Have you noticed that searches on vcoins now do not return any coins under $25 unless you specifically uncheck a new filter they introduced? (It is on the left, under "Applied filters".) EDIT: They contacted me and said they would change the default back. You will be able to use that filter if you opt to use it. See my followup post below. I find it astonishing that they would do such a thing which is against the interests of their customers (and against the interests of any sellers who would like to sell coins under $25). Why would they keep us from seeing low-priced coins? A few days ago I did some searches on various types of Byzantine copper coins and thought they seemed high priced--none less than $25! It didn't occur to me that vcoins had applied a filter I did not want or even know about. Then, this morning, someone on a different list commented on the new filter. If you ever use vcoins, I recommend you go there and try any search that might yield inexpensive coins. Select "Price: lowest first." If everything is $25 or more, look to the left and uncheck the filter they applied without your consent.
I really like the format of Vcoins with so many ancients dealers all within reach. This type of change is not ideal though. A search shouldn’t change its default settings all of a sudden. Maybe it’s me but as I gain more experience as a collector it seems some dealers on Vcoins is also a little pricey. I am happy that @Ken Dorney and @Victor_Clark are some of the dealers which still maintain great coins and prices.
If a coin dealer sells one coin of $15, handling is relatively expensive to the point of earning almost nothing. If you have to live from selling coins, time is money. As for the price of coins on Vcoins, I'm sure being a member of this worldwide platform cost 15 or 20% of the price of the coin. And the buyer pays more, but there's some guarantee and you can trust most sellers. Ebay is often cheaper, but you are completely on your own there.
That is the kind of underhanded move that makes people lose trust with your platform. I thought they had more integrity than that... John
It's not completely underhanded. If you hover over the Applied Filters there's a pop-up screen that says it is 'based on demand'. Before you judge, ask yourself if there might be a good reason for this. Or maybe ask someone at Vcoins.
Thanks for the observation @Valentinian ! I was wondering the same thing a while back—whether or not something had changed. A couple of months ago, I noticed some subtle changes to their page design and the site does not seem as user-friendly as I once remembered it to be. It's still a great site, but I'm glad that someone else has noticed it and I'm not just imagining it
Good news! I was contacted by the vcoins administration and they said they intended to add a banner to the search page to make the new default clear but they hadn't yet. So, to avoid problems they will change the default to be as it used to be without the filter (that is, searches bring up all items) and allow you to filter out low-priced items (i.e. don't see items under $25) if you choose to use that filter. I give vcoins good marks for being so responsive. Those who only want to see top coins can search with filter, and those who want to see $20 Gordian III's and Constantines can see them all.
I still have a bad taste in my mouth about VCoins dating back to when the original owner sold it and I had to move my website from their space. They have made many improvements in recent years but the VCoins I loved no longer exists and I still feel the need to apply the same care there that I do with eBay. There are really fine sellers both places. There are people I would not touch both places. I have had recent problems with messages sent through their 'contact us' system never being answered. Running an operation like VCoins would require a lot more hard work and ability than I could ever muster so I should not be so hard on them. I am. I would think that more of the VCoins dealers would be happy cheap coins do not show. When you do any search on any venue you will note some coins are more expensive than others. Sometimes we see terrible coins at twice the price of nicer ones. If one seller is offering things at $15 that others list at $50, the high price crowd would certainly prefer that fewer people would see the coins. I am hard to convince that the hobby as a whole is made better by those who buy at retail and set up as pretend full service dealers trying to convince beginners that they represent the true market. I started in the hobby when I had no money for expensive coins but was treated then like someone who might still be a customers decades later. Over half of the coins I have bought in recent years are from dealers I have known for 25+ years. I'm not sure I see how hiding coins under $25 will produce more long term customers in decades to come.
This is just a typical internet business ploy designed to maximize profits. Yes it's sneaky but small stuff compared to Ebay, Amazon, and elsewhere. From CNN: The Internet allows shoppers to easily compare prices across thousands of stores. But it also enables businesses to collect detailed information about a customer's purchasing history, preferences, and financial resources -- and to set prices accordingly. So when you buy an airplane ticket or a DVD online, you may pay a higher -- or lower -- price than another customer buying the very same item from the very same site. Why? Because the information the site has compiled on you suggests that you may be willing to pay more -- or less -- than others for that item. Amazon has been caught doing this. I suspect Ebay is doing something similar. I've noticed that sometimes when I search for something on Ebay they don't always show me the lowest price item even when I ask them to. Is it a glitch or are they playing their customers? It's not easy to prove because algorithms can be designed to be flexible and can be turned off and on erratically. The deregulation going on now has turned the internet into a swindlers paradise, a sort of wild west for clever cyber-bandits. Thank the government as you bend over!
Do they have a filter for sellers yet? I’d like to exclude some of the dealers where miraculously all of their coins have the same red or yellow “desert patina”.
I was just noticing that the Yellow Patina Company seems to have cut back on that practice, at least in the Roman Egypt section! I may be tempted by some of their tets and drachms now that I can see what they look like once the makeup is removed .
