Saw this ahead of time and didnt bid

​http://cgi.ebay.com/920-US-Silver-E...item27bc9f6a40&autorefresh=true#ht_500wt_1156

 

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Yikes... I think either way someones getting killed.

 

I sincerly thought about bidding but 0 feedback is risky...

 

I wouldn't have bid. No way.

 

risk certainly rivals reward here though am I right?
whoever won is either short 20k or up 15

 

With sums that high they still use Paypal right? Is there any buyer protection on such purchases?

 

Wow. I just went through the Buyer Protection rules again, and I sure don't see anything there about coverage limits.

I might've been willing to take the gamble. I wonder what led the market to a ~40% discount? Not enough trust in Buyer Protection? Not enough people with access to the funds via PayPal? Some key knowledge that I lack?

It is weird that they specifically required PayPal, which would take a ~$500 chunk out of even this discount closing price, and rejected wire transfers (which would presumably be cheaper, and more common for transactions of this magnitude). I always thought of wire transfer as imposing more risk on the buyer -- does it also carry risks for the seller?

 

I want to say that the last time I had an issue, it was capped at $2000 for losses. Been keeping purchases under than since then.

 

I think it was poor listing abilities on the seller's part. Taking a picture of one silver dollar in an auction on 920 coins? People skimming may not realize that it's for a large amount and might not have got enough views to find someone with the money willing to spend. Still a seller with 0 feedback shouldn't be putting very expensive single auctions on ebay because it is definately a deal breaker. I would imagine the seller will try and flake since it's such a bad deal and maybe was the reason he had no feedback all along.

 

Really?! Okay, off to Customer Service to get a final answer...

...and Jholly P., my Live Chat rep, says:

I'd have some trepidation about relying on Buyer Protection for a $20K purchase, but this seems pretty definitive.

 

I was going to bid on that. Then I realized I don't have 20-30k to pay for it.

 

You can always chargeback your purchase in which the customer wins during any dispute.. But this guy could be a scammer with someone elses ID.. I still wouldn't have done it

 

I kinda doubt that I have a $20K credit limit on any of my cards.

And if I were a scammer, I'd try to steal an ID that had been around for a bit more than a week -- preferably one with some feedback.

 

Seller has zero feedback, just joined...and roughly $36,000 in ASE's that sold for 20 G's???? Never gonna happen. Winner has a feedback of 9, yet 25% of his bidding activity is with a seller with zero feedback? Regardless...sellers have backed out for a lot less.

 

If the seller is legitimate, I wonder what he thinks of his retirement investment now. Yes it is still a good return on his investment(7% per annum), but to leave $14K on the table that he could have easily gotten just selling it outright to bullion dealers has got to hurt. Smart when he bought it, dumb when he sold it.

 

Assuming this is legit Seller is an idiot. He could got a lot more taking it to a coin shop or selling it in smaller lots setting opening bid about 90-95% of melt. I sell bullion related material all the time on the Bay - no way I would start an auction at anything less than 90-95% of melt. With their sellers fees, you may probably do better shopping it around at a shop or on the bourse.

Second of all anyone who would even do a consider a $20K coin deal mail order is a big risk taker and looking to get ripped. I would be curious if the buyer on this deal gets his coins LOL. If you have that kinda money, you can afford the travel cost to go to a show. I have seen at least two horror stories on these boards about buyers who got ripped on buy or sell mail order deals for $10 K or more.

One needs to set their own risk limit regardless of feedback, protection, etc. I advise my customers if a mail order deal is over an acceptable risk limit like $300, its better to go to a show or shop and do it sight seen and you get your cash or coins right then. Its just common sense and a lot of coin people don't have it.

Believe me, there is no greater hassle than a lost big ticket shipment. What happens is a lot of bay buyers want to be a cheap a and save a few bucks and then end up getting ripped. There is one constant in Numismatics - your gonna get what you pay for.

 

Selling like that, he won't be retired very long.

 

I almost did but was 0.75 short for shipping LOL

Sandy

 

I think what lead to the steep discount is the sheer size of the lot and the fact that not very many people have an extra $20,000 to spend and those who do have that money to spend, probably have a "too good to be true" mentality when seeing such a bargain, but even than, that's what you have buyer protection for.

 

Except when you buy a lot on eBay that's worth a lot more than others realize, or hasn't shown up on their searches, or scares off a lot of bidders for various reasons. Or when you're an unscrupulous dealer, or fly-by-night "buy your gold"-er, making offers at 40% of melt. Or when you're cherry-picking.

But, hey, if you consider getting something for $20K instead of $35K "saving a few bucks", we're moving in different circles anyhow. To put it another way, you can find nice stuff all over the place if you're willing to pay 75% more than the next guy.