Deceitful ebay sellers - wheat pennies

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by Kelly Langford, May 30, 2022.

  1. Hi all! I am sorry as this is going to be a little long winded. If you manage to make it to the end, congrats and thanks for hanging in there and thank you for sharing your knowledge and perspectives. I am reaching out to you to see if you have any thoughts about this. I have posted this thread to Ebay community and now reaching out to numismatists to get their perspective.

    I have watched sooooo many wheat penny rolls sell that are listed and sold in so called federal currency rolls. They cunningly use rolls that are clearly custom printed. Whats worse is these sellers are top rated sellers and sponsored.

    I purchased 3 rolls from a specific wheat penny seller that has them in fake printed rolls federal currency rolls. This particular seller watermarks their wheat penny roll photos. They may be following guidelines but they are clearly being fraudulent by printing certain things on the rolls to make them look legitimate. They are making 10 dollars per 50 cent roll. Everytime I look at their listing multiples are sold in last 24 hours. For example, I just looked and the red banner showed 27 rolls sold in the last 24 hours. Thats roughly 2700 dollars they made in 24 hours for rolls that are worth face value at best. I bought them knowing they were cunningly advertised and plan to suss a few more out with better documented proof. The 3 rolls I received had nothing but culls. Are they wheat pennies? Yes. I also gave them positive feedback because they somehow got my personal email address and sent me a request to leave them positive feedback because their sales depend on it. I responded privately to them to let them know I wasnt pleased but also purchased knowing that they were going to be duds. Technically, I dont have a claim for buyers remorse and everything else about the transaction went well.

    I dont want to be a whistle blower especially if I am incorrect, but there are so many sellers like this. Why is there no one preventing them from doing this? Is anyone interested in trying to take these matters a step further and get certain sellers repremanded for this type of behavior? As a coin collector, it really irritates me that novices are prey to these sellers. Please tell me I am not alone in my thoughts.

    Thank you for your time and making it to the end of this message.
     
    1stSgt22, GH#75, Inspector43 and 4 others like this.
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  3. SensibleSal66

    SensibleSal66 U.S Casual Collector / Error Collector

    Hello and Welcome!:)
    Not alone, feel the same way. What typically happens from my point of view here on CT is that people notify us of deception then we or some of us report the Item and hopefully and mostly it gets taken down. You have to remember also that Auction sites like "Fleabay" is not perfect and some of these guys will slip through the cracks. So, buyer beware! Do your homework and shop wisely.;)
    That's my 2 Cents!! :singing::)
     
  4. Thanks. I did report them as fraudulent, but its basically an automated system. It almost feels pointless but I agree. Just have to be careful. I sell coins on Ebay and am honest about everything I list. I usually only list coins and currency I get from the bank. I got a box of pennies the other day and 38 of the rolls were unc 2021d pennies. I still had to go through them all and check for stragglers. I never want to be that person that places nice enders on rolls or sell something that isnt as described. I went through every roll with gloves and carefully rerolled them. It takes forever to be honest, but I do it because of sellers who lack a moral compass. Its a double edged sword. I lose the marketing aspect of "unsearched" rolls. Even if I truly just verified they were what I was trying to sell and nothing more, I know people are thinking, "yeah right, like you didnt cherry pick the good ones..."
    What are some more trustworthy venues to buy from? I think my favorite part about coin roll hunting is the actual hunt. Out of thousands of coins, I find maybe a 15 to 30 dollar coin. Selling coins on "Fleabay"(friggin love that btw) is just not as fun as actually hunting.
    I did find an "ender" seller this week very much like the ones previously listed. I am going to make a "coin psa" video about them. I am optimistically pessimistic about it. So I bought 3 rolls plus shipping for 45ish bucks. Who wants to start guessing what Im gonna find? the seller doesnt accept returns either. Has a high rating and a few negative/nuetral reviews which have a snarky seller rebuttal attached. I know I am protected by ebay at least but I have a burning desire to crush these people. If I lose a few bucks here and there to hopefully bring these suckers down, it will be worth it. Either way, I will keep yall posted. And who knows maybe I will get something good taking predictions now... Screenshot_20220530-053048_eBay.jpg Screenshot_20220530-053102_eBay.jpg Screenshot_20220530-053121_eBay.jpg Screenshot_20220530-053153_eBay.jpg
     
