Can we get some Ebay buying tips? Seems to ba a lot of sheisters out their. Would like to know what to look out for and also what to look for in an deciding wheather or not to bid on an Item. I used to buy from ebay quite often a few years back and got some pretty good deals and was always happy. A few months ago I made a purchase without viewing the sellers feedback, I was not happy. And to tell you the truth I woud have been better off searching coin return slots on payphones. Seems to be a lot of crap out there. Any advice would be greatly appreciated by myself and others I'm sure. Jim
In my opinion, the first rule on Ebay has to be: know the coins you are buying. Never hurts to ask those more experienced than yourself, on a case by case basis. I do it with nearly every single prospective purchase. Even if you have good experience with the coin you are purchasing, it never hurts to have a second set of eyes check over the images. They may see something you miss. Trust your gut - if your instincts tell you something's wrong, usually something IS wrong... Watch out for unkown or unlikely grading services - SGS, etc. Buy the coin, not the holder. Review feedback, even if the % is high... 97% may seem high, that means for every hundred people out there (that have done business with that person), 3 have been upset enough to post negative feedback - and that's pretty upset. In general, hesitate to purchase from outside the US. A very high percentage of sellers located in china sell counterfeit coins... There are many exceptions to this rule, but generally speaking, your ability for recourse is slim already, it's nil when you purchase from out of country. Last: know the coins you are buying. This is most important. Ebay is a rough rough place to buy coins. You will find a lot of them are fakes... even more are over graded, and/or hyped where no hype is deserved. -there are plenty of highly experienced collectors on this forum that would be more than happy to help out, on a case by case basis-
Heres some tips straight outta the U.S blackbook 2006. Maybe if i use italics and quotes i wont get sued....for as much. "Leading the potential customer to believe the coins are more valueable than they really are" Watch out for auctions stating how coins sold. i.e an auction selling morgan dollares worth $15 will be selling them for $50 and stating things such as "Morgan dollars have sold in the past for more than $20,000!! L@@K" Showing fake sympathy is also a telltale sign like lines that state "i just want to get people into numismatics because i love it" " I just love selling coins" or the ever popular " I got ripped off probably 50 times and finally said "' Thats it im starting to sell coins" just like an estate just popped up in their basement at the exact moment he "had enough of it". That was mine so i didnt have to use quotes! ha! "Implication that the coins offered are in some respect "'special'" even though the same specimen can be found at a local coin shop in the same or better condition" "Failure to state actual silver content" " Creation of gimmicked names for coins other than their real numismatic phrase. Such as calling kennedy half dollars "Kennedy half eagles" in an effort to promote and glamorize a coin that doesnt hlod that much value." Also watch out for coins not in a slab or coins that seem to be graded by the person advertising it. This is reffered to as "Slider grading" or increasing the grade of a coin your self. When a coin cannot squeeze past AU-55 it is AU-50, Yet people auctioning on ebay will give it a Slider of AU-55. Try to really take a long gander at the coin at hand to determine, is this really MS-60 or AU-55. Deal with someone that has a high feed back or has been at ebay for a while, this isnt a guarantee of a good seller or a reputable source of coins, but it is a point in his favor, possibly two or three points . Dont expect the impossible. like a VDB for $100 or a Morgan dollar at MS-60 at a buy it now price of $10. Ok, Sorry Mr. Blackbook, but really thats like 1 1/2 pages of a 620 page book. Actually Mr.blackbook should be paying me to promote his book. Cheap skate
Do not buy unless they have a detailed photo of both the obverse and reverse of the coin. Know what to look for (such as cleaned or altered coins, counterfeits, grading that's way off, overpricing, etc.). If there's less than a minute left on the auction and nobody's bidding on it, chances are something's wrong.
