Too scared to use ebay!

Glad there are dealers on ebay like you , the problem is the 100s of other outright ripoff artists that plague ebay , and ebay isn't doing too much about it , as a matter of fact they are just making it easier for the scammers who are hurting your business too , I report obvious fakes all the time like an 1806 dOLLAR , THERE WERE NONE MADE THAT YEAR ! Did ebay take it off no , I could go and show you fakes on ebay right now . Ebay doesn't or can't do anything , and personally I think they just don't care .
rzage

 

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I agree, the Sunday and Tuesday Internet only sales have some really great bargains on quality coins. You don't see as much of the really high end stuff like you do in the signature sales and there are many many coins each week under $100. For example, check out this beautiful 1943-D NGC MS67 Jefferson Nickel. The only noteworthy distraction on the entire coin is the hit on the steps. That is good and bad. It is bad if you are a full step collector because that is the focal point of the coin. It is good if you are not because it will chase most of the other bidders away. Other than that one hit, this coin is gorgeous. It has a good overall strike, is dripping with luster, and has what I can promise is knockout iridescent toning. The coin is presently at $18 with 2 days left and a wholesale value of $42.

http://coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=29031&Lot_No=23173#photo

If you are a newbie, then I would suggest that Heritage is exactly the place you should be looking to purchase your coins. IMO, a new collector should rely heavily on NGC and PCGS graded coins until you have the expertise to grade the coins yourself. At Heritage, you get to search through hundreds of NGC & PCGS coins each week which will help your experience and confidence. Pricing and past auction prices are listed on the same page that you use to bid. The photos (although inconsistent at times) are better than just about everyone else in the business. In addition, you are provided with permanent record of every coin you bid on. You also can easily catalog your entire collection using the My Collection Feature and any coin you buy from a Heritage auction is entered automatically.

The only thing to even worry about is remembering the buyers premium and shipping and handling before bidding. Other than that, they make it almost impossible to get ripped off.

BTW, I did such a great job of hyping that coin, I think I might bid on it even though I already have two 1943-D MS67's with stars.

 

I have bought several coins on ebay and have been mostly disappointed. A $5 liberty was supposed to be au - was more like a fine. Seller made good and even refunded shipping. Next was a $20 liberty, supposed to be brilliant uncirculated - coin has a very small scratch and is probably more like an au58. Got a pretty good deal on it and decided to keep it. Then was a 3 leg buff. nickel, pictures were fuzzy and didn't reveal that the coin was cleaned. Seller refused a return, claiming the coin is original. Then a cheap mercury dime that I picked up for 11 cents - coin is covered in grime and with the $2 shipping I could have done better at a local shop. The only coin I was completely satisfied with was a PCGS Morgan. That one looks great.

So, my advice is that for cheap items, ebay is ok. But for coins of worth, I would stay away unless either certified or the seller gaurantees COMPLETE satisfaction. I wouldn't bid based on written descriptions, but on the picture. If the pictures aren't much good I would pass - even if the deal seems too good to pass up. If there is no return policy stated, pass. And then there are all the fakes...

 

Don't worry Borgovan, I haven't forgotten about you. You took real good care of me too. :bow:

Did you just skim read my OP?? Shame on you

 

It all comes down to 3 real big important things.....make that 4

caution, knowledge, experience, patience.......
make it 5.....common sense

Use the feedback tools like toolhaus.org, use your noggin, and use your resources. Browse Ebay by " newly listed " and ask them questions before the auction ends in 30 minutes......

Many sellers have left, that is a fact. I have sold about 5 items in the last month, I used to do 5K a month there.

I have ripped ( Ripped with a capitol R ) many coins there, averaged on some, and the misrepresented losers? Ya send them back, duh........

It is much safer these days with the paypal only rule, paypal will protect buyers. Best of all, pay by credit card, this cannot be implied enough, PROTECT YOURSELF.

 

If you expect to buy a lot on eBay and never receive an unpleasant surprise, then don't buy there. Bid only what the lower value you believe the coin may be worth, ignore their description (unless you know otherwise), and make sure you can return it. And the return policy may be the most important part. With the new return policies with PayPal, about all you can lose is for and your time. There are bargains out there to be had, but it take patients. I got a 1923-S for $30 something and had it certified PCGS 63 RB (i.e. +- $1000 coin). It will take a lot of returns before I lose money from just that coin. However, in the middle of this, I probably return about 1/3 of what I buy.

