they got a deal and they feel good about it because they don't know any better, good for them. With the tank job metals are taking tonight, they might not feel so good about it in the morning, but such is life when speculating in precious metals.
Any seller with any horse sense charges higher prices on eBay - so you can let eBay take their usury. Any potential buyer with any horse sense finds stuff on eBay and contacts the reputable seller outside of eBay and negotiates for a realistic price. Most reputable sellers have websites or other venues through which you can contact them. Heck, even one of our forumites, will work with you on price if you contact him on something he has on eBay - but want to buy outside of eBay like I did with an Icelandic 2 Kronur coin a while back.
I don't see what the big deal is. They are a couple dollars more than the other site? Not everyone is going to buy from the cheapest place.
APMEX charges 12.95 for shipping on their site, and $4.95 for the first irem and 25 cents for additional items on ebay, so it depends on what and how much you are buying that determines what is a better deal between their two options. Smaller lots would be cheaper on ebay...larger would be cheaper on their site.
