Sometimes ebay isn't all bad...

I hear lots of "horror stories" about getting ripped off on ebay, thought i would share one on the opposite side.

I am a huge fan of U.S. commemorative coins (pre 82) as you can probably deduce form my sig and avatar I am also keenly interested in the original packaging that a lot of these coins came in. The original holders can be insanely rare, and i am always on the lookout for them.
Earlier this year I came across a listing for a 1937 Arkansas set in its original packaging, fresh out of an estate safe. Attached is an image form the original auction. The auction had a buy it now of $600 or so, I made a fair offer of $450. The greysheet lists an ms64 set at around $350, so I was making a pretty strong offer. I was really after the case
They accepted. I received the coins and they where amazingly original, the seller was not lying when they said it was fresh out of a safe. The toning alone told the story; the backs had dark toning in the fields and bright white high surfaces form being in contact with the flocked case, the fronts had color but also very subtle patination form the protective cotton like material that they placed over the coins. the case was in amazing shape, the gold lettering was mostly gone, but i am not sure most of the sets had good lettering to begin with. It also included the stacks paper insert, so it was really complete.

I decided to submit the coins to NGC for grading. I have every intention of keeping the set together, along with the packaging and documentation tying the coins with that set for posterity.

Imagine my surprise when the set came back ms-66

That's $4400 ask! off the freakin charts!
to be fair, one coin graded 65, the other 2 at 66. I figure the wholesale cost if i where to turn it over for fast cash is at least $2500 without the packaging. At auction I would guess more around $3500+/- range.

So yea... cloud nine here.

Also, to add to my incredible string of good luck... on the same submition i sent in a Booker T Washington PDS set that I won in open auction for $120, it also came back as 2 ms-66's and one 65... a full 66 set is $900

And also there is anger and frustration; an Albany I purchased in its original packaging, with tab toning and all, body bagged as cleaned. Which is utter nonsense. I will definatly be giving them a call over that one. I pulled it out of its original mailing envelope!

So yea... ebay. Love it or hate it... there is gold in them there hills if you are careful.
:eat:

 

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Congratulations! Seems you and I are the only 2 who think you can get descent coins from eBay. I have posted a similarly titled thread at least once.

 

I have gotten quite a few keepers over the years. Just keep a lookout and you can find some goodies. Tom

 

Good job Ranch, hard work does pay off.:high5:

 

Lovely looking coins you got there, and I agree you can get nice coins and notes on ebay and you can also meet some realy lovely people in the process :hug:

 

I too believe you can get good/great bargains off eBay.
You just have to be up on prices AND patient.

I just got an AU-55 Capped Bust half dime below greysheet Bid.
Pictures when it arrives.

 

nope, I have found myself in the position of defending eBay quite often on this and other forums. I have had a few frustrating experiences on ebay but on the whole, out of hundreds of buys, I have had just a few bad experiences and all the others either went well and I got what I paid for with no problems or I got a decent deal.

EBay is as bad as the seller you are dealing with...if they are crooked or one of those guys who just has a real bad attitude and itching for drama...then its not as much the fault of eBay as it is the person using eBay. If you get a good person selling what he says he is selling, again...its not eBay but you found a good seller on eBay and he goes into the favorite seller list.

I almost feel sorry for eBay employees knowing that they must deal with some real nutbags. I would not want to have to be the one who has to mediate between two ornery jerks who think they are gods gift to the world and never wrong...a seller whose best attempt at customer service is 'The coin is real and screw you if you think its fake' or a buyer whose best attempt at an opening line in a complaint to a seller is 'you are crooked scumbag'...If you are a seller, its not going to help the situation to be an ass right out of the gate and if you are a buyer looking for a refund, its not going to go smooth if the first thing you do is call the guy a crook...I have found that some people are simply unable to be civil.

People who whine ***** and complain about eBay not jumping to attention as they send them information about coins they find that they think are fake arent realizing that they get this all the time...they dont know you from adam and they are not going to take marching orders from joe blow who contacts them as he finds fakes. They dont know you and what you know and you might not know as much as you say...Nor is eBay a coin specialist site, they are not an authentication service...they dont want to be nor do I want them to be...they are just a venue...buyer beware. I dont want them to HIRE experts because them prices will reflect that. People want eBay to do so much, the more eBay does, the more they will charge...and them people will whine about that as well.

I DONT want eBay removing coins simply because user10293 emails them and assures them its fake...

There are good deals to be had here and there and you can find coins and items that you might have a hard time finding any other way...they are a valuable service...not perfect...

The thing I like about most of the people who bash eBay is the fact that they do so while using eBay to either buy or sell...they typify eBay as a cesspool and worthless all the while they have 100 auctions going and are making money off those sales....

So yeah...eBay has crooks and good dealers...the more you use it, the more you will know who are the crooks and who are good sellers...you find a good seller, you put him on you 'favorites' and check in here and there to see what deals the good sellers are offering...

I have been ripped off more from people in person than I have on ebay...

 

I don't' have much to add to this except that I like to use eBay. I try and use my communication and business skills to make the best add for my product as possible and generally brake even if nothing else.

