eBay Has Overpriced Coins

CoinSwede,
Since SGS is not a reputable grading company (unless you count their reputation for assigning perfect grades to everything), it stands to reason that these are not MS70 coins. Also, the picture is taken from far enough away that it is impossible to evaluate the individual coins and grade them for yourself. All of this is shady.

General Rule: Do not buy a sub-standard grading company slab unless you can grade the coin inside for yourself. If you can't, chances are there is a reason why the seller didn't take close-ups.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

never mind

 

These lesser grading services my be inaccurate, but most likely the coin will be BU in anycase and cheap too. But I wouldn't count on a high grade BU.

David

 

Actually both the legal and economic theory bases of valuation boil down to the price a willing buyer would pay to a willing seller, when both of them are in possession of the relevant facts.

Absolutely untrue if either party has been defrauded by the other through the concealment or misrepresentation of pertinent information. Laissez-faire economics can only work effectively in a climate of honesty.

 

Without a close-up picture of the coin, I would not count on a BU coin. I could see sliders ending up in those holders. There must be a reason why the seller wouldn't put the coin in a reputable slab. It would seem to me that the reason would be the grade it would receive. I would not be surprised to find cleaned, AU, whizzed, etc. coins in those slabs and would never trust them without a closeup to judge for myself. Just my opinion.

 

A beef I have with eBay is that some sellers charge way too much for postage. Often the postage is more than a coin itself. I was charged $2.00 for postage and the seller just used a 37 cent stamp and then when I got the package, it said POSTAGE DUE of 12 cents! I was like WTF!?

David

 

That can be pretty bad -- but just factor this into your bid.

If the most you'll pay for a coin is $50 and the shipping charge is $2, then bid $48. If it's $10, then bid $40.

This is a tough time of year for buyers and a good time to be selling. Plus, there does seem to be a lot of "stupid money" these days. Everything I've been tracking with interest recently has been selling for fairly absurd prices.

 

Two points I'd like to make:

First, there are sellers who try to avoid paying eBay fees by overcharging on s/h because eBay doesn't figure s/h into the final fees - only purchase price. If they are made aware of it, they will reprimand the seller. However, we all know that $10.00 is way too high to charge to ship a coin. Ebay doesn't see a problem until the shipping is over $20 for a single coin and often they won't do anything even then. There was one seller that actually charged $49.95 for shipping for a Morgan but sold the coin for 1 cent. That one they reprimanded the seller for, but not until the transaction was a done deal.

Second, $2 s/h is very reasonable if a coin is packaged correctly. That is the amount we charge for a single coin but we put every coin into a new 2x2, bubble wrap it, place it in a new self-sealing bag, and ship in a new bubble mailer with delivery confirmation. It all depends on how the seller packages it as to whether it is worth it. If you see a s/h charge that you feel is too high, email the seller and ask him how he packs and ships the item. You may find that it is well worth it for the care your item gets. Also, many sellers combine their s/h. If you only pay s/h on the first item and any additional items are free, again the $2 makes perfect sense. There are a lot of variables to consider.

It all comes down to reading the TOS and asking questions. You should never hesitate to ask a seller a question. If he doesn't answer, then he isn't someone you would want to buy from anyway. It's perfectly reasonable to find out what you get for your money.

 

Well when I pay $2.00 for postage, I expect it to be used for just that. I don't think its right they pocket most of it and don't put enough postage on the package and end up getting a POSTAGE DUE. $2.00 is very reasonable, I agree.

David

 

Nds,
Please believe me that I am not saying you were treated fairly at all. What that seller did was inexcusable. My response was geared at a bigger picture where that amount is charged for s/h. BTW, would you please PM me the seller's ID. He is definitely one to add to my "DO NOT BUY FROM" list. Did you contact the seller about this? If you have and he hasn't responded, a negative FB is definitely in order here.

 

Agreed. It's *never* excusable to send anything that could arrive postage due. This is someone who just puts a stamp on a package and drops it into the envelope, most likely.

There have been plenty of times where I've underestimated shipping costs in the past. (I'm getting much better at it, though.) There have been times I've charged $4 for shipping and insurance on something that came out to $7. That's *my* fault, not the buyer's; I eat the three bucks there. Occasionally, I'll overestimate, but usually by less than a dollar which I consider "noise."

And on one occasion, I made a mistake where I quoted shipping based on priority and I shipped first class. Since that buyer used PayPal, I just returned three bucks to their PayPal account once I realized the error.

But NEVER should a package arrive "postage due." That's just weak.

 

Prethen, thanks for the pointer to this dealer. I ordered a couple of coins last week. He contacted me immediately to inform me of shipping and the expected receipt date. They came today and are outstanding. The pictures I saw on his website were so clear, I was able to spot a nice Morgan variety (VAM) I needed in mint state at a very reasonable price. Thanks again.