i am wondering if i can trust ebay to give me good coins. i have heard some good and bad things about ebay, so i am wondering.
It's not fair to claim that one bad egg spoils everything. You have to watch out for every seller's reputation as each seller are different.
thanks. i will learn more about coins and grading. do u know off any good books. i am looking for the red book and coin collecting 101, if u know of any other books,let me know.
It's not eBay you have to trust. It's the SELLERS on eBay. And, NO, you cannot trust all eBay sellers. There are LOTS and LOTS of eBay sellers who will rip you off. If you innocently and trustingly go on eBay to buy coins it is very likely you will be ripped off. Remember this - really good deals on coins on eBay very rarely are really good deals. Before you actually bid on any coins on eBay you should pick a few auctions that look good to you and ask for opinions here. Most of the regulars can spot a scam or an overgraded coin from a mile away. This method can help you get part of your education without having to pay for it.
I recommend The Official American Numismatic Association Grading Standards for United States Coins - 6th Edition.
If you are safe with your bidding, you are ok. My brother and I have had no problems yet with sellers on ebay. We have made about 20 purchases from the bay.
Welcome to the forum. Forming an opinion based on estimate not actual statistics I'd guess that over 50% of the posts here are about Ebay ~ you would be wise to go back and read a few inbetween all of your reading about coin grading and how to value and bid. As you proceed with bidding on Ebay know that you are competing against hundreds of thousands of other bidders at a time so you'll likely pay more there than you will going to an actual coin shop or coin show. If your comfortable with that fact, read the seller feedback and auction details very carefully before you bid. Set your price and stick with it. If you win pay with paypal via a credit card. And unless it's an impulse bid - come here and show the auction and ask for input. The members here will be very willing to give an opinion on the coin and bidding price. Good luck.
I partially disagree with that statement. Have you ever tried to report a counterfeit coin (or anything counterfeit) on Ebay? The way they have the reporting system setup, you can't report it properly. How hard would it be to establish a way for us to report counterfeits and why haven't they done so? The answer is simple - SALES - without all the sales of counterfeit items on Ebay, Ebay wouldn't make as much money. So, can you trust Ebay? Nope! They only care about the bottom line, which is profit (aka: money). Ribbit :smile
The CEO of Ebay is named Gollum. Sitting on the floor behind they're desk repeating the words my precious over and over again. Or maybe i have them mixxed up with Mr Crabs. Money money money! Or maybe even a Seagull from Nemo, MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE? Not sure!
Exactly, you don't need to worry about the system (Ebay) you should be concerned with those who use it, the seller... Take Care Ben
I agree with what Hobo and Ben said. There are alot of sellers on Ebay that you have to be careful with and at the same time, you, as a buyer have to shop smart. You have to know what you're looking at and completely understand what you read in their description of the item, payment terms and options and shipping costs. There's more to it than just making sure the coin you're buying is genuine. As far as the reporting of counterfiets goes on Ebay, we have reported several bogus auctions together and have been very successful with having them removed. I have been a member of Ebay for four years and have purchased several coins and have never had a problem with any of my purchases.
Here is an article to some basic ebay buying tips http://www.coin-articles.com/Article/How-Can-I-Buy-Coins-on-eBay-Without-Getting-Ripped-Off-/177
There have only been a couple (2) of coins which I returned after Doug gave me some advice on Spanish (American) Reales, both pieces were considerably off in weight. In one case the seller was very apologetic, refunded all payments, and we left each other positive FB in the end. I cannot recall their Ebay Name. In the second instance it was an 8 Reale as well and again Doug took a look and advised me it was a counterfeit after I received it. This seller used to be Ebay- (sunshinestreasurechest) or something like that, but anyway I had to begin the mail fraud process and finally received a refund minus shipping and was told to "just keep the %^$ coin..."
