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 Replies: 26 / Views: 3,732 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1590 Posts |
Pictures! Never buy from a stock picture. They will always put up the very best example they can find. Mind you if they advertise an MS coin and show you a pic of an MS66 coin, you will still, usually, get an MS coin. But usually it will be closer to MS60 than to MS66.
Even those who show the pic of the actual coin....well...sellers want it to be as good as possible, and buyers want the pic to show the coin to it's worse advantage. Most will not alter the pic to eliminate defects, but they might angle or use lighting to their advantage. On the flip side, some sellers can't take a good pic to save their lives. I once bought an MS 1884 S Morgan because the pic was out of focus and shaky. No one else bid on it and I got it for $9.99 ( before the big run up in silver).
Look for someone with a return policy, especially when starting out.
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Valued Member
United States
84 Posts |
I think I got burnt on an ebay deal. Guy was selling a 4 coin gold proof set. Paid like 3 grand for it. Get it home, everything looked ok. Stupid me then had to buy a scale. I had vernier calipers and a accurate micrometer. Thickness: check Diameter: check Finally get my scale and 3 coins were <<Keep it Family Friendly>> exact. One coin was overweight (half ounce). Close analysis showed a minute scratch in the shiny field of the obverse. My guess is that someone else did a destructive test to see if it was in fact gold. Bought the coin to a dealer, he said some mumbo jumbo,"it's probably real" probably mad that I didn't get it from him. Said "never to buy from ebay, go to Heritage Auction" Came here. Now this is the scary part. I put my trust and faith into what the other members told me. They said the weight can vary a little. I think it was off 15/1000's or something. Didn't make much sense that the mint would give away extra gold. And that is where I stand. Finally joined PCGS, I have 7 coins (need one more) to get the member special. If the label comes back genuine, I'll be happy. All this talk the seller said "never out of the capsule" is total BS. Now I only buy graded coins. Unless they can counterfeit holds (sure they can), I should be good. One thing on grading. When they issue a number that is unique, and if they know of 10 people with the same number, then they should be able to help us track the owners. Think you can do that with the secure, but I mean, it's real expensive. A reminder to the community.....I put my trust in you guys, people talking out their butts should do exactly that: BUTT OUT. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
624 Posts |
Quote:
All this talk the seller said "never out of the capsule" is total BS. The sad part is that the statement could be true. The guy who sold them to you might have bought them from someone else and 'never taken them out of the capsule.' I hope things work-out for you! |
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Valued Member
United States
211 Posts |
About 80% of the coins are not worth buying. Once you learn how to sift through that 80%, ebay is a great place to buy. There are many many sellers that have 99+% feedback and still don't sell great coins. Feedback is only an indicator of the fact that you will actually get your coin once you pay for it. Actually read the feedback comments to get more information if you want to get an idea of how accurate listings are and what not. The hardest part is finding non-cleaned coins and you really just have to be tough in how you interpret the photos. Many people list coins as BU and UNC that are really AU and worse. Bid conservatively and photo grade conservatively. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
759 Posts |
Seriously, Elmo? Really?
You blame strangers on an internet forum for a potential $3050.00 loss that hasn't even been proven yet? Your post at the end of that thread says it all: you had concerns, could have returned the items but didn't because the price of gold went up in the interim. How is that anybody's fault except the guy you see in the mirror.
Bank,
Start small. You can learn one thing from Elmo's story: don't hesitate to return an item if you're not happy. If you're not happy at the first sight of the coin, chances are you never will be. Don't expect to bat 1.000.
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Valued Member
United States
286 Posts |
I've had good luck buying at near bullion prices for good size lots and occasionally finding something.
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Valued Member
United States
374 Posts |
I buy and sell on ebay a lot. I have had one coin returned in over 300 sales. I do describe my coins properly and have a 14 day return policy. I also upload HR pictures. Believe me if there is a defect it will show. On the other hand I have bought coins that had average pictures. Sometimes they are nice some times they have issues. I bought a lot of BU morgans and 4 out of the 5 had some pvc issues which never showed up in the listing pictures. I ended up reselling them on ebay but I described the issues and my pictures showed the problems. This seller had 100% feedback and had sold several of these lots with buyers praising them. So reading the feedback is really only another tool to help you. I should of known when I saw they were in the old pvc holders that there could be a problem. The sellers are a consignment shop not coin dealer. I did end up making a little money when I resold them. I didn't look at them under a 10x loupe when they came in or I would of sent them back. For me unless it is a bullion type buy I only buy graded coins off ebay. |
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Valued Member
United States
73 Posts |
I buy all the time off ebay. Other than one counterfeit issue (where I got my money back, so no big deal), it's been great. I honestly would buy from dealers and stuff online but frankly they're just more expensive across the board for the same certified coins. Only time I buy from dealers is when I'm looking for something rare that only they have. |
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New Member
Canada
9 Posts |
I have had hundreds of purchases and hundreds of sales on ebay....almost all of which have worked out great. With that said it is a great place to meet idiots but I can also meet them almost anywhere...I have made some fine friends and have had many repeat sales/purchases. One of the biggest issues I have found is shipping. Keep in mind your package is likely a single coin, in an envelope and should cost no more than 3 dollars. However, there are some that ship for over 12 dollars. Keep these things in mind. |
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Valued Member
United States
84 Posts |
T34 Quote:I buy all the time off ebay. Other than one counterfeit issue.... Do tell!!! PineappleBowl, have I blamed anyone? I take ownership for my actions and stand by the consequences, so huh? Guy asked about buying on ebay.... I think JJ said you gotta sift through the 80% rejects to find good ones. I think coins/currency are one of those categories that are deeply scoured over by others, than lets say...patio furniture. I think when the melt price goes up, people come out in droves, goes down, low volume of sales. Buy high sell low! |
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Pillar of the Community
1751 Posts |
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New Member
 United States
27 Posts |
I just won my first coin! It's a 1911 Barber dime! :) I have bids in on 1907 and a 1882 Indian Head cent from the same seller! I'm excited to be able to add to my collection in other ways then coin roll searching. |
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Valued Member
United States
335 Posts |
Holy Crap! - those 3 comemerative halves for $50 & free shipping? That's a steal - ($50 because u'll pay ebay & PP fees too) Edited by zookr
07/06/2013 8:59 pm
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Pillar of the Community
1751 Posts |
Just the tip of the iceberg... lots of good stuff on the 'bay. The Pilgrim there is an UNC '21, and the Lex is also a problem-free UNC.
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Valued Member
United States
84 Posts |
Just gotta watch sellers who schill on their own listings. In rare cases a seller may actually BUY the item they are SELLING at an incredibly low price within minutes of listing it so that the feedback will reflect the item at that low, low price. It's rare but does happen, usually about 3AM lol. More common are those 1 or 2 feedback people who bid to drive the price up (schill). Even then they have multiple accounts with good amount of feedback, so hard to pinpoint except for things like IP addresses, all of which ebay will look into if you report a possible listing/activity violation. And that's all you need to do is suspect the activity. If the seller is clean, ebay usually will find out. |
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Replies: 26 / Views: 3,732 |
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Posted 06/26/2013 5:32 pm