always check the shipping price....i got tricked into buying a buffalo nickel that i bought for about 1.07...the shipping was 5.oo!!!!!!!!.....THATS ALMOST A 400% PROFIT ON ONE COIN SHIPPING...... and iam not sure if i can do this but there is a seller on ebay that i am extremely pleased with....his specalty is grabbags...which is if you arent sure what you really want this is the auction for you...he has MANY MANY MANY GREAT coins......i have bought from him twice and have been very pleased...i got a great coin...a late 70's proof rosevelt dime that happens to be worth thirteen smackers...and he ships all of his coins first class and all of them are in 2x2's!...cant beat that...his name by the way...something like great*coin*bargins*.....check him out...tell em hcckydd935 sent ya...lol -Pete
Extreme caution is called for when buying on eBay, There's sharks in them waters! 1) if it looks too good to be true, IT IS! 2) no matter how many times the seller says this coin trends for (or books for, or lists for) $750 (or whatever outrageous price they state) if they are willing to sell it for $30 you can be certain that it is worth $30 or less, or else they would be asking more for it. 3) ALWAYS use a sniping program. This saves big money! I know it's not as much fun as staying up until 1:45 AM to personally bid on that coin you really thought you might kinda be interested in owning, but I guarantee that waiting until the last 3 seconds to place your true maximun bid will save you money. There are 3 main reasons for this. First, it eliminates people bidding you up to your maximun to "see what it is" (i.e. shill bidding), second it gives the person with the high bid when the acution gets down to the final minutes a false sense of security, so he won't raise his bid at the last minute meaning that you won't have to bid as high to get it, and finally, it keeps you from getting caught up in a bidding war that you will regret the next morning. 4) Never bid on a coin unless the seller is a known entity (to you) or they have immaculate feedback (at LEAST a 99.8% rating over at LEAST 500 transactions). 5)Don't buy US coins from overseas. There are some honest sellers, but you will be burned more often than it's worth. 6) Never buy if they list the auction as Unsearched! Someone along the way has searched the coins, guaranteed. 7) Demand that the seller accept Paypal. This protects you from fraud, since Paypal is pretty good about getting a buyer their money back if the seller can't prove delivery. Don't buy from unknown sellers that won't accept Paypal. You will never get your money back if the seller cashes your Money Order and doesn't send your coin. 8) Don't buy coins that are being sold with poor photos. Digital photography is simple enough that anyone selling coins ought to be able to take good enough close-up pics for you to see all the fine surface details of any coin. Anyone who claims otherwise is ignorant or a liar. 9) Ask for different photos of coins that you are uncertain of (or ANY key date coin). this is one way to find out if the coin looks the way it does in the picture always or just in that one photo, also it helps to prove that the seller actually posesses the coin they are trying to sell. 10) Only trust the grades on slabs from NGC, ANACS, PCGS, and ICG (MS67 and lower only for ICG). All others consistantly overgrade or worse. 11) Never buy a key date coin that isn't in one of the big 4 slabs (maybe PCI and SEGS too). There are just too many fakes and problem coins out there. If it is a key date and it's not in a slab, the obvious question is "Why not?!" The reason is USUALLY that is can't get into a slab for one reason or another. 12) Buy the book before the coin. If you don't know at least as much as the guy selling you the coin about that specific coin, you are likely to be cheated. Know the coins you are buying well. 13) Get good advice. If you are interested in something that you aren't an expert on find an expert and ask their opinion on a coin. 14) Buy the coin and not the slab. If the coin has heavy balck toning it is ugly and it doesn't matter what the number on the slab says, it will always be ugly (or cleaned). Also, the graders are human and they occasionally make mistakes (even at the reputable companies), so don't take the number on the slab as gospel, it may not be. 15) Know the shipping price before bidding. If the seller is dishonest enough to try to cheat ebay out of their fees by charging too high a shipping cost, they are dishonest enough to try to cheat you. 16) Ask questions! Good sellers are more than willing to discuss their coins with you. They understand that promptly answering your questions builds trust and that it can lead to a future repeat buyer. Any seller that ignores your questions isn't worth your time. 17) Never buy from a seller unless they have a good return policy. (preferably one where even shipping is refunded). If they are unwilling to buy back a coin if you are dissatisfied, then there is usually a good reason. That reason is that they know that they are selling inferior products and they want no part of ever seeing them again. 18) have fun and collect what you like! I thouroughly enjoy eBay, but part of that comes from knowing how to keep myself out of trouble out there. edited since I forgot #17 in the original list...and because I can't spell
As a long time buyer on ebay, and just recently a seller, I give a heads up to all the advice given. Ebay is full of crooks. Nothing is to good to be true. "Estate" sales, "WORTH $20,000", "UNSEARCHED" STAY AWAY FROM THESE Pics can be decieving. Tilt the coin this way or that, and all the tics and scuffs can be made to go away on MS coins. READ!!!! Know what you are buying! Trade Dollars??? Stay away on Ebay! If that really expensive, rare coin has no bids, or low bids, there is a reason for that. Fake, whizzed, overgraded with deceptive pics, etc!