On the seller thing. As a sales person it is my job to get as much money as possible for what im selling. If as a buyer you let me charge you 20 % more than its worth then that is o.k. It does not me im unethical a crook or anything like that. The opposite is true. If someone is a shrewed negotiator and they can talk someone into selling something for 20 under its value than more power to them.

Sense Cave man Days people have traded for goods they need. It's natural Im great at making arrow heads and you are a great shot so you trade me meat for my arrow heads. If I get lazy and stop making a good product and Utt down the way makes better than me I will starv because UTT steals my clients. Plato describes it perfectly in the Republic. We as humans hate compatetion, but it is only because of our lack of Reason. He uses a metaphore of a vase (sp) clay pot for clearification. in the market place one man is mad that someone has started selling pots next to his pot store :mouth: (sry im still immature at 25... get it pot store like stoners pot place bad simpsions joke) Socrates (in the book aristotle clames plato is lying when he attributes his ideas to him) says insted of being mad at the competition we should embrace it as a brother, because it makes us better:hug:.

In the Ebay context instead of being mad at e-bay we should all love the fact that they give us a place to sell to millions of customers and that there are idiots out there paying 10K for things that are worth 2k it means we can all sell for more. As far as fake items go. We should start a list on hear and post it in ebay forms of people selling fakes. That way sellers from coin talk Gain Ethos and we elliminate the frodsters. IdK this is just my thoughts ive proboly not said anything tht has not already been stated, but its just how I feel.

Ebay is a public corperation that owes high performance to there investors. Millions of people use it and every second coins are bought and sold. Pay Pals fees are actually cheep. If you where to open a store and process credit cards you would get chard 3%+ for the card service. My best frids dad sales this type of equipment. We should all be thankfull that e-bay does not rake us as much as they do in poker rooms or bookies a 10% big is not that bad.


and finaly. I saw those ark halvs you bought wish I had got them now congrats on the find.


also sry for any gramatical erros or missspealings im dyslexic as the day is long and can't waste an hour to proof read a messadge like this hope my thougths come across i'll be more than happy to go more indeapth on anything that is confusing

 

That's a great story Ranchh and.....thanks for sharing.

 

Awesome Ranch , thanks for sharing the story . I too believe there is some gold in ebay amidst all the dust . Hardwork pays off .

Good Hunting ;-)

 

Good story and glad to hear it.

 

ebay not all bad

I have just received a ASE that I ordered off of Ebay. Its a 1886s. Its slabbed by NGC and graded at PR69UCAM. Its listed in Coin Value Mag at $75, I paid $37. I think I got a good deal but I may be wrong as I am fairly new at collecting. Can someone tell me what green sheet price is. Also NGC says its ultra cam, is that the same as deep cam? I would post a picture but I haven't been able to learn how to post photos. Maybe its a senior thing or maybe its just me. This is the most beautiful coin I have ever seen. Also the dealer I bought it from was friendly, had good comm. Also the order was shipped fast. So Ebay does have some good dealers. I have had some bad dealings on there but theres good and bad in every group. Can someone give me some dealer sites for CT dealers. I would like to keep it in the family, so to speak. Thank you for listening. Sonny(Nam71)

 

nam 17

http://www.kcshop.com/coin-collecting/coin-collecting.htm

this website is amazing as far as coin collecting terms go.

also if you have a scanner I would be glad to walk you threw posting your pictures. For me 1/2 of book price is a good deal on a coin. I would Google your coin and see what similar ones are selling for. I'm new at this as well and it feel good to know that other people are struggling with the same issues/angist I am.

Also you can type in google search define:X

X= what ever word you want to define and it will find definitions for you. Make sure there is no space between the Colin and the word you want to define.

Hope this helps

Josh

 

My Own Tresure

I just got a bu Stone Mountain Half for 50 bucks. Coin dealr down the street wanted a hundred

 

yea, I jumped on em QUICK
No problem with the typos dude... I do it form lazyness though.

 

Great for ya!

I always like ebay, and only thing wrong is scammers, and the replica coins

I see nothing entirely wrong with ebay, sniping on ebay gives me such a rush.
It is fun to snipe ASE's and raw silver!

A message to everyone, check out ebay more often, you'll be shocked @ what you can find

 

Ultra cam and deep cam are basically the same thing, each grading service has a slightly different definition of cameo/ultra/deep/etc. but for the most part they are the same.
For recent proofs i would be shocked if they where NOT graded deep/ultra!
I don't collect ASE's so can't help you on values, I will say that the coin value mag is usually high. it sounds to me like a good deal
There are others on the board that can be more help with the ASE's, if you start a new thread about them i am sure they will come calling.

 

No, ebay is BAD.. you shouldn't even look there! really!
(mu ha ha ha)

 

and why exactly are you so skeptic
ebay is a great place..
you never have to worry about a BP...thanks heritage and teletrade
I like ebay, and plant to buy there for quite a long time

 

you just got a great deal, and your telling people not to go

O, I get it, you want to keep all the coins for yourself...lol hahaha