There are some people that knock ebay, and some that won't buy from ebay, but it's no different than going to a big coin show, or buying by mail order.. You have more them 10,000 dealers two feet away. As we know there are some bad dealers out there, but most of them are good people to deal with. I have been on Ebay over 8 years now, and I have never had a major problem. I have returned coins with no problem, and I have found a lot of good buy's, and good coins for my collection, and my grandson's.
The only problem lies in how close you can get to the merchandise to inspect it. It's just not the same which is why most of my major keys either come slabbed or from a show, so that I can authenticate them in person.
There's also the risk of one unscrupulous vendor stealing another vendor's photos without the innocent vendor knowing about it as well. The braindead vendors who know nothing about coins & banknotes are an embarrassment to the entire numismatic community.They need to be weeded out & NARU'd off eBay,CoinBay,& Overstock,just to name a few auction websites. Aidan.
Yes, there are 10,000 dealers there, and 50% are only there to get your money any way they can and probably 75% of the rest are honest, but do not know what they are selling. Having said that, I got several good deals on eBay and most of my set from there. I also have returned at least 25% of what I buy with relatively few problems except I lose the shipping because "they" think unc means xf cleaned. I gave up trying to get nice Lincolns from 1934 to 1958 and decided only to buy slabbed coins because MS65+ ususally means mostly red, lettering is there, and less than 100 baggies. It is hunt and peck on eBay, but at a show, I can see exactly what I get - eliminating the junk. But you pay for that. Having said all of that, there is something about being able to say I only paid $10 for that and is is really worth $100.
I like Ebay and have had very few problems, I will also say that in the process I have made some good contacts :thumb: De Orc :kewl:
With something over 168,000 coin listings on Ebay at this moment, I suspect that your estimate of dealer numbers is off by a couple orders of magnitude!
Right on. I've bought a number of pieces of off E-bay. I've been very happy with PCGS and NGC slabs, and ANACS if the price is right. I have had VERY bad luck with raw coins and off-brand TPGs. Never again. Hey, what the heck... youthful folly. I was a rookie. I consider it the cost of education. Also... good photos are a must. Most are not so good... I avoid 'em.
I also gotta say... some of the most hilarious threads are exposing bad E-bay deals. 1797 Trade Dollar... ouch.
I've bought alot of coins off of Ebay lately, probably to the tune of $1000 dollars worth (which doesnt take long) and I've never had a problem. Mainly because I'm very picky who I buy from. Like bqcoins said, the only difference is not being able to inspect them in hand. If well enough pics are provided and it states that its the actual coin, that makes a difference to me.
