eBay buying experiences?

I sold more than bought. It bugs me when I have someone buy 2-3 items, I ship the second and third for free, then they don't give the 5 stars for shipping. Or, once I bid on an unc indian cent, it arrived a F+ , I learned about bad pics that day. Paypal got all my refund for me.

 

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Today I had mixed results with e-bay. The good a roll of wheat pennies came as advertised better than I expected (Indian head steel penny). The bad only half of my order showed up. That however was the first problem I've had with e-bay out of 25-35 buying experiences.

 

eBay

I just started buying off eBay the last month and I have been very satified with everything I bought so far as coins and sports cards go. The only thing I had a problem with was when I bought a pair of air purifiers for 80 bucks and the seller listed free shipping. After the sale ( 3 days later ) the seller started e-mailing me and telling me I needed to pay 25 bucks shipping cause his shipping listing for " Free Shipping" only applied if you lived in Puerto Rico...LOL. So, I told them I'll take it through eBay resolutions before I'll pay 25 bucks more for a misleading listing and I wanted a refund.

This seller e-mailed me after about a week and told me they are refunding my money.
Of course that never happened so I took it up with Pay Pal and as soon as I did the seller sends me an e-mail telling me they shipped my Air Purifiers. ( after I already bought a different one ) So, now I'll have two new air purifiers I don't need and doubt I'll ever receive since it's been over a week since that e-mail came.

As far as coins go, the only problems I've had are buying the BCW Coin Flips. It seems as though some people can't tell penny flips from dime flips. Two of my orders were for penny flips and they sent me dime flips and I think the sellers were telling the truth when when they claimed they were boxed wrong by the manufacture cause the flyer inside the box did in fact say " Penny" but a penny didn't fit, a dime fit well in them.

 

Someone else posted it already but I will repeat it for emphasis, you should stick to mint sets and newer coins that have been slabbed by WELL KNOWN GRADING SERVICES only. Additionally if you develop a relationship in buying from certain dealers that's a good idea too. Then you will be able to trust them and stick with these dealers only for oyur purchases.

I think that EBAY is a very dangerous place to spend your money on coins unless you are very careful.

 

I agree with the dangerous part, that's why I stick to small purchases. Although I did buy a 1909 VDB penny last week listed as uncirculated and received it wednesday this week and I must say, it is indeed in uncirculated condition and I feel I got a good deal for 36 bucks. Now to get it graded.

 

As a buyer on eBay, I have to say I'm pleased with the experience. Sometimes I get steals, sometimes I don't, most of the time I deal with good sellers, but there have been those rare occasions where I'm not dealing with the best seller in the world. As a buyer you hold all the power, and I have heard bad stories from sellers about how a buyer has screwed them over, about making a false claim. I guess that is the way the cookie crumbles though.

eBay is just in it for the money, and the seller isn't treated as good as he/she should be. You can no longer leave negative or neutral feedback as a seller, you can only leave positive. To me, that makes absolutely no sense.

As a seller you have to accurately list the item, provide good pictures, set a reasonable shipping price, and a starting bid and/or buy it now price. You have to have good feedback, good communication skills, and be able to ship the item out on time. And even if you do all that, you might still get a negative from some loose fingered newbie who cries and complains because he didn't want the item, or didn't read the description right, and if you refuse to give a refund....you get hit with a negative, and PayPal gives the buyer a refund anyway, because the buyer is the #1 priority!

eBay has its problems, like I mentioned but they do some things that are nice. Number 1, if you can think of it...it is on eBay. You can get some steals from sellers, not knowing what they are selling or not accurately describing it, or putting it in the wrong section. I would believe that eBay is the largest auction site in the world, but that would by my guess. There are so many options on eBay, so many different coins, and grades, you have a wide selection, and if you miss out on a deal, you will have a second chance soon.

You have to know what you are buying though, in anything there will be fakes, and knock offs, have to be careful and do your homework. There are deceitful people out there, wanting to trick an unsuspecting buyer, just the way the world is...only way to really fight that is knowledge.

Overall, eBay from a buyer's point of view, is okay, and from all my experiences, I'd give it an A.
From a seller's point of view, it is a complete toss up, depends on the person...for me, I'd give it a B or C.

 

Have been selling on Ebay awhile just Stop selling on there to many things on there now that hurt the seller..

Protect the Buyers but kill the sellers.

Some of the Graded Coins i seen on Ebay make me say hmmmmmm... crazy!! off the wall Grades form God knows who Co.. of someone home grading..

 

No that I'm adding much to the discussion, but I have a few rules when buying on eBay, and they haven't let me down yet:

1. Only buy from sellers with excellent feedback.
2. Always communicate with sellers before the auction is over. Make sure that they are able to put any questions or issues that you have to rest.
3. Make sure that they have great pictures...if not, you can always ask for more.
4. Make sure that they will refund your money for returns if you are not satisfied once you have the item in hand (you are responsible for return shipping in most cases).

Anywho...hope this helps!