Has Ebay actually changed much over the years?

Not many have anything good to say about buying or selling coins on Ebay anymore. Has it really changed that much? To me, It's about the same as it was in the early days. Just as many bad guys and problems.

What have you noticed that is better or worse? Would you use Ebay to sell raw coins today?

 

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I don’t use them at all. They don’t clean their own house, their fee schedule has worsened and you can’t trust the buy and sell prices that are inflated both ways.

You asked.

…imo…Spark

 

I personally still think it is okay, it does seem like the number of dishonests have increased. The main problem I see is it is truly a bad place for inexpeirenced collectors. I don't alsways think it is cheaper either. Not often but occasionally, I see coins for sale cheaper on TV than ebay. One I used to see the most was a 1909 VDB MS64 cent. Don't know if this is still true, but for a few months it was.

Edit: I prefer Great Collections or coin shows for the better coins (higher cost coins).

 

I can only speak to SELLING. And selling GRADED WORLD COINS.

I have been doing okay selling such coins at eBay. Popular contemporary world Coins (key date or lower mintage) are doing well on the market, at least for me. When I sell, I do auctions with starting bids at .99 cents. The graded holders almost always guarantee a high-ish sale price. Graded holders also seem to have the effect of spooking off a lot of the A-hole buyers who want to rip you off.

Spark is right about the fee schedule worsening, though. Lardan is also right about eBay not being for inexperienced people. The Blocked Buyer/Bidder List is your friend for sure!

One outstanding observation: The eBay vigorish is REALLY starting to get my attention.

 

I was there early on. I joined in 1998. eBay was a fledgling 3. There was a forum format attached to it, and you would post your want lists. Everyday I would read want lists and post ads for sale, for free! Only fees if item sold.

I would say it has changed very much. I don't even frequent it anymore. It's become a place to look for something, only if I can't find it anywhere else.

 

When I joined eBay it was basically an on-line swap meet. A place you could go the find items to enhance and support your hobbies or other interests. All of the buyers and sellers were very supportive and understanding. Then the carnival barkers, snake oil salesmen and scam artists jumped in and eBay saw the source of megabucks. It changed too fast and I don't use it anymore.

 

I've sold a few raw coins there in the last few years, and bought quite a few more in the years previous.

"Changed much over the years"? Good golly, yes. Spiraling fees, tax (over)collection, feedback prevention, search deterioration -- a lot has gotten worse. On the other hand, it's grown by orders of magnitude, and that means there are a LOT more sellers and buyers and stuff, both good and bad.

When I joined (late 1998, and no, they didn't acknowledge my 25th anniversary ), anyone could leave any feedback for anyone -- it wasn't even tied to a transaction. (If you left more than one feedback for the same person, though, only the first one counted toward their "score".) It was much more of a community, and less of an industry. But you were also a lot less likely to find exactly what you were looking for.

I was a Power Seller for a couple of years, and did mid-five-figures of total business during that time. I fell away from it for a few years (for reasons unrelated to eBay). When I went back to try to start selling again, and I discovered that they'd blocked sellers from leaving non-positive feedback for buyers, that was pretty much the end for me as a serious seller. I rarely left negative feedback for buyers, but that was because there just weren't that many bad buyers. When buyers learned there were no feedback consequences for bad behavior, it encouraged the bad buyers.

The increased fees wouldn't have been as much of an issue for the stuff I used to sell (spot a treasure at surplus, buy it for a fraction of value, clean it up, find it an owner who'll appreciated it). For coins, and especially for bullion, they're pretty much a game-ender. Between the fees and increasing shipping costs (not eBay's fault), you're looking at a 15%-20% spread that doesn't benefit the buyer or the seller. It's hard to make money with that kind of overhead.

 

It's still the same, loaded with fake stuff being sold by fake sellers. There are a few honest dealers which are easy to find as they use multiple selling platforms including Ebay (like MAshops, VCoins). It use to be easy and profitable to sell on Ebay but not anymore. Everyone (Ebay, Paypal, the IRS) wants a piece of the sale. I rarely sale anything but when I do I use my local Craiglist, for cash only, and will only meet with buyers at a police substation that has a lobby allocated for such transactions. That way I keep 100% of the sale and I don't have to mess with shipping and payments.

 

Also consider local coin shows.

For a number of years I'd find underpriced lots on eBay, then sell the stuff to dealers at a show. I wouldn't get as much as I'd get selling directly to the public, but the offers are stronger at a show (where dealers know they need to compete with the others on the floor), and it avoids the time and money overhead of listing and shipping on eBay or getting and staffing a table at the show itself.

I also got instant feedback on the coins, which was always educational. Sometimes it taught me about the coins, sometimes it taught me about my own misconceptions. And almost always, it taught me about the dealer.

 

Yes, in the old days one could see who was the buyer and contact them. I can understand the contact part going away, but the opaque buyer issue really ticks me off.

I haven't used them in a few years. Like coin auctions, I mainly just ignore ebay as well. It saves a lot of money that way.

 

Selling nope but buying it's still my main and i always look for free shipping which is becoming more abundant.

 

I remember a lot of negative comments made on the RCC in the "somewhat" early days 1999-2000. I also remember being able to find a lot more of what I like back then.

 

It used to be a place where people auctioned-off their stuff.

Now it is a place where retailers charge inflated, Buy-It-Now prices for their inventory.

Oh, the good ole days

 

Is this a trick question? Yes it has! There was a time when the seller was always wrong and the buyer was never

 

The internet opened up a wide array of opportunities to sell or purchase items that you only found in books! I remember seeing a book of matches sell for $1000 on ebay years ago! The idea someone could move a product for a huge profit at a low cost to a collector was exciting and very profitable to others. Today, all eBay wants is more product listings and huge payouts when your stuff sells. It’s a greed driven business! Huge percentage of a sale, and they get paid when it doesn’t sell! PayPal even takes a percentage from a sale and PayPal was owned by eBay if I’m not mistaken.
What’s changed? eBay has one rule, profits! They only care about their sellers and listings. Wasn’t that way when it first started.

 

I may be wrong because I spent only a couple of hours one day looking, but ETSY appears to be full of fake coins for sale. Amazon
looked to me a little on the pricey side. I've never looked. but I have been told by several people that social media is also full of fake coins. I guess it boils down to "It's a jungle out there".

I have read I believe a time or two on CT that inexperienced people should only buy certified coins. That is good advice, but fake slabs are not that uncommon. Having the knowledge to at least see if the slab numbers check-out on the TPG site, but that is not always accurate. I have a tendency to trust Great Collections more maybe than I should and my own knowledge for Ebay along with certain dealers.

 

I've seen a lot of fake slab coins lately as well. They will make high quality fake labels inserted into similar slabs used by the grading companies. Most of the fakes I've seen are slightly older labels before they started using the holograms.

 

Good advice and spot on!

 

I recently learned that I can use online advertising programs to advertise my Ebay listings, and that Facebook ads is the cheapest option. With the right audience targeting, it's only a few cents per engagement. That means I pay about two or three cents for a like, share, or click to the listing page. This is not for affiliate ads, as they go against both Facebook and Ebay's rules, but it's nice to know you can list your own product links, edited - forum rules Furthermore, Facebook enables me to invite anyone who likes the post to like my page as well, so I think it's worth the cost of investment. Thoughts?