Ebay is full of "buy it now" or "high bidder wins" lots of US Coins. The lots I'm refering to are the ones that say you will get one or two each of each denomination, and they list each coin type. But in these lots you don't know what date or condition each coin is in, and are often claimed as coming from an unsearched collection. So, basically, you know what you're getting, but then you don't. I feel there are too many of these lots on ebay, and I think they shouldn't be allowed on ebay. I say sellers should take pictures of the exact coins you will recieve, and stop trying to get more than the coins are actually worth. Does anyone else agree?
You will find that these lots contain 99% wheat cents, with a few Buffs, Mercs, steel 1943`s, an odd silver franlkin or wash quarter thrown in. Besides the wheat cents, any other coin thrown in will be g-vg at best. These guys make a very good living at selling these lots at prices that vary from $9.99 up to several hundred dollars. They have glowing feedback from a few people that rave about the 1914-D Lincoln, or some other such rare coin that was found in one of these near worthless lots. They may have 14,000 or so feedbacks, but only @ 97 percent + or so. Most of us know this. This is for those of you`s that don`t.....
I think anyone should be allowed to sell any coin they want as long as they don't commit fraud. Sellers will always try to present their merchandise in the best possible manner. Buyers already know this unless they live in a cave. I don't happen to like buying on Ebay because the auction format gives an advantage to the seller in most cases [my opinion]. But they should be allowed.
I bought ONE once. Not the worst purchase of my life, but certainly not the best either. It goes without saying that the money would have been better if spent elsewhere.
I have to agree on this for the most part. The auctions should still be allowed although what you will most likely get is "ripped off". Part of the marketing game as it were. Where sellers DO get burned IMHO is when they try to sell a legit coin with good pics, honest descriptions etc. People will buy crap at over inflated prices all day but try and sell a "real" coin and they want it for the same price as the crap. Sad but true and also why I rarely sell on ebay these days.
Personally, I tend to stay away from those auction lots because I bought one once and got junk. IMO I see it like playing a scratch off ticket, you usually don't win but if you do you win just enough to buy another ticket. I don't believe anything is truly "unsearched". Most of the lots you see are from people that have over 1000 sales on Ebay, which in my mind says that they sell coins for a living. They're not going to risk losing a key date coin for a few bucks. Great example, I just received a 5000 count bag of "unsearched" wheaties, all from the 1930's. First of all, how can they be both unsearched and from the same decade? Out of all 5000, I didn't find a single coin from 1931-1933. Kinda strange huh? However, I do think they give them a quick once over to check for key dates and don't examine closely for die varities because I did find 2 1936 DDO's. So basically, if out of 5000 coins I didn't find a single key date, what do you think the chances are of you finding a valuable coin in an extremely smaller lot? But that's just my 2 cents, no pun intended
I just can't agree with some of you that these lots should be allowed on ebay. First, some sellers go over the 10 identical auction limit, or have a several different versions of the same junk auctions. Second, these lots clutter searches for good collections, and just about any other coin auction search. Third, many of the sellers are committing fraud intentionally or unintentionally. Fourth, any buyer has the right to know the exact coin, or coins they are buying. These lots are like a lottery, as someone pointed out. It's nothing more than taking a chance where most people lose, and these type of auctions should either be banned, or ebay needs to make a completely different catagory for mystery lots. Just my IMO.
Ebay junk I couldn't agree with you more. I've tried a few of those lots before, and never got 1 coin worth mentioning. I've found better coins in rolls from the bank than those "mystery" auctions. I've run a couple of those auctions myself before though. I had accumulated so many rainbow toned coins at great prices that I ran a $5 "grab bag" auction and sold around 60 of them. I think everyone was pleased from the feedback I received, and many people bought more after receiving the original purchase. For the most part though, those auctions are a bad way of getting rid of junk coins that are undesirable to most collectors.
Imagine you're a latecomer to the California Gold Rush. An old timer wants to sell you a bucket of dirt. "Might be some gold nuggets in there ! It's an UNSEARCHED bucket of dirt !"
Step right up folks! I'm sure some here remember that game at the carnivals where you pretend your fishing and whatever is in the little bag is what you get. JUNK Your playing the fish game on E-Bay:rolling:
I have said this before & i will say it again, if by chance you are just starting out on a collection or trying to interest a child in collecting then these grab bags can be very good value & fun Dont forget that not all of us can pop into the local bank to get a roll of cents or dimes, I cant I live in the UK LOL Now for the BIG Question though LOL will you find something of astounding value, proberly not, would you sell a coin worth $100 for $9.99! I know I woudnt. If you are lucky you will get a few very nice coins for the collection and some not so great (I did)
De Orc, but there are so many other ways of buying coin lots. The mystery lots serve no purpose, but to appeal to the gambler inside of people. Anyone with an Interenet connection can find coin lots on ebay, and know what they are buying.
What would a young kid find more appealing, the fun of sorting through a mystery lot or been given X Y Z with all the history attached? I still buy kilo bags of coins, the Mrs and I have great fun opening and sorting them, sometimes we find possibly a couple for our respective collections, the rest I parcell up and give away. Ask those who recieved mystery bags from me if they thought it was fun Yes I know we can go online or to the coin shop or fair and buy individual coins but where is the taste of adventure in that? as long as you dont get fooled into thinking you are going to find your fortune then yes splash out a few bucks
There is nothing wrong with children not knowing what coins they find in a bag, but it's much more important that an adult know what coins they will get. You can buy a coin lot where the seller has pictures of each coin, and the actual coins the buyer will recieve. A child will get the box, not knowing what coins are inside, and still enjoy the discovery. But, in this scenario, no one gets ripped off.
These lots are similar to going on your first Snipe hunt and when you open the sack to see what you caught, you find that it is a skunk! Frank