 

E-bay is okay I think if you are experienced in two areas: #1: You are comfortable in knowing what you want and what you want the coin to look like, and what you expect to pay. That can be ANA standards, your own standards, or whatever you are using to make the determination. Do some research to have a good idea on what you expect to be required to pay for the coin, and there are many ways to do that. #2: Get comfortable with ebay itself. Remember if you are looking for a certain coin these coins will be listed this week and next week also. So be patient. Look for good dealers, and I think volume and feedback is a start. Don't buy a coin if the pictures don't answer #1 totally for you. If needed communicate with the seller, if they don't answer move on to someone else, there will ALWAYS be another coin. I don't think buying coins on ebay is any different than me heading to Tampa in the morning to buy a used car, if I don't know what I'm doing then I'm depending on a seller to look out for my welfare, not a great position to be in. I rarely bid on a coin initially. I may put one to three same type coins in my "watch" section and look at them several times being a little tougher on my evaluation each time. I like it when they all meet my criteria, if I get outbid on one maybe I'll get the next one. There will always be "ripoff artists" selling on ebay and practically everywhere else. At the same time there are some very nice, honest, and professional people selling there. Unfortunately people (myself included) have a tendency to remember bad experiences and verbalize those more than the good. There are thousands of coins sold on ebay every week, it is not all inexperienced buyers buying from a bunch of scoundrels.

 

A year and a half ago, I slept, ate and breathed the bay.

I could mentally cross referance sellers with 3 accounts, buyers with multiple ID's and remembered address and names and put together a mental list of buyer/seller combo Id's. I knew pic styles, camera angles and backgrounds.

It got old and became a swamp, I'll agree. It has changed, and to be honest, I gave it up. I only casually look in these days. So many more options available.

 

If your interested in a coin and want to see pics, just send him an email
and he will send you pics. He is very very honest and if there is something wrong with a coin, he will say so. You will not be dissapointed.

 

wow. I was like, What are you talking about then I went to read your post again(the whole thing) and then it made sense, I'm an idiot. I was too tired or something, nah just lazy. Sorry, my bad.

 

eBay has hired someone, they have groups of people for coins, that looks out and pull the bad listings, but these people alone, can't find all of them.

I hear you guys loud and clear, replicas, fakes, they are all there. You just have to be smart about it though, and always make sure the picture is 100% clear, and if it isn't, request for more, or make sure it is a trusted seller, and always make sure you know what you're buying

 

Yep, there you have it. Big Brother eBay is looking out for you.

Uh huh, wanna buy a swamp?

 

I will 2nd you on that! :thumb: I've also bought a few world coins from them and they quite often have a nice selection and I liked dealing with them. :thumb:

I'm on the fence on that. As to generally bashing sellers, that should never occur but as to bashing Ebay itself, they deserve every bit of it. We have reported obvious fraud to Ebay and they turn a blind eye to it. After contacting the buyers and them hearing the story behind the fraudulent situations, they can't believe Ebay didn't act to save them the nightmare they went thru and scammers getting away with their schemes repeatedly and Ebay doesn't step in and hand out automatic NARU's, what makes you think Ebay doesn't deserve being tarred and feathered?

Excellent advice, Jack :thumb: but it's actually 6 things:

Common sense
Caution
Knowledge
Experience
Patience
Common sense

Amen!

See below:

I will also offer that you can use my financial services to procure the loan for said property purchase. :whistle:

Ribbit

 

Check out this guy selling nickels as silver! eBay item # 310124198743

 

And don't forget if you live near another state, type in that one also for locations of coin shows. Near the Chicago area there are 3 shows a month, every month.

 

I've looked at all those and many more sites. If you buy all your coins from these places, as a rule you overpaid. Try a coin show sometime. And remember, at a coin show, you can see the coins, no postage, no handling, no insuraces.

 

I think ebay is a great place to get some deals if you know what you are doing, if you don't know what you are doing you should avoid large purchases on ebay, Im sorry, but if you are buying rubbed V nickels for the silver content that's your fault. I like poorly written ads with bad pictures, usually it happens on some sets, I download the photos and try to see what slots they have filled and take a chance on them having some keys or nicer coins, haven't gotten burned yet. If I were to buy something expensive like a variety or key coin I would only get it slabbed. The only problem I run into is finding one coin I need for a couple of bucks, then they dont' have other ones I need and end up getting one coin shipped where the shipping costs as much as the coin! Key is know your stuff, if you know your stuff and don't spend thousands on one trade you should do just fine, I have been buying coings off of ebay for years, gotten a few overgraded coins but I bid like it is 2 grades back of what they say it is anyways.

 

I completely agree with you there. Possibly ebay at the beginning was a great idea. Then all the oddballs jumped in. I tried ebay once and got burned so never again. And as noted above, so many other options available. There is absolutely nothing I could not buy where I live for less than ebay. And no shipping, lost in mail, insurances, postage, restocking fees for returns, etc.
Like many things ebay started out as a great venture for those not near a place for many items. Now just to many chances on not getting what you pay for.

 

....it is simply not worth the effort to have the off chance of getting an ok deal. Especially when there are crooks operating there. Sure there are protections but the crooks are clever.