I take a some pride in my coin photography, but I often wonder if my high definition photos in ebay auctions sometimes hurt my hammer price. With my pictures, people can scrutinize every little detail and talk themselves out of a buy because of a small rim nick or hairline scratch. However, if my pictures were from farther away, or were amateurish and out of focus, or so small that people can't make out details, people might be willing to gamble (there are a few CT threads on this very thing) for the potential of a great coin with a bad picture. Now, I hate dealing with returns, and don't think it's all that ethical to post crappy pictures intentionally, but I know a few dealers on ebay that have made it their business to do this very thing, and wonder if anybody has stories where crappy pictures brought more money than high quality ones, and the ethics behind such a practice.
You probably get less complaints your current way and they won't have a leg to stand on for claims like mus-represent. Better to not make a sale than have an unhappy buyer.
A satisfied customer will send you at least one more who's "pre sold" on your stuff/integrity by not hiding defects. The thieves can always use photoshop too!
Every time you have a refund for a return, you also absorb the original shipping cost. That can end up costing you your profit margin if it happens on the same coin several times, especially your lower priced ones. On higher priced goods, you may end up loosing a very valuable new client. Trust is hard to gain back 100%.
99.9% of the time I won't consider bidding on a coin with bad pics. The only time I'll take the kind of gamble you describe is when A) there's not a lot of money at stake and B) I'm able to "see beyond" the bad pics, if you will, to discern the characteristics I'm looking for with a high degree of confidence (if that makes sense). In cases like that, I think bad pics work to the seller's disadvantage by scaring less knowledgeable buyers away and keeping the bidding low. I've picked up a number of poorly photographed older world coins in XF condition at F prices.
Bad pics attract bad customers. Good pics attract good customers. I don't know if it is true, but it sounds good. Chris
I have had numerous customers initially shy away from a coin because of a flaw that was quite evident in a large, well-focused image, only to return, buy the coin, and ultimately be very happy that the flaw was very difficult to pick out on the life-size coin. I understand both perspectives, but in my mind, the customer is always right. To be forewarned is to be forearmed . . . from the customer's perspective, a dealer should provide as much pertinent information about the subject coin as he / she reasonably can before the customer's purchase. Deliberately providing substandard photos definitely seems misleading, especially if the photos are not very consistent in quality with those of other coins offered by the seller . . . bear that in mind, and check the seller's other coins to figure out if the photos of the coin you are considering seem intentionally poor. - Mike
I have a story of a seller posting terrible photos and descriptions and me returning it. I was trying to save money on a 20 cent piece and bought one that appeared fine in the poor photos but had "scratches on the surface". Scratches turned out to be someone's name carved into the surface of the coin cleverly hidden by poor photos. The seller ate the cost of refund plus shipping two directions. I now will only add problem free coins to my Type Set, and the few times I purchase on ebay, I go to the highly rated, high resolution sellers who aren't afraid to show the whole coin.
I too will not even consider bidding on a coin with a terrible, soft focus picture. I know seller is hiding something!
I love out of focus photos, have gotten some awesome deals that way But I also believe that there is such a thing as "too good of a photo". Personally I try to make photos that represent the coin as one would see it in hand, just much larger. I see people using lighting and techniques that make coins look stunning in pictures, but it's not even close to how it looks in real life. For example, compare the two sets of pictures here: http://coins.ha.com/itm/great-brita...deep-cameo-pcgs-/a/3033-23273.s#1153611536562 The first set is "too good" and the second set how you would see it in hand. I, for one, would be less inclined to bid on a coin that only has pictures like the first set, because although the coin looks stunning, it also makes it hard to make out the actual color or see discoloration/spots in the fields.
