Personally, I don’t buy coins worth more than about $100 directly through eBay. And those I buy directly are always recent world mint coins still in original capsules with COA or certified world coins. However, I sometimes buy more valuable certified world or US coins advertised on eBay, but always get a better deal by contacting the dealer and buying directly from the dealer. Sometimes it’s tricky contacting the dealer outside eBay, but it can be done. It's rare for me to buy a valuable raw coin from any venue, but never directly from eBay. I don’t feel badly about doing it this way. eBay does make money from the less expensive coins I buy, and they don’t police fake coins and slabs like they should. How about you? Cal
Ill buy from reputable dealers on ebay, with 80k plus sales, 99% OR btr. even apmex sells some on ebay. but Im really careful who I buy from. my local dealer seems to be above market prices. so much, Im afraid to ask him because I dont think were in the ballpark. I have to edit this, It depends on the coin, Ive made bad decisions on ebay. but in general, I try to do my homework on who im buying from. I buy from a several on ebay, and online with really good experiences, they have sales in that range.
First, a caveat: I haven't bought coins on eBay in a few years now. But when I was an active buyer, I'd look for opportunities to cherry-pick, bad photos that might be hiding a good coin, large lots with interesting items, coins from sellers that didn't ordinarily sell coins -- mostly with BIN prices that I was pretty sure were below-market-value. In an auction, there's plenty of time for others to spot what I've spotted; on BIN, I had a chance to get there first. When there were promotional deals, I took advantage as much as I could. There's a lot of trash that falls into those categories, so I'd look at thousands of listings before I found one worth buying. The hunt itself had to be fun, otherwise, there's no way you could consider it worthwhile. Then, I was very careful and thorough about making sure what I got was what was listed. I had several rounds of Buyer Protection for counterfeits, items that were nothing like what was pictured, even flat-out empty packages. But, over several years, I also laid in a fair amount of gold below melt, lots and lots of silver at or below melt, and a few nicer coins that were masquerading as junk. Nothing that's going to show up at Heritage or even GreatCollections, but certainly enough to keep me interested in the game. A few of these buys were well over $100 (including nearly all the gold, of course). Today, I don't have time to pursue that part of the hobby. Maybe after I retire, or maybe greed will drive me to free up time somewhere else.
I broke my rule of thumb a couple of days ago. I've been looking at the WWII ASE. All he showed was the box and he had less than 1,000 sells. It serves me right if I get stung. Besides that, I paid too much for it.
I buy most of my coins on ebay and have seldom had an issue, and have gotten some fantastic deals. Most of these are not high dollar items, and I do try to be careful about the seller.
This was last year's ebay cherry pick. I paid about 650. I don't usually go that big on an auction. There was no returns on the auction. I looked for a couple years for a nice original one of this variety. And the only pictures were the pics of it in the 2x2. It was a big risk at that price. I did message the seller before the auction end to confirm that the coin inside that 2x2 came with no scratches or other problem that wasn't noticeable. In case it came that way I was going to use the "significantly not as described" feature to leverage a return if it came any other way. This wasn't a usual coin seller. Just a random guy selling his grandfather's collection. The raw pictures I took myself after it came. And I sent it straight to PCGS. If CAC ever allows me the opportunity to send it in at the 15.00 cost i will send it then to see if it gets the infamous bean. But there are finds there IF you know what you at doing.
I don't entertain myself by surfing around and making gamble purchases on Ebay as much as I used to, but there are deals to be had if you enjoy that kind of thing. There were actually 3 occasions where I got such a steal on items that I felt obligated to send the sellers more money afterward! (typically people that were ignorant of what they had and provided low quality pictures) But these days I only follow auctions for NGC slabbed ancient coins. They must be coins with photos in the NGC database that I can use for verification, and the seller must have at least 200+ feedback with a positive rating of at least 97%. Largely as a matter of principle, I do not even look at Buy It Now listings. I'm interested in paying a fairly determined market price for things (auction), and I essentially interpret BIN to mean that the seller wants more than that. Of course, many sellers like to manipulate the system by shill bidding. So, I determine what I'm willing to pay and place the bid as late as possible. I'm sure they still get one over on me from time to time, but hey, that's life
Some of my very best coins were purchased raw on ebay. World class coins that had no business being there, gotten for pennies on the dollar.
What won't I buy on Ebay: key dates. I'll save those purchases for coin shows. All other coins are purchased on Ebay. Have I been burned? A couple of times, but overall I feel I am happy with the coins I purchased. A little over priced, but I am realistic in that there are Ebay fees and I live in middle of nowhere, so I can't be too choosy.
I buy frequently from eBay. As @dimeguy said, im leery of buying any key dates there. As mostly a world collector, I've found numerous great pieces at low prices. The upside is often a seller will include a business card to their website in the package. I've formed a few relationships with dealers this way by buying from their websites and paying quite a few dollars less than the same listing on ebay.
