VCoins Buyers Feedback

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Perhaps we can use something close to what eBay has in place and fine tune it... will this work?

Name of Dealer (as listed at VCoins): Self explanatory.

Coin(s) as Described/Listed: Yes/No.

Communication: Great/Bad/No Communication.

Shipping Time (the time it took to arrive): Very Quick/Somewhere in Between/Extremely Slow/Lost in Transit.

Shipping and Handling Charges: Reasonable/Too High.

Received Shipment via Registered Mail?: Yes/No/Not Sure.

Is this your first transaction with the Relevant Dealer? Yes/No.

Did you negotiate and receive a better price? Yes/No.

Would you buy from the Relevant Dealer again?: Yes/No.

Does the Dealer ship Internationally?: Yes/No/Not Sure.

Additional Feedback: Optional. Please expand.

 

I have never had any problems with my dealings with Vcoins sellers, but I have bought a lot of coins and it tends to be the same dealers, a few have left Vcoins but my favorite for good service and value is AEGEAN, next would be GB Collection and INCITATUS COINS, also KLASSISCHE MUNZEN, RUTTEN & WIELAND, TOM VOSSEN,IMPERATOR COINS and ANTIQUITIES, and MARC WALTER for good value, pm for more advice or questions if needed more than welcome.

 

Name of Dealer (as listed at VCoins): Roman Lode Coins

Coin(s) as Described/Listed: Yes.

Communication: Great.

Shipping Time (the time it took to arrive): Somewhere in Between.

Shipping and Handling Charges: Reasonable.

Received Shipment via Registered Mail?: No.

Is this your first transaction with the Relevant Dealer? Yes.

Did you negotiate and receive a better price? No.

Would you buy from the Relevant Dealer again?: Yes.

Does the Dealer ship Internationally?: Yes.

Additional Feedback:

Seller's policy:

"It was shipped two or three weeks ago. I don't sent out shipment notifications and I don't write down when I send a coin.

It can take at least 4 weeks, infrequently, for a coin to arrive overseas. If it does not arrive I will refund your money."

Ron knows how to send coins without attracting a lot of attention - 10/10.

 

I haven't had many Vcoins purchases but all were from different sellers. I had no problems or complaints with any of these transactions or sellers. None were very recent so I can't recall the shipping time, shipping charges, etc. Here are the dealers from whom I've purchased:

Charles Davis
Musa Numismatic Art
Gert Boersema
Incitatus Coins
Sphinx Numismatics
ECIN Associates
Gerhard Rhode
GB Collection
Ancient Resource

Other dealers who sell on Vcoins whom I've met and trust, from whom I've purchased from outside of Vcoins, or from whom I'd otherwise have no qualms about*

Herakles Numismatics
Victor's Imperial Coins (CoinTalk member)
Kenneth W. Dorney (CoinTalk member)
Wayne G. Sayles, Antiquarian
Nomos
Ancient Imports (I've purchased from Marc directly from his website; not sure if the prices are less compared to Vcoins)
Beast Coins
Civitas Galleries
The Time Machine
CNG (LOL, I didn't even know they had a Vcoins presence until looking through the store list just now-- and there are only four coins in their store)

Forvm Ancient Coins (although always buy directly from their website to avoid their Vcoins markup) Next time I consider a Forvm purchase I need to discuss/negotiate shipping because for my last purchase I was charged $40 to mail a coin that cost less than $500. If when contemplating another Forvm purchase I'm quoted the same outlandish shipping charge, I won't buy unless it is an absolute must-have coin and unless the total cost (including shipping) is reasonable, as was the case in the above situation.

*This does not mean unmentioned Vcoins sellers are not worthy-- only that I have no direct experience with them or first-hand knowledge of them.

 

Maybe in your criteria list you should have good value coins as there is so much discrepancy between them, after all most coin buyers want a good deal and dealers overall are a bit more pricey than auctions. The dealers I listed are what I found to be the cheapest, some you have to negotiate with directly to get a better price. Another important factor is do they send REGISTERED mail as it is the safest especially if using PAYPAL.

 

Thank you. You will see that I've updated the criteria. I've left out "good value coins" as I deem that to be too subjective and based on personal tastes. However, there is the option to make a remark pertaining to it under or next to "Additional Feedback."

P.S. In my experience REGISTERED mail doesn't guarantee the delivery of a coin(s). It is important though that a dealer/seller is willing to provide a refund when needed.

 

I've included "Did you negotiate and receive a better price? Yes/No." as well.

 

I agree Registered does not guarantee the delivery of the coin but if you pay via Paypal with registered you automatically have buyer protection so you get your money back, there is a couple in my list who do not send registered but will and have refunded promptly if coin is lost in mail.

 

Whether they send it registered or not, one automatically enjoys protection as a buyer via PayPal. Except in extreme cases where the seller notes in the listing that he/she/they don't take responsibility for coins lost in transit (or something along those lines). It is important to some buyers though that the coin(s) are sent via registered mail.

