I never talk about coins on Facebook. Then I saw a suggestion in the side bar to join a closed group called "The Virtual Coin Show on Facebook". 1) How did Facebook know that I like coins? Is Google talking to it behind my back? 2) Does anyone else think it is a *really* bad idea to sell coins on Facebook, where anyone and their brother can get your name, look up your address, then come rob your house? 3) The "RoundTable Verified Member" program is for hobbyists, part time traders, collectors, buyers and sellers. You don’t have to be a dealer!!! Sign up today. Only accepting 250 members at this time. What is *that* all about? Or am I just being paranoid again? Where did I put that aluminium foil hat...
They're watching you! In reality it's like anything else that you search on the internet. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/19/how-facebook-ad-tracking-and-targeting-works.html I haven't tried any of the facebook coin groups, but if I did, I would attempt to create a dedicated account using something like my forum name (and not use a personal account).
I think it's a much broader issue than just that, and one that involves a lot more than Facebook. I'm not discounting that issue, I'm just saying that is only a tiny part of it.
Not really. It’s just like selling on eBay, just a bit more personal. They won’t see your address until you send them a package, and I don’t send them any coins until payment is verified and reliable. I also keep most of my info private, and I don’t accept the many friend request I get unless I really know the person. Most of the better groups (like the one you mention) use a vetting system to determine if they are allowed to buy or sell, and the community will publicly ban an individual if they make a serious infraction. The Virtual Coin Show group is where all of the high-end dealers convene, so it has the highest-quality stuff. Most of my selling this year has been on Facebook. It has its perks and disadvantages, but I only had maybe 2-3 problems out of hundreds of deals. I still made more selling coins on Facebook than I did working as a Flight Test Engineer at an aerospace company, so I think it is a pretty effective platform. This is just elitism is action. Pay no attention to it.
More likely Facebook put cookies on your system that tracked where you went and reported back to them.
There are literally hundreds of coin / bullion selling pages on Facebook. Like any place there are fake coins and fake bullion sales, so one has to really be careful. I get ads all the time for webpages I've perused or key words I've searched. Tracking cookies, and they track where you go and what you look at. At times I go searching for misc stuff I'm not interested in just to throw those things off like "Mars alien abductions" and "invasion of Mars bees" or "attacking tomatoes" now if you go google "attacking tomatoes" you'll find this thread.