YEP!YEP!YEP! A wonderful ebayer, bought like $30 woth of coins from him and got soem great coins, all Gem BU and a 2000 Proof nickel. Hey Peter, I hear u like nickels, ill trade u that dime for my nickel Send a PM on ebay to adlines2005.
Oh yeah...... Grab Bags are like a fake lotto. BAD BADD BADDD. BS, JVG814 , Grab Bags are from crooks, period. No one but shillers "say" they got a great grab bag. 500 1950`s wheaties, a dateless Buff, a couple 1964 Roosies and a dinged WL half. "GREAT GRAB BAG" Yeah, all for $29.95 and $10.00 shipping (insurance extra)!!!!!!
1. What is a sniping program? 2. Is there any way to tell a dipped coin on ebay? 3. What kinds of US coins are counterfeited, what is a trade dollar? 4. An old lady gave me this slot machine that her grandfather had in his barn until she got it in 1921. The dollars inside are all pretty new wlooking but I'm not an expert and am offering them for sale ... just kidding.
Yes, Most grab bags are major BS. But this is not..you think we would have 2 people endorsing this guy if he was BS. If you want, i will list what i got for my $30. This seller is wonderful. Trust me i know, i got 5 s**t bags already.
I have to agree with BZ - not *most*, invariably ALL grab bags are not worth it. I hate to sound snide, but anyone who endorses a grab bag is not only giving terrible advice, but I also wonder if they might not be the seller promoting their own products. If a 'grab bag' was worth more than the price tag, only an idiot would not just sell the coin for what it is... So the outcome is simple: The coins are worth far less than the price. Interesting though, that we have two such devout customers... coincidence even.
ok criticize my endorsemnt and accuse me of being the seller. Listen man. Im 14, i dont have a credit card and when ever i buy coins on the internet i pay my mom with my money and she uses her credit card. tell me, how could i be the seller. My moms account is adlines2005 that she has created very recently it has 2 feedback for theese items and have like them very much. i am just backing up Peter17 when he says he likes this dealer and so do i. I'm trying to give advice to some people. i normally dont buy grab bags but these are good. i would not be posting a third time and taking on two people criticizing me. I know people have had bad experiences with grab bags but why state that all of them are bad. Thats like saying all Spanish 8 Reale pieces are bad just because most of them are fake, but someone will find a real one eventually reight, because its not like it doesnt exist. Oh, whatever
A sniping program is a way to have a computer (some of them you download onto your computer and some of them run from the program owner's server) dial up eBay and place a bid for you in the last few seconds of the auction. here are a few examples: Snipe Swipe Auction Stealer eSnipe Or you can look for others here: Google search for eBay snipe programs
The techie in me says to stick with the programs you run from your own computer. Something that runs on someone elses computer (server) means your giving them your loggin info. This is not to say that a program running on your computer can't give away your info too, its just less likely. That being said, I have to agree....sniping programs save money
Especially on ANACS graded coins offered for sale, make sure you see a readable image of the slab. Many ANACS coins are net graded. For example "EF40 net VG8 cleaned, corrosion". I've run into sellers listing ANACS coins but only listing the detail grade and not the net grade, with a poor or no photo of the slab. By the way, don't take this the wrong way. ANACS is my absolutely favorite grading service. It has nothing to do with them, just the sellers.
The one area I need help with is taking digital photos. Mine keep showing only glare. Any suggestions would be of help!
I'm not sure what type of camera you are using, but most built in flashes are too powerful at short distances and will blow out the image. Turn the flash off, or diffuse it (can be something as simple as kleenex, etc.) to lessen the amount of light. Glare is caused by light reflecting off the surface. If you tilt the slab slightly, the light will bounce off away from the lens. This is similar to another photography trick concerning taking pictures of people who wear glasses. You have them raise the backs of the eye glasses about 1/2" off the ear which tilts the lenses slightly downward. Less light and a slight angle will solve your glare problem.
I'd like to know your opinions.Seems that anybody one way or another have been ripped off. It's really discouraging to me a newbie. Is there anyway you can detect fake from genuine even from photos? Since i dont have the resources to have my collection graded by third party, what are other options?