 

@Ancient Aussie Is the updated list of criteria closer to what you like to see?

 

Wait a second. If both the buyer and seller are in the US, under the Uniform Commercial Code, it's the seller's responsibility to deliver the item. That means literally that they are responsible for items lost in transit.

How does PayPal's policy differ?

 

@silverbullion You have put a lot of thought into this and it looks like a good idea. I will update with my experience soon.

 

Thanks for taking the time, and effort, to get this thread started.

 

@Ancient Aussie and @TIF mentioned most of the Vcoins sellers I've bought from over the years and I agree with Aussie that Aegean has been the best in terms of value for the money and consequently is the dealer whom I buy from most regularly.

The only ones I have to add to the list are:

• Germania Inferior Numismatics
• Ancient Numismatic Enterprise
• Mike Vosper
• Apollo Numismatics
• Moneta Numismatic Services
• Eukratides

In each case the seller has had good communication, good packaging and good ship times and I have no problem recommending them to others.

 

"Shipping Time (the time it took to arrive)"

Are dealers responsible for the speed of delivery? As much as I would like to, I can't control the USPS. All control a dealer has stops when a package is handed off to the post, UPS, FED EX etc. The only thing that should be mentioned for dealers shipping time is how long did it take for the dealer to actually get the package mailed (same day, next day, two days) and was the shipment updated with tracking information.

"Received Shipment via Registered Mail?"

Did you pay for registered shipping? Is it an option at checkout?

"Did you negotiate and receive a better price?"

Is this a strike against dealers if they don't give a better price? I will give one example of a possible issue with this. Two weeks ago, someone asked me for a discount ( this guy always asks for deep discounts) and I explained that I was only selling the coin for five dollars more than I paid for it. Should I be penalized because I did not want to lose money on this sale? This concept of negotiating also makes assumptions that the prospective buyer knows the market fairly well and that the dealer is overpricing coins.


how about how it was packaged?

Was it professionally packaged. Was it secure, were new materials used or was it a recycled mailer with coin wrapped in newspaper etc.? Was a shipping label used or handwritten address?

 

I honestly don't remember all of the details, but here are some vcoins sellers I can add to the "good" list compiled here.

Romae Aeternae Numismatics
CoinIndia
Lucernae
David Connors
Lost Dutchman Rare Coins (was a moderator here..but haven't seen for while?)

 

It seems fine, except "Did you negotiate and receive a better price" might be a prickly for the CT dealers amongst us, I should clear up what I originally said about some dealers you have to negotiate directly, I very rarely find the need to do that, in a few cases when I have studied the price flows of some of the more expensive coins and I feel the price is padded compared to what I have seen I will offer what I am prepared to pay, and it is usually realistic and the dealer accepts straight away. I realize the vast majority
only have a modest mark up.

 

I agree with Victor. Maybe omit how long it takes to be delivered (change to how fast it was sent out). Listing if a dealer is willing to negotiate or not may cause those who do to stop doing if they get too many requests, or to raise prices in order to be able to negotiate with all their coins (one dealer listed does this and I don't even bother making offers). Some dealers (some listed here) wont negotiate at all, but have other ways they discount the price of coins.

One of the dealers listed I've personally never had a problem with, but had burned someone on CT with an order, but it was on ebay. Since the offense was on ebay and not vcoins, would we mention on here?

 

I look at this a different way. I frequently see coins listed that interest me but I don't bother inquiring because the seller obviously likes the coin better than I do since he priced it at three times what I would pay (ten times for the one guy and you know who I mean). Very rarely do I see a coin that I will not buy at the listed price that 10% off makes me love the thing. What I would like to know is whether this dealer is a game player who expects me to ask for 25% off so he lists everything at twice what he wants for the coin or whether he is selling the coin for what he really needs to feed his kids off the Dollar Menu. It works out there is an equal but opposite question:
Is this a strike against buyers if they don't ask for a better price?

When I go to Taco Bell I never think of asking if I can get the $1 burrito for 75 cents. My favorite 'shows only' dealer is a no discount type (though he will mark things down that he had too long meaning he paid too much and wants to move it). Another dealer greats buyers at his table with, "I can do better if you see something you like." It does help to know which kind of dealer you are dealing with. Should vCoins require dealers to be one kind or the other? That is silly. Would I like to know that Dealer X is as easy on discounts as a flea market desperado? That would backfire, too. Any dealer that gave me 10% off and knew I was going to post it on the Coin Talk Eazy-Dealer list would soon have to raise prices to allow for that. I would like to know what percentage of sales go for list as opposed to a discount. Dealers with discounts are, in effect, running what we call a Buy or Bid sale except there is no closing date and no guarantee a sale will be made at any price. All this is a game I do not enjoy. No one wants to pay too much or sell for a fraction of what the next customer would pay. Is our hobby more learning about coins or about the personalities on the other side of the table?