  5. green18

    green18 Unknown member Sweet on Commemorative Coins Supporter

    [​IMG]


    Well, that says it all.........the guy's from Jersey. devil.gif


    You've learned one of the hard facts of coin collecting.......that there are no unsearched rolls.
     
  6. Bilbo1

    Bilbo1 Member

    Caveat Emptor a $10 lesson for beginning coin collectors. Some people have to take the test more than once to pass. Then it’s on to altered coins, counterfeiting and artificial toning.
    “An old man has many scars. A wise old man treasures his scars.”
     
  7. Packrat

    Packrat Well-Known Member

    Well, 27 rolls at $10 is $270 rather than 2700 but I agree. There is not likely to be truly unsearched rolls. I once bought 78,400 at one time. As they ran through the coin counter I tried to remove the Canadians and a few Memorials. I then sold them to another dealer without further checking. I am guessing these dealers "spike" a roll here and there. My favorites are the ones straight from bank vaults with a seated dime on one end, etc.
     
  8. Long Beard

    Long Beard Well-Known Member

    First and foremost, Welcome! My greatest issue on the subject is the word play. Over the many years of being on EBAY, it was "Original", "Found in a vault", ect. These have almost disappeared and replaced primarily by "Unsearched", which is where it becomes tricky calling them out as to pushing phony wrappers or fake coins. The vast majority of those you reference are either dealers with a huge supply or an individual who buys them by the bag. They are then tubed without searching them. Quite often they may throw in a Mercury, Barber or other cent such as an Indian Head on the ends. So technically they are not lying or violating the EBAY policy on fakes and replicas. Misleading, perhaps. As collectors we simply need to comprehend the listings before making a purchase. Yet I agree, this is extremely difficult to the novice.
     
    Kelly Langford and alurid like this.
  9. Michael K

    Michael K Well-Known Member

    EBay doesn't care all they want are commissions from sales.
    Positive feedback is no indication as there are ways not to allow negative feedback to appear or influence their 100%. I saw someone who was selling BB cards, and had 100% positive feedback from over 350,000 buyers. Is that mathematically possible?
    Buying these things for whatever reason, knowing they are duds, is just rewarding the crooks who pull this scam and it's not going to save anyone else from being burned.
     
    Inspector43 likes this.
  10. Mark A Williams

    Mark A Williams Active Member

    I too have been scammed on the un searched rolls. Will never buy those again!
     
  11. KBBPLL

    KBBPLL Well-Known Member

    "Unsearched" is right up there with "Estate find." Every coin is in somebody's "estate", so skip the nonsense and just present the coin.
     
    Jeffjay likes this.
  12. spirityoda

    spirityoda Coin Junky

    You learn as you go. The saying "there is no such thing as a un-searched roll" is correct. There are seeded rolls with enders. Buyer beware. Many sellers on Ebay do this. I have found wheat roll enders at my bank in a box. You are much better off buying each coin individually for your coin sets. This way you know what you are getting and what grade it is.

    Here is that box I bought long ago from the bank. From left to right 2nd row 6th coin down wheaty cent. Click on pic to enlarge it bigger.

    jun21 016 copy.jpeg
     
    Last edited: May 30, 2022
    Inspector43 likes this.
  13. usmc 6123

    usmc 6123 Active Member

    I don't buy them anymore. I only did it 3 or 4 times. But the killer is I got a really great clash.
     
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  14. Inspector43

    Inspector43 Celebrating 75 Years Active Collecting Supporter

    @Kelly Langford Welcome to CT.

