Ebay

Great advise everyone. Know who you're dealing with #1 and check the return policy