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Message:: [QUOTE="schatzy, post: 639097, member: 17401"]I have buying and selling on eBay for almost 4 years and I thought I would share what I learned!! My Top Ten List of eBay don’ts 1. Un-searchedDo you really believe there are un-searched coins out there? Someone at some time searched the coins to find the key dates. However some may be unsearched for cherry pickers looking for varieties or other errors. 2. Unopened Proof or Mint SetThis is one thing I would never buy as it is too easy for the seller to open the mint envelope and then use a steamer to re-sell the set as unopened. I have found sellers that are selling brand new mint envelope with no coins on eBay. 3. Graded coinsIf you are buying graded coins on eBay I would stick to NGC, PCGS or ANACS. You will get burned in the long run if you choose to buy any other 3rd Party slab. Other companies are famous to slabing problems coins or highly overgraded. Unless it is in a top grading service holder, it doesn't offer any protection against counterfeiting. 4. No PicturesI would not buy if there is no picture(s) or just a picture of the one side. There are lots of lazy sellers out there that will take 1 picture and call it good. I am not saying that every auction with 1 picture is bad, but if it is a big dollar coin I would pass and wait for another one. Don't be afraid to ask the seller questions or ask for more pictures. 5. Raw CoinsIt is very difficult to judge the authenticity and quality of a coin based on photographs alone, especially the less-than-expert photos often seen on eBay. And even if the photo is great, who's to say that you will actually receive that coin? Counterfeiters are known to use genuine coin images but then send out fakes. Avoid becoming a victim by never spending more than you can afford to lose when you buy raw coins on eBay. 6. Impulse BuyingDo your research before you pull the trigger on an auction. I can’t tell you how many times I find coins that go for more money than Buy-It-Now auctions already listed. If you do your research before hand you won’t get caught up in any bidding wars. 7. Don’t OverbidDon’t get caught up in a bidding war. I do my research first and then write down my max bid that I am willing to pay for an auction. I also don’t put my bid in till the auction is almost over. Put your max bid in and don’t look back, don’t get caught up in the moment. 8. Buy Grab lotsI often find auctions that have Buy-It-Now’s and selling coins that you don’t know what you are bidding on. The seller will often say the coin has a value of $40 but selling coins at $13.95 with free shipping. First you don’t know how the seller determined the value and you most likely will be unhappy with the coin. 9. Chinese sellersAlways check where the seller is doing business. If you are buying US coins, why would you buy from anyone that isn’t in the US. Since 90% of all fake coins on eBay come from Chinese sellers. 10. Don’t buy into the Sellers StoriesA favorite practice of fake coin sellers is to claim that they aren't a coin expert, so you should judge the photo for yourself. They might claim that the coins belonged to a recently-deceased aunt or that they were bought at an estate sale. What these claims have in common is that they usually disclaim responsibility for the authenticity or grade of the coin, selling the coin "as is."   Just use your common sense, if something is too good to be true it most likely is!![/QUOTE]

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