Why not a good eBay seller pinned thread??

I am a rookie and buy inexpensive ancient coins that interest me and help me to learn about and enjoy my new hobby/obsession. eBay scares me and I stay away.. but I do like searching for deals (like anyone else) and the auction process is enjoyable so it is frustrating that this large resource is pretty much off limits. I just do not have the experience at this point to determine real from fake in most cases.
I really love the Forvm members auction as I believe enough experienced eyes are on it to keep it clean. But the volume/turnover isn't huge.
I know Forvm and other sites keep up to date "Fake eBay Seller" lists and these are useful to a point but it only takes a few minutes to change an eBay name and post again.
So why not a list of reliable eBay sellers for us newbies? I see hints all over this site with titles or comments like "still good deals to be found on eBay" or "got it from that seller again" and responses to these comments can be "he has great stuff ", etc.. but the sellers name is never mentioned. I don't know if it is fear of praising one seller while not mentioning another? No idea.
Being new to Ancient Coin collecting is very daunting.. in many cases that is what makes it a great and enjoyable challenge. eBay on the other hand is a minefield for newbies and I think this can turn off potential collectors from the hobby in general. Am I way off base here? That is entirely possible lol .... cheers and Happy Friday!

 

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That would be a highly subjective list. I see people praising a particular seller and wonder if they have even bought from many other sellers. There are dozens and dozens (maybe even hundreds) of "good" sellers on eBay. A list like this would soon turn unwieldy and probably not be so useful.

 

So true. The bad ones have given the good sellers a bad name. However, it pays to be diligent no matter the source.

 

@Clavdivs

Who would be responsible for maintaining such a list in alphabetical order? It's never gonna happen!

Chris

 

I used to sell on eBay and quit because of eBays lack of care to sellers getting ripped off. I would recommend to the young buyer of the ancients always without question look through the sellers feedback and do not buy if the person has negative feedback. A person can make a mistake but not multiple negative comments. stay away from people that have been found to have sold fakes in the past . If they done it once they more then likely will do it again. Only buy from seller with good feedback that says it is nice to deal with an honest dealer etc. Be aware there are more waiting to scam you by over grading their items then there are true honest sellers. Find someone that treats you good and tell them what your looking to buy and have them help you find items through their connections. Treat your money like its your last dollar and always try to make an offer for your items this will save you money. Some dealers over price expecting to accept a bit lower price. Stick with the winners and 100% positive feedback and you will do fine . Good luck , nice to hear about younger people in the market.

 

Holding_History has a variety of Ancient to modern auctions. I’ve made a purchase with this vendor and it was a good experience.

 

Whether or not to have various "pinned" threads is discussed with some frequency and the feelings expressed are mostly negative. Plus, there are plenty of resources for where to buy coins.

 

Chris[/QUOTE]

@ Chris - I did not ask for an alphabetical list to be maintained. My idea was a "pinned" thread at the top of the Ancient discussion board. On this thread members could add a comment mentioning a seller that they use or have had a great experience with. Then if well known members were to "like" a comment it may add additional credibility to a particular post. Perhaps the thread could be locked down so only "paying" long time CoinTalk members could post to it - to avoid spam? The rest could just view?
I certainly don't have the full answer to this problem - but there must be something that can be done to help new collectors.

 

CoinTalk is not big into pinned threads. Won't happen.

 

Why must there be something done to help new collectors? Is it incumbent on seasoned collectors to hold the hands of new collectors? Having said that, this forum is very helpful for new collectors. There comes a point, though, when you have to educate yourself. For starters, read old threads and ask questions if you don't find an answer. Everyone was a new collector at one time and had to go through the learning process.

 

oh well - just a thought.

 

Thank you for this post. I appreciate it.

 

It is a great thought.

What I did before I began posting (I was in the background for a couple years), was to use the SEARCH function (upper right in the thread). I also browsed old threads. Just doing that was super helpful for me to come into the Discussions with a reasonable amount of knowldege.

I also google / web search a lot. Yeah, we all know this, but it helps me become more informed so that I need only ask surgical-strike questions.

I did some homework, had bought/trusted this seller for some time, and was able to get this little guy a few years ago from one of our new CT Members:


Thrace Lysimachus AE 14 306 BC Apollo forepart of Lion
Ex: @Blake Davis (Mortown Coins on eBay)

(yeah, I invited and bugged him for a couple years to join CT. He finally has, and has really made some nice contributions to the Ancients Forum!)

ALSO, please note: There are MANY people posting here who I have purchased coins from via their eBay site or their own Website. I usually pick those sites up through reading the threads. I am only picking on Blake as he is a very new member. I can name several, but my spotty brain will not remember everyone, and I do not want to slight anyone!

 

Yes, you did and I am very happy to have joined - this can be a lonely hobby when you do it all by yourself. I even recall the coin!

 

you can always ask here about a seller or coin that you are looking to buy or have bought on ebay( or anywhere for that matter). either way there are +'s and take aways to that (i.e. you get good advice then someone bids against you or you got to hassle with sending a coin back) you have to remember this is an open forum and purdy much anybody can be lookin' at your stuff here.. you're not alone, but then again, remember that

 

As with all eBay sellers, look for 1000+ feedbacks, a 99%+ positive rating and no mention of fake coins in the neutral/negative feedbacks - not foolproof, but a sound starting point - also, make sure the seller specializes in a single category, i.e. ancient coins

 

Yes, but... please don't post coins which are currently up for auction. Someone else here might be targeting the coin and drawing more attention to it might benefit the seller but not the bidders. Also, if it is already being seriously targeted by another CT member and they win, when they post the coin people might perceive this as "stealing" the coin from another member (they'd be wrong, but perception is reality).

As for posting coins publicly listed in a "retail" venue or fixed price list, I think that's a bad idea too although the biggest risk is to the person posting the coin (someone else might buy it as a result of seeing it here).

I encourage you and others to ask for opinions via private messaging if you are not yet comfortable choosing your own targets. I bet the PM section of CT is busier than the public section. You can even have group messages. It's a great way to discuss upcoming auctions without drawing unwanted attention to the coins.

If there is an interesting coin you want to discuss (but not necessarily to buy) and it is in an auction which has not yet closed, please bookmark the coin and delay your question until after the auction ends.

 

I understand the spirit behind the OP suggestion. However, I would agree with the judgment that this list could be problematic. I remember one thread on this board that praised "good" sellers happened to feature a seller that I thought had serious ethical problems. I didn't want to be silent, fearing my silence might allow others to think this seller was one of the really good ones. But I didn't want to be on the record criticizing the dealer in a public forum. The truth is, it's possible to have a few isolated good experiences with a "bad" seller, and vice-versa.

I would recommend hanging out on this board and getting to know some experienced collectors. If there's a pricey coin on eBay you like, a PM asking "what do you think about this coin...?" might result in some helpful guidance. I've done that a few times with some generous and genial experts on this board.

 

suggestions i've employed are:

1. go on vcoins
and find sellers with coins and descriptions you
like. then google search them to see if they have
an ebay presence.

2. go on sixbid and find auction
houses you like. then google search to see if they
have ebay presence.

this is very personal. for example,
one of my pet peeves while starting out were sellers
who would flip from auctions and leave condition info
out of descriptions. this made me feel like the sellers
were trying to hide something (or trick me), so i would
not buy from them. my coin
eyes have matured a bit so do not mind as much now.

 

I've used this option a handful of times and SOOO APPRECIATE all the assistance I've received from everyone that has given me their time, expertise, and responses.