What about eBay?

Discussion in 'Frequently Asked Questions' started by jody526, Jan 30, 2005.

  1. jolumoga

    jolumoga Active Member

    Oh, the nature of eBay forces its prices to be generally uncompetitive. Since eBay charges steep fees, sellers are forced to overprice their coins to break even or profit. One advantage for sellers is that there are many beginning collectors who do not realize how overpriced eBay is. But like I wrote before, if you use the search engine wisely and wait for bargains, they will come. Today I won a Peace dollar semi-key date that was way, way below the greysheet value.
     
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  3. krkan

    krkan New Member

    Does anyone know if there is a site to sell coins and paper money similar to ebay? I am getting absolutely killed by the fees and it just isn't worth it anymore. I will try it one more month and then just quit my work with them.

    If anyone knows a site please share the link if you don't mind.

    Thank You
     
  4. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    Sure, there are hundreds of other web sites where you can sell your coins. Coin Talk itself is but one of them. Problem is, none of them are as effective as ebay.

    The cost of doing business is the cost of doing business. You either pay it, or you get out of business.
     
    geekpryde likes this.
  5. Saint Bunny

    Saint Bunny New Member

    You are so correct.
     
  6. DCMicheal

    DCMicheal Direct Coins

    Agree. Before selling anything you need to check eBay fees and PayPal fees. The exposure on eBay is why you pay a premium.
     
  7. Maximum Coinage

    Maximum Coinage New Member

    I feel like buying something and hoping for it to go up like that is suicidal, as well as taking the chance on rare coins (unless the seller has good feedback).
     
  8. jon12

    jon12 Young Numismatic

    I like buying on eBay, but every time I try to sell I lose money!
     
  9. ToughCOINS

    ToughCOINS Dealer Member Moderator

    eBay is expensive, as is PayPal, but I put up with both because they save me the overhead associated with maintaining a brick and mortar storefront, and they provide some services that I would have to pay others for if I didn't use eBay.

    Do I like the cost? No. In fact, I shut down my eBay store for 30 days when they announced their latest fee increase. Then, I began relisting only coins priced at $250 and less, moving coins over $250 to my website. Finally, after they reduced the increase from 7% to 6%, I began listing more new coins again.

    Will I live with it? Until they raise fees again . . . or until traffic to my website renders eBay far less significant.
     
  10. jon12

    jon12 Young Numismatic

    Will you post a link to your website.
     
  11. ToughCOINS

    ToughCOINS Dealer Member Moderator

    I'm not sure I can post my website in messages, but I've tried adding it to my signature, as suggested by Peter, so let's see if it shows up when I post this reply.
     
  12. digibyte

    digibyte Member

    One of my pet peeves with eBay is that many sellers over grade their coins so you need to be a detective to figure out what you'll receive when you win a bid. You have to examine the photos closely and ask the right questions before you place a bid. Some sellers are pretty good at working with the photos too so you can't rely on photos alone. Buyer protection is good, but it can be a real pain and time consuming. Sometimes it is better to find an honest dealer and you get to examine the coin in hand and pay a fair price.
     
    jolumoga likes this.
  13. ToughCOINS

    ToughCOINS Dealer Member Moderator

    If you're still looking for my website, you can find it in a Want To Sell post I added for an 1844-O Half Dime.
     
  14. slackaction1

    slackaction1 Supporter! Supporter

    Its risky, but I use money order to pay on ebay. since 2000 I have only been burnt once for 32.00
     
  15. jolumoga

    jolumoga Active Member

    eBay is a good place to sell coins because at times buyers will overpay, somewhat offsetting the fees. Plus you get to enjoy the heavy traffic.

    As far as buying from there: make sure you inspect the photos closely. I have screwed up lately by not scrutinizing photos very, very carefully. I know photos can be deceiving, but usually a problem coin will show some indicator on a photo. The key is that many sellers omit the problems in the description. It's been a learning experience, though.
     
  16. CoinsExplorer

    CoinsExplorer Member

    I usually buy the coin and return it immediately if it was not 'graded' properly. As a buyer you hold the cards. Sometimes the picture quality is just terrible.

     
  17. CoinsExplorer

    CoinsExplorer Member

    If you are not buying on eBay then where are you buying? I have been able to buy in 1K-5K amounts from a local dealer at a nice price to make a profit on eBay.

     
  18. digibyte

    digibyte Member

    I 100% agree with you that it is essential to carefully inspect the photos and if you can hold the item in your watch list and check it again before you make a bid. The same thing has happened to me a couple of times where I didn't notice something in the photo and then win the bid. You are also correct about the descriptions. Beware of those that post photos that are blurry and can't be enlarged.
     
  19. john1942sept

    john1942sept Member

    PayPal is 2.9% + .30 - higher than most credit card transactions. Ebay includes shipping in your total value fee so I can't find a good way to avoid that with e-bay. And the e-bay fees for non-sales are a real breaker.
     
  20. STACKERDENNIS

    STACKERDENNIS Keep Stacking!

    so much awesome info on this forum!
     
  21. giorgio11

    giorgio11 Senior Numismatist

    I checked out your website, nicely done! I like the design and details.

    Best Regards, :)

    George
     
    treylxapi47 and ToughCOINS like this.
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