I'm new to coin collecting, most of my knowledge has came from books I have been reading. My question is are there any respectable dealers on E-bay or would I be better off staying away. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I'd recommend staying away from eBay, unless you know for sure what you are buying, and there is a return policy and good pictures of the item with an accurate description. I normally stay away from shorter descriptions, or when I see "L@@K" in the item description. Even though, I haven't done this much, buying in hand is the best way to go. I've bought most of my coins online, and I can tell you, knowing what I know now, I think I would have rather bought in person or not have bought the things I bought at all. Now, there are dealers who sell nice coins online, and you can rid of the junk you see on eBay. It depends on what you collect and what your budget is. There is always CoinTalk's Open Forum, and Collector's Universe's BST Forum, where you can buy and sell coins, pretty wide variety of coins, and you can find some deals.
I've had good luck on ebay. You do need to know what you're buying though. I will say that you need to know what you're doing in most every place that you buy almost anything.
It depends on what you're in the market for. Not all situations on there are equal. For example, if somebody has a NGC slabbed Battle creek Morgan, or a 2009 proof set, new with the packaging or they're selling PF69, slabbed, commemoratives, there is very little risk involved. Or, maybe you want a roll of the new Lincoln cents. At least check their feedback to see if the vast majority of their customers have been happy. If you're looking to buy anything old that is raw, now you need to know what you're doing and what you're looking for. IMO, on the average, you need to look long and hard, through pages of the same coins to find halfway decent, raw examples. Much of what's on there is low quality with high prices. Then if it's good quality, they really jack the price. Many times I have looked through several pages without finding an example that I thought was both good quality and a good price. Expect to go empty handed more often than not, once you know what you're doing. On the other hand, I'd say most of the nicest ones I've purchased came from ebay. Slabbed of course. I think anybody buying raw gold on there at 4 digits plus and taking the seller's word is taking a high risk most of the time. Most of the time that's not going to work out in your favor. Know that probably more often than not, the guy bidding against you may know LESS than you do and just wants to win the auction. Never assume something must be worth it only because people are bidding it up. I've seen a lot of fools bidding up pathetically obvious, artificially toned Morgans and others. People are getting badly ripped off on there every day. I've heard many refer to ebay as the "Wild West". You can live a decent, exciting life on there. Just don't get killed! lol
Let me say, Yes there are good coin sellers on eBay. I believe they are in a minority, a number of members here at CoinTalk sell on eBay. Another place to look is the Advertising section here at CT. You will have access there once you reach 10 posts. So, join conversations, ask questions and before you know it you will find what you are looking for. Welcome
I would like to add that there are a great number of sellers on eBay that sell slabbed coins from grading services whose grading standards do not follow numismatic industry standard guidelines, like ANA grading standards. These companies will often overgrade coins. It is not illegal to do so, as they are grading based on their own standards. However, when the majority of price guides are based on ANA grading standards, it may be difficult to ascertain the real value of one of these coins by only relying on the grade assigned by these companies. Here's a quick list of some grading companies which, when I see a coin slabbed by them, I don't even look at the coin. Personally, I tend to avoid these: NPG (Numismatic Professional Grading) NGP (Numismatic Grading Pros) CSI (Certified Silver Investments) NTC (Numistrust Corporation) SGS (Star Grading Service) ANGS (American Numismatic Grading Services) You can do some quick Google searches for these companies to see some reviews. However, there are some grading services which have earned a much better reputation and you should feel comfortable to trust that their grading is on par with ANA grading standards. Some of these are PCGS, NGC, ANACS, ICG, and oldie but goody, PCI The above is my personal opinion and should not be considered investment guidance or advice. My official advice is that you should buy authentic coins that you like, and to rely on your own research and opinions when it comes to buying any coin.
(1) Know what you are collecting and be able to identify problem coins. (2) Only buy with clear pictures. That includes PCGS and NGC - see (1) above. Not all PCGS and NGC coins are equal. (3) Read their feedback - all of it including positive feedback. People may give positive, but they might include more info in the feedback itself. (4) Don't limit yourself to ebay - check heritage, teletrade and DLRC. (5) Use dealers also - sometimes you can find the perfect coin you want in dealer inventory. Yes, it might cost a few more bucks, but it could be worth. (6) NEVER EVER get in a bidding war. Before bidding determine the price you are willing to play. Place that bid(via snipe or however) and then do not change your mind. One thing that amazes me is that sellers will put up a BIN that is a little high, then put it up for auction and get more than the original BIN price. Probably best bet to start with is to stick to PCGS and NGC coins. What are you looking at collecting?
