NGC and eBay Partner on Expert Review Service

Apparently, NGC will now authenticate raw coins on E-Bay for $5, and authenticate and give estimate of grade for $10. Here is the link to the announcement.

NGC and eBay Partner on Expert Review Service

Has anyone else seen this? What are your thoughts? I think it is very expensive for "likely" anything.

 

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Is it April 1st again???

 

I think someone else posted about this the other day.

I suppose eBay is hoping to increase buyer confidence and NGC is hoping to drum up more submissions from less experienced eBayers/collectors. It is what it is.

 

Sounds like a joke...

 

I did a search before I started the thread but couldn’t find anything. The announcement date on NGC site is yesterday. I’m not trying to beat a dead horse, but I honestly haven’t seen any discussion about this yet.

 

True:
Here is the announcement on NGC's site:

https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/7524/ngc-expert-review-launched/

 

It didn’t get a ton of traction, but here is the other thread:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/ebay-and-ngc.342098/

 

JMHO, but I feel like anyone who needs this service should just stay off of eBay. We all know how hard spotting fakes and approximating grades is from photos.

Notice I didn’t say “authenticating,” but “spotting fakes”? It’s not really possible to authenticate a coin without a close, in hand examination. Same goes for grading.

The only way I could ever see myself using this (and it’s a stretch) is if I had already agreed with the seller that I would buy conditional on the preliminary opinion and on the coin straight grading, AND the seller would reimburse me if either of those fell through. I’d never agree to that as an eBay seller, even if I had full confidence in my coin. I would sell in person to someone I’d dealt with before on condition of TPG authentication, but not some random person on eBay.

 

Thank you

 

All they are saying in regards to authenticity is probably authentic, probably not authentic, or no opinion (and you get a refund). I think you can do that from most eBay pics with ancients being the most likely to get no opinion.

Though I think they should also address restrikes. I frequently see restrikes listed as originals. Or for that matter coins that are listed incorrectly (wrong type or date). An opinion of probably authentic for the above examples is not incorrect, but may be misleading if the buyer thinks the coin is original (or is a different coin). I wonder what they would do in those scenarios.

 

There was another thread on this a couple of days ago. I have tried the service, it was an excellent experience. NGC confirmed what I thought about the coin.

 

I think it's a cheap peace of mind for someone unsure, or a cheap way to save someone from spending three and four figures on a coin they just aren't sure about. Frankly, this is a tool exactly to be used by people who are not experts but want an expert opinion. I see nothing wrong with it and would potentially even consider it on a coin worth over $100 that I was unsure of.

 

Really? Do you seriously think the average collector can authenticate any type of coin from pictures?

I used NGCs service when a scarcer date $3 gold coin was listed. I know my stuff but three Dollar gold coins are certainly not my field of expertise. Spending $5 to get an experts opinion on authenticity is certainly a good idea, considering that’s a 4-digit coin.

 

Right, I get that. You can get that level of service by posting pictures right here on this very board. I don't see how that makes it worth $5 or $10.

My guess is you didn't really need this service to begin with, then.

No, that's why the average collector should stay off eBay.

 

Also, if you submit the coin within like 90 days or something they’ll take the amount out of your submission fees. So in the end if you submit it you lose nothing.

 

No, but I also never made that claim.

 

To the extent of the service being provided by NGC, yes I do. Remember you are paying for likely authentic, likely not genuine, or don't know and the opinion is NOT binding. Just as pretty much any collector can place something in the wide grade ranges if you get the grade service as well, but pretty much anyone can look at a picture and say they either don't know or they think it's probably real or probably fake.

Also consider what quality of grader is likely going to be doing this assuming it's even someone from the grading room in the first place. It's a wide opinion range at $5 or $10 dollars a pop for a nonbinding opinion, I seriously doubt any senior graders, finalizers, or even long time graders will be pulled from the grading room to do this.

 

I wouldn't want to charge money and risk my reputation opining on some of the coins given the shoddy images that are rampant on eBay.

 

I think there is a good chance that many experts won't be able to do so for many coins either notwithstanding die diagnostics, etc.

 

Small comfort if your “likely authentic” coin turns out to be fake, cleaned, altered surfaces, etc.