Ive been buying coins off ebay and some people on here are saying they are qustionable, so I just invested in a scale and hopefully they prove to be real. Sadly there is no local coin shops where I live and im restricted to buying from the internet, Do any of you know a good site to buy coins? I collect mainly silver coins, Morgans halfs dimes ect, that and old coins. Any help is greatly appretiated
You must be careful buying coins anywhere. Some will say it's just eBay that you should be weary, but I have found in my 40+ years that you can lose when buying from a dealer, at a show, from an individual, or from a website just as easily as you can get taken on eBay. Truth be told, I have had many good eBay experiences, an several 'meh' eBay experiences that I didn't get taken, but I learned something that I took into account next time. I only felt duped once on eBay, and that was due to a scratch on a coin that didn't show in the pics. So if I have only had one bad experience on eBay, and have had multiple bad experiences in dealer shops or other venues, that's not a bad record for eBay IMO. That said, you have to be VERY careful. Resist the temptation to buy from someone with sub-par feedback. (shoot for 100%, if not, read the FB and take it seriously) Don't deal with people that have much small print. Don't buy anything with a lack of pics or fuzzy/distant pics. Don't give in to high shipping, which is usually a scam to boost the price. Obvious dealers should be approached with caution. I snoop out collectors rather than online coin shops. Buy the coin, not the slab or grade written on the 2x2. Follow your gut. If it doesn't 'feel' right, don't give in. Oh, and make sure the seller has done a few transactions. 0 to 20 is a danger zone to me.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that you should avoid overseas sellers as a general rule. I am assuming you are rural U.S. Even in country sellers should be avoided (IMHO) if they don't have command of the English language. (I found a US seller once that was fronting Chinese counterfiets, and it was obvious from the language in the auction that English was not their primary language... One of those 'learn as you go' things)
I've never had a problem with Ebay, but I'm cautious, regardless of where and from whom I buy. There's no such thing as a dealer who's above making a buck no matter how honest they are, and you as a customer need to know what you're doing or it's nobody's fault but your own if you get ripped off. As far as other online sites, I like Heritage the best. A lot of people look at one page of auctions and write it off as too expensive, but if you have patience and look you'll get far better deals than Ebay, and a guarantee unlike Ebay. Guy
When buying online I usually go for Teletrade, Heritage Auction, or APMEX... These are all reputable and I have had good experiences with all of them. The only things you really need to watch for with these are things like buyer's fees and other taxes and extra fees added. Just look into that kind of thing before purchasing to make sure you don't get any surprises though these sites seem to be pretty upfront about that.
I have bought silver art bars locally from coin dealers and local coin shows and I have also bought silver art bars on ebay.
You would be further ahead to attend some coin shows that are near you and see the coins you're interested in adding to your collection in hand.
Also try Goldberg auctions and Scotsman Auctions. Both have nice coins. On ebay try Kaminski coin company as he carries outstanding coins.
Kaminski also has auctions on Ebay under 1dragons. Great auctions! I have talked to him often and he knows his coins and currency.
I'm sure counterfeiters add the right of weight for the coin to fool a scale. not that it's a bad thing to own and use
Ebay, coin shops, flea markets, banks, garage/estate sales, coin shows, online dealers, CT Open area, auctions. -LTB
From a chemical/metallurgical perspective, it's not too hard to come up with a base alloy that has about the same density as silver, yielding the proper weight and dimensions. Gold is a lot harder to fake --the only metals that are even close are uranium (radioactive, hard to work), tungsten (very hard to work), and a handful of metals significantly more expensive than gold.
on ebay, from people who has big number of sale and feedback the rules on Ebay are tough, if you got your lot, and it is something wrong , contact with dealer, and if he did not do anything, well - complain to ebay, they obligate him. auctions? well it's more complicated, the dates, the price, not what you looking for, etc.
da bay - then HA - occasionally TT - only if I have excess money to burn though. I have only been buying only one coin for a while though
I think the reason some sellers charge higher shipping prices is because the shipping isn't charged a fee by eBay. This is still a scam and against the eBay rules. But no matter what the shipping cost, I always include that in my calculations for the price I want to pay for something on eBay. And in dozens of purchases through eBay, I've had only one bad one, and eBay refunded all of my money, even though the seller had disappeared.
