I have heckled a few myself. Someone selling a shiny wheat penny from the '50s for $300. I send them a message that I'll sell them an entire roll of the same coin for $300. Wonder why I never hear back from them.
That's tame compared to some eBay listings. It's about 3x the average price. You need to get to 10x+ for an unremarkable coin before it becomes delusional.
That is just bad - this is delusional. First not 1883/2, second not xf to au. I just gotta laugh at some of auctions. I see these filled 2's all the time as 83/2. I used to try to tell the sellers - but gave up over time.
I collect militaria as well and I have seen some ridiculous stuff on ebay. Like an extremely rusty helmet being sold as "rare". News flash, they made tens of millions of them so it was definitely not rare. And in the condition it was in it was practically worthless.
Hmm. Never saw anyone on Ebay. How can you see through the computer screen. They hear Us online though. Very scary.
I would hazard a guess that 50% or more listings on eBay are delusional. It is more normal than abnormal to see inflated costs and terrible listings. I can't blame seeing coins a little on the high side, however. eBay takes a hefty cut, and then shipping takes its share. Selling on eBay is often at a loss for me and only done because I don't have any other market whereby to sell. If I sell a $100 coin, between 15-20% is going straight to eBay and the post office. Usacoinbook is way better, but very few people seem to be on there. My only success selling there has been junk silver at around 80% of spot.
Ebay can get you the biggest audience, but there are other ways to sell. So depending on what you are selling sometimes you can consign to specialists. Like my large cents album I consigned to a really good seller. It was a 15% sellers fee with minimum of $5. Some things I just flat out take to the local shop - just so I do not have to mess with shipping it or selling it any other way - of course that typically nets me less than consigning. Another way to sell is using greatcollections - you can send in raw or graded coins - since not sure of what you are selling not sure if it is viable option or not. Just something to think about.
I had a seller tell me to make an offer on their Morgan so I did. Couple hundred less than he wanted. (I've had other sellers accept offers for over $300 off). Seller declined and said he already had a dealer lined up who was offering what he wanted and would sell it to them if it didn't sell soon. Then RAISED the price a couple hundred. Its still for sale.
I've been browsing eBay even just to see what some people are asking for regarding coins I have. Even with my abysmal knowledge of things there are people who seemed delusional. There are coins I have seen in what I am guessing are worse condition than mine(certainly more worn at any rate) and people are asking outrageous amounts compared to general worth I've found. Makes me want to avoid dealing with it.
There are deals galore to be had on eBay, you just have to have the patience of Job and a lot of free time to wade through thousands of listings. You can use their filters to drill down on what you are looking for, but the good deals are midweek auctions in the middle of the day expiring without using the filter. Being retired, I have time for such nonsense and when I'm bored, it's a fun way to pass the time. But the amount of nonsense is mind numbing, so take it for what it's worth.
