I'm considering selling several hundred uncertified coins on Ebay. Do any of you that sell uncertified coins on that venue know approximately the percentage of those sold that end up having return requests? I'm a conservative grader, so it may not be that big of an issue, but might it be advantageous to let buyers know that all sales are final?
I don't sell on EBay because of their fees, but I have sold on other sites. I make it a habit not to claim a grade, but to just put up pictures and let the buyer decide on the grade. Those sites are mostly BIN auctions so my price is an indication of what I think it is worth (and graded) but if I have not claimed it then no one can say it is undergraded.
Not accepting returns will severely limit the number of people willing to bid on your offerings, and leave you more likely to receive Negatives, which will hurt your business more than returns will. The quality of your description, and far more importantly the quality of your images, will minimize the chance of something being returned.
Your best "defense" will be having the best quality images you can get (in lieu of stating an approximate grade.) I don't believe you are even allowed to state a numeric grade unless the coin has been graded by an approved TPG (NGC, PCGS, ANACS, ICG.) That being said, no matter what your stated return policy is, there will always be someone who will attempt to get around it simply because they know PayPal is so indifferent (almost aggressively indifferent) to sellers that PayPal will automatically side with the buyer's request for a return (I've had PayPal customer service admit this on the phone.) All they have to do is click "SNAD" and they will get their money back, regardless of whether they are telling the truth. Make sure, if someone still requests a return in spite of your "no returns" policy, that you: 1) are courteous and professional 2) thank them for their business, because it is important to you 3) remind them of your stated return policy 4) ask them if they received the item shown in the listing 4) ask them why they still would like to return the item (if there was a problem somewhere along the way) eBay can read your messages, and will do so in the event of a contested case. It will be to your benefit to be clear, polite, and professional. If your buyer tries to abuse the SNAD policy, they will usually state as much if you ask them the above questions. At that point, eBay will eventually (you might have to speak to more than one person) side with you - if someone states the reason for a return is "buyer's remorse" (changed mind, didn't like it, don't think it's worth the price they paid) but then files a SNAD (meaning you intentionally misled them or sent them a different item than in the listing.) If you state a grade in your listing, you are, IMO, opening up yourself to a debate on grading standards, which you don't need. That's why the furthest I will go is stating "UNC" if I see the coin as uncirculated. If the buyer at any point in the conversation states that they will leave you negative feedback if you don't bend to their demands (and sometimes it will sound like a ransom note - "you refund my shipping because I spent money or I'll leave bad feedback") that is an abuse of the feedback system and any negative feedback they leave will be removed if you call. Plus you can report them.
Also, throwing in a couple of free wheat backs always helps but in a more serious tone good luck on your auctions!
Thanks to all for the sound advice. I will do my best to provide accurate and clear images, (that will be the hard part for me), include a one week return policy, and provide as accurate an assessment as I'm able. A special thanks to stldanceartist, lots of good information in your reply. Regards to all!
I believe the minimum return window is two weeks, unless you state differently in your item descriptions. And I remember something about them pushing for a thirty day return window. Just a heads up.
My first question would be what types of values are we talking about for the raw coins? Low values raw can work there and no matter what you do you will likely hit a problem just because of the nature of the beast, but if these coins have decent values its worth it to at least have ANACS or someone grade it and save yourself a lot of aggravation
I'm keeping my certified and higher value coins. The coins I'll be selling are lower value coins, from $20 to $200...most are $50 or less. The reason for the sale is that I don't really look at them very often, and I've begun collecting world coins which has opened up a whole new horizon for me.
World coins definitely open up a lot of new territory. The 50s or less should be fine for the most the part. The others I would strongly consider at least using that ANACS special right now where its like 8 dollars a coin especially for the 100 plus
That I will do. It might take some time before I have everything photographed. I have never taken photographs of coins so it may take some experimenting to get it right. Twenty-five years ago I sold my prior coin collection on Ebay using my scanner for pictures, but that left a lot to be desired.
Lower priced stuff, I would try listing on coin forums before eBay. I don't think it's worth the hassle, and you're going to eat 10-15% of the sale price in fees going the eBay route. Off eBay, at worst it will be 3.5% for PayPal fees. Regarding return privilege lengths: I honestly think that 7 days after receipt of the coin should be adequate. I have never bought a coin online and realized 2 weeks down the road that I didn't want to keep it. 30 days is ridiculous.
There are other auction sites in addition to EBay, but they don't have the volume so using a BIN price, or at least a reserve, is normal. I have sold on OLA, WebStore and EBId. Also, if you want quick sales these probably will not happen.
I just started photographing some of my coins today, and they came out pretty good, but I'll do some more experimenting to get the best pictures I can. I'll offer all coins on this site first . Looking at the combined fees between ebay and paypal, it doesn't seem worthwhile selling lower priced items on that venue unless all else fails.
