I strongly suggest that everyone who buys on ebay try selling a few items there. It will really expand your perspective on all of you future ebay transactions. I read a lot of complaints here about buying on ebay and I just know that if those complainers tried selling a one or two hundred dollar item they would be more patient with sellers (of course I am not referring to the outright scams).
The other side of the coin? BIN is mostly a crock. Stuff is generally waaaay overvalued (that's not the same as "scam" btw.) Maybe 'unprofessional vendors' really shouldn't bother? They make the serious seller look bad. eBay should have tiered out the different levels of merchants more efficiently/effectively, years ago.
they do have tiers, if someone had 15,000 feedback you know they are a pro, if they have 150 and most are "as a buyer" you know they are a normal person just selling some stuff. As for high prices- well blame that on fees. That is why I encourage people to try to sell something and see for yourself- the fees are substantial
It's not only a good thing to sell on ebay once in a while, but collectors should regularly sell a few coins just so that they get some feel for the market and where they are priced into their pieces.
BIN is tough. With eBay Fees at 11%, Pay Pal fees at 4%, Shipping at $1.64 per item, plus the time to list, photo, pack, and shipping materials... Well, you get the idea. All that has to be incorporated into the price. For me to break even on something (without the face value considered) it has to be well over $3.00. Might as well just take it to the bank right?
I haven't heard too much complaints about buying on ebay. With the buyers protection plan and ebay siding with the buyer almost 95% of the time its really a buyer's haven. Selling can be a pain, but provided you're lucky and don't run into a problem buyer its not that difficult.
If you are an auction or any marketplace in general it is about getting the buyers, the seller will follow..
