OK, I purchase a lot of raw coins from Ebay. I like to take chances on blurry pictures and bad descriptions that usually discourage other bidders. A lot of you will think I'm crazy for doing it but, I have a strategy. My top bid is usually the value of the coin in VG condition. I have scored many, many, nice coins for way under value over the years. Even those coins that turned out to be not suited for my collection were resold with good pictures and an accurate description for what I had in them. Until now I had never been sold a counterfeit but today it happened. I purchased a 1910 Mexico Cabillito Peso. These series of coins were struck with low relief so most examples lack fine details. It is also one of the older, more heavily counterfeited coins. I received it today and as soon as I broke it out it was obvious that this was a fake coin. I knew immediately once I saw the fuzzy details, numerous die cracks, and machine doubling. It also had a known diagnostic die crack under the horse. I contacted the seller immediately and he said to return it for a full refund. I've already sent it back so I don't have a picture. His auction stated a 100% money back guarantee so I wasn't too worried. I haven't opened an Ebay case yet. He doesn't sell coins so I don't believe it was an intentional rip off but, I'm wondering what kind of feedback he deserves. If all goes well I'm thinking a positive with a description that the coin was counterfeit but was refunded without incident. Any thoughts? I guess I just reminding everyone to be carefull buying raw coins from anyone.
I'd respond with positive feedback, something like "gave prompt and courteous refund to resolve issue with item". I don't even ding people on the "as described" portion of the star rating system if they're quick and accommodating when I report a problem -- at least, not if I think it was an honest mistake.
Give him good feedback if he returns the money promptly , and you feel it was an honest mistake . Put yourself in his shoes . What do you think he deserves . Rusty
You all are pretty much reinforcing what I was thinking (as stated above). I've only left 2 negatives in 10 years of Ebaying. I will however keep an eye out to see if he relists it.
Darn a Cabilitto. Must burn you up.... Heck, when/if you get your money back, burn him with a negative and state why. I have been searching for a decent price on a Cabilitto for months, unfortunatly with silver going up. I regret not buying 6 months ago.
Wow! Tough Room! When you get your money back, I would leave a positive feedback for his prompt customer service to resolve this issue, especially since,as you wrote, he does not usually sell coins. No need to tarnish his reputation if he immediately agreed to your request! How did he respond to you enlightening him that the coin was a fake? Steve
any chance you could let us know what your ebay user name is? thanks! if handled professionally, leave honest feedback. To start off, since apparently the seller doesn't regularly sell coins, I wouldn't get into the counterfeit thing, just tell him say it's not what you expected due to the blurry pics. And no, you are not crazy for taking a chance. It's thrilling to hit homers!
I think the way the transaction ended they deserve a positive. You took a chance, it wasn't to your advantage and took advantage of the cash back offered. No harm, no foul. Anybody that would negative them for this needs to start their own business and see what it's like when miscommunication or a misunderstanding occurs. From the info given the seller didn't try to hoodwink anybody, nor was the buyer looking for some unrealistic resolution. If you get a buyer looking for unrealistic compensation or resolution, I have pity for you, as they are more dangerous than a seller that makes an honest mistake and their efforts are to correct it. This seller did exactly what they stated they would, and the buyer took advantage of it. Some of you people have expectations that are so far from realistic it's scary.
I think you should absolutley point out to the seller that it's a counterfeit. Then wait to leave feedback until you see if he relists it. If he does and its a unique coin and you can tell it's the same one then I would definitely hit him with a neg. Conversly, if he doesn't relist it and you get refunded I'd leave positive feedback.
Well, I was in complete agreement with the majority of you and was going to leave a positive with the explanation of what happened. I had some time and did a little more digging.He has an Ebay store that sells computer equipment. His communication with me has been short on words. The description of the coin doesn't describe the coin at all just that a 100% refund is offered. I assumed it was a language thing as he is hispanic and the way he communicated with me led me to beleive that perhaps he didn't speak english very well. I notice though that his descriptions and pictures of his computer parts are very nice. He sold 1 other coin. It was an 1853 8 Reales. It had a good general description but nothing pertaining to it's condition. The pictures were again blurry and small. That coin just doesn't look right to me and I am now suspicious that this was more than a simple mistake. Once I receive my refund, and before I leave feedback, I will post his Ebay ID and see what you think.
