I've been looking in eBay for a few days now and I've seen some good deals, I was wondering if someone can tell me if eBay is a good coin buying site, or is it just filled with scams? Whos the best to buy from? How can I tell if a coins a scam? Thanks for you input! -Maxim. GL&HH
Yes, it's a good site provided you know what you're doing. There are some fakes out there but I wouldn't say it's full of scams. Just make sure you look closely at the pictures, read the description and know how much you want to bid and stick with it. I've bought and sold thousands of coins with very few problems there. When I have had a problem it's usually because I didn't pay close enough attention to what I was buying. Just pay close attention if something seems too good to be true, and if you're buying a rare coin, be especially diligent in looking carefully and reading the seller's feedback.
The basics are as mentioned I think, check feedback, read their neutrals even; know what the general worth of something is before buying-in other words, be familiar with it; be careful buying overseas, or don't do it at all (I don't); and a final suggestion is to not mention feedback in your correspondence with seller if something goes wrong. If there's any mention of leaving poor feedback or hinting of it, ebay will delete your negative comment in the sellers favor, even if you are mostly right. It's stated somewhere you can't mention feedback you'll leave otherwise it's a violation of policy
That says it, right there. Ebay will drive you from numismatics, bitterly disappointed and holding a grudge, if you are not perfectly comfortable evaluating coins - usually from imperfect images - and vetting the quality of the sellers you wish to do business with. If you have those skills, Ebay is a target-rich environment and you have the cheat code for unlimited ammo.
If you stay away from raw coins and basement slabs on ebay you will probably have eliminated about 95% of the potential problems you can have with ebay. Most of the scams and duds happen when people get overly excited and blinded by the potential for a great deal. 99.99% of the time on ebay when it is to good to be true that's because it is in fact to good to be true. Personally I don't think the selection is as good as it used to be, but there is still a lot of coins on there and can be a good place to look. It is a much better place to buy from than sell from.
I like to buy coins off of eBay, I've bought a lot and turned around and sold them for twice or more than what I paid..
if you are buying key dates buy them in slabs from PCGS or NGC, and even ANACS. know how much you want to spend. always look at their feedback rating. see if they have a return option. I have bought many coins off Ebay. the only problem I had with 2 coins was the waiting a while to get them.
eBay is by far the biggest place to buy and sell coins, thousands of coins are sold each week. Nothing else comes close to it. That said, it can also be a minefield for novice buyers who are not familiar with the scams that go on with crooked sellers. Take the time to learn how eBay works before diving in.
If you see something with mediocre pics, message the seller and ask for more pics, if they won't upload or send you more you don't want to buy from them.
I think several tips can save you lots of heartache, if not money too: Avoid sellers with less than 99% positive feedback (generally, pains in the neck to deal with) Avoid coins listed with blurry photos, or request that better photos be posted Avoid sellers using an entirely different background for most every coin being offered (almost certainly "borrowed" photos) Avoid "Chance" lots (rolls, bags or chests of unsearched coins were probably not searched by the eBay seller, but bought in very large lots at steep discounts from other wholesalers who had already scraped off the good coins) View skeptically those sellers of expensive items, having little or no feedback for the past year (likely long dormant accounts that have recently been hijacked) Try to avoid coins without a return privilege (every coin is different, and even the best photos cannot reveal all detail) If you want to buy a coin listed without a return privilege, try to convince the seller to add one (In my experience, whenever a seller refused to offer a return privilege, and I bought the coin anyway, I learned afterward that there was something the seller was hiding) If it looks too good to be true, it probably is . . . eBay is not the same fertile treasure trove that it once was . . . but for those with great instincts and a tolerance for risk, it still works.
I've probably bought several hundred coins on ebay, and sold quite a few too. If you follow the guidelines above, most transactions go well. In my experience it's the overseas sellers that I have had a couple of bad deals with - one was a fake, one never arrived. Be ready to return a coin that was really misrepresented, and on the other hand sometimes an item is better then you thought it would be. Personally I usually bid conservatively. If you know your coins, there are good deals on ebay, sometimes stuff slips through too cheap. If I could attend lots of shows, had great shops close, etc. I might think differently, but ebay has worked pretty good for me.
Great analogy dave! Anybody remember the Contra code for NES... up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, A, B, A, B, start. Those were the days! (And I can't believe I still remember that)
I sell raw coins all the time on eBay from consignors who want fast cash and don't want to get it graded. https://www.collectors.com/seller/ebay/93?subseller=thecrownejewels1
Like everything else in life - if you don't know what you're doing, DON"T DO IT!!! If it seems too good to be true, it's, most probably, not true! Read the book before you buy the coin! Buy the coin, not the holder! Nevertheless, if a holder/label is important to you and if you trust someone else's opinion about the coin you want to buy, make sure it's the opinion of someone reliable (NGC, PCGS, ANACS and ICG). There are to many UNRELIABLE grading services to name, but NNC, ANI, TRUGRADE, INB, PGS, GEC, HCGS PEGS, SGS,etc. are just a few. Also, regarding grading companies - read this article: http://www.ebay.com/gds/COIN-GRADING-SERVICES-ARE-NOT-ALL-EQUAL-/10000000001628812/g.html as well as the other/additional articles that are written
I've bought from EBay for a long time and never really had any problems with them. Like others said here proceed with caution, but there a lot of good deals and Yes bad. The sellers will work with you and if they want to sell you would get a pretty good deal like grey sheet prices sometime. Avoid the low rating and most anything from China.
You could be right, I may have transposed them. It's been around 25yrs since I played it. I do remember though that for 2 player you had to push select before start.