If your just getting started, By all means stay away from the "BAY" Education is the key, You have to know what your looking at before You buy!! And not take someone elses word that you dont know!!
I think that if you are knowledgable and have done a little research on the item you are looking at, you can come out on ebay most of the time. I also think that many honest sellers could get higher selling prices in other places on quality items. Many people see so much trash on the bay that even high quality item gets a lower bid. Problem coins however, usually get a way higher bid than they deserve... and the winning bidder is usually lacking knowledge of the item purchased. And that goes back to my original statement.
"Know what you buy and buy what you know"! Read everything, here included, that you can. There is a lot of good, honest advice being written here based on years of experience. Learn to be patient. Learn to ask questions first, buy later. All of this applies to E-Bay and anywhere else you buy. Welcome to CoinTalk, wiz33064, and good luck!
Good advice in these posts. I am relatively new collector, I bought a number of things from ebay and still do. I have two items of advice. Do not get carried away with the bidding, know your price and stick to it, it is very easy to think oh just a dollar more and end up way over what you want to pay. More importantly, I would place a dollar limit on any single purchase, my limit on any ebay purchase is $50 (including shipping). Any coin that I am going to pay that much for I need to see in hand. I might bend that rule for a certified coin, but I generally do not buy certified coins. I have also violated it for modern proofs with mint documents. I would also add this: The coin stores where I live are open pretty much 10-5 which is when I work, if I could get to the store more often I would rather shop there. Also, there are on line retailers, I find them good for supplies but not as good for coins. I apply the same rule to them as ebay as to coin purchase, but supplies can be found a good bit cheaper. I am going to check out what is availble on CT now . . . .
As a new collector, I am staying far away from ebay until I get myself a little more educated. I have seen so many people getting ripped off on there and I work way to hard for my money to blow it on something like some of those guys are selling. I suggest joining your local club like I have and going to meetings. I know at our meetings the guys bring coins to trade and sell and raffle. Some of the guys are dealers and will try to find what you want for you. My advice, read, read, read and roll search so you can get used to wat coins look like up close and try grading them before doing ebay shopping. Just my opinion
E-bay I want to thank all of you for some good feedback. I am collecting the Franklin Half and the proof mint sets from 1964 to present. I have purchased a couple of mint sets on E-bay and they were beautiful. I just don't trust buying the half dollars off there. I live in a small town in Indiana, and have to travel to Indy or another big city to even find a coin dealer. I guess that is why I look at E-bay. Again thanks for the input and open to any more advice you have. Have a great day!!!
If you are winning more auctions than you are losing, you're probably paying too much. I win about 30-40% of the items I bid on. If there's an item you really want, try a sniping program, it bids for you in the last 8 seconds or so. www.justsnipe.com gives you several free snipes a week.
Your advice is pretty much in line with the way I think. I figured I'd just give some food for thought. Ask your local coin dealer if he'd stay open later one night if you promised to show up, or see if you can get a special appointment after hours or on a Saturday. My local (and favorite) coin dealer will do this for even small-time collectors like myself.
Let me pass along one recommendation for a dealer in Indianapolis His web site is : http://www.ldrcoins.com/ Voted the best antique and collectibles store in the area, Matt Dinger is a member here. You can't go wrong talking to Matt.
It depends on what your pain threshold is. So long as you pay with PayPal and buy their guaranteed items (it is hard to find item not guaranteed now-a-days), if you are not happy, you are guaranteed you money back (less only your return shipping) and that is independent of any conditions the seller may have tried in hid listing. With a little work, I can further assure you that you will get taken in on eBay and you will get some bargains. Now, you will get your money back if it is a bad deal and you keep all the good deals. If it is worth the hassles of returning a lot, do it. If not..........
When I was just starting out, I bought several things on eBay. I got an expensive education and quick. I've bought some very nice notes. As with all the tips already posted, be careful. It takes two to make an auction. I read feedback on everyone that has something I'm interested in. When I decide to bid I've had to bid with my brain and not my emotions. I like the Educational notes but own not a one. When I decide to make a bid, I generally decide what I think the item is worth and bid one time and walk away. After awhile you'll begin to know what dealers are worth watching. I save them in my favorites. I've seen the same pile of wheat pennies on eBay for years. Some of these dealers can be found at coin shows and it's nice to meet them in person. It's enlightening in some cases. Have fun and pace yourself, you've got time. Good luck! Oh, what Captainkirk said about winning 30% to 40% is pretty spot on. *smile*