    I agree that there is no such thing as an unsearched roll. I have been collecting since 1948 and I know that there were unsearched rolls back then. Not anymore.

    With TV, social media and eBay there is no way to protect new collectors and investors whose general goal is to strike it rich. That's where "...a fool and his money..." comes in. If they don't have time to do some minimal research, then they need to learn the hard way.

    CT is one of the best places to learn.
     
    Michael K likes this.
  15. Collecting Nut

    Collecting Nut Borderline Hoarder

    If you bought some at $10.00 per roll you were taken. But that’s a low price to pay for the lesson. I have tons of rolls of unsearched wheat Cents. I’ve never look at them but I can assure you someone has. Your first clue is the Indian Head Enders in that type of tube.

    Welcome to CT.
     
  16. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    There are still some left. But you definitely will NOT find them sold by the hundreds on eBay, each one coincidentally showing a potentially high-value coin on the end. And even truly unsearched rolls will most often contain only common coins with no rarities, because that's how "common" and "rarities" work.

    My Dad's family are mostly hoarders. There's a circa-1900 house that's been filling up with stuff for decades. It may well contain unsearched rolls of coins. If they don't end up in a dumpster, or cashed in at a bank, they'd probably be interesting to go through.

    Heck, I've got an old beer bottle in my office that I filled with cents during my freshman and sophomore years of college. I'm pretty sure I filled it and taped it off before the switch to zinc. Lots of still-bright-red 1981 and 1982 coins showing. I would've caught IHCs and probably Wheats, but not clashes or cuds, and probably not even die doubling. Maybe I'll open it when it turns 50. :rolleyes:
     
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  17. Mountain Man

    Mountain Man Supporter! Supporter

    It's a "Buyer Beware" market, and you will be fighting a loosing battle to try and shut it down, IMHO.
    As for the seller getting your private email address. I doubt it. They communicate through eBay, which has your contact information, so it appears the seller contacted you directly.
    For privacy purposes, many set up gmail, or yahoo accounts to be used exclusively for buying online. That way, you can control the spam and junk mail a little easier.

    Welcome to CT, BTW. Any relations in California? I lost contact with Randy Langford in Campbell, Ca.
     
    Inspector43 and Kelly Langford like this.
  18. Jeffjay

    Jeffjay Well-Known Member

    I have been both dismayed and amused by these roll sellers on eBay for years.
    The last roll I was taken on the seller refused to refund because I had opened them. I left negative feedback and it was promptly somehow taken down.
    I have also sold several wheat cent lots but in my description I stated that they were unsearched by you.
    I also in my description made buyers aware that unsearched wheat penny Lots are basically non-existent and told them what they honestly could expect to find in my lot.
     
    Kelly Langford likes this.
  19. Yeah. I just wish everyone else would learn before supporting these people. Guess everyone has to learn the hard way.
     
  20. I love that quote!!! I am likely going to add "debunking" to my coin collecting hobbies. I'm a mechanic by day and hunter by night. I work in a field that is full of crooks and I hobby in a field that is full of crooks. :nailbiting:
    I may start a youtube channel specifically for calling out sellers on Ebay. I think I am also going to add a buyer beware paragraph to all my listings. It seems a large mountain to climb. If I shoot for the top and land at the halfway mark, I believe its still better than being at the bottom looking up.
     
  21. Lol. Yes. 270 not 2700. Yikes!! Thanks for correcting that. It still just in a 24 hour period. As for the "bank vault" listings...I get most of my coins from the banks. Out of 2500 pennies, I get about 7 wheats. I have found dimes, Canadian, and Dominican Republic coins in my rolls so far. I have found pennies in my nickel rolls as well. I need to ask my bank if they have bags. There seems to be a shortage of coins. It was easier to get boxes pre-Covid. I am currently baking a few cakes for all the tellers that have to deal with me on a daily basis. :joyful:
     
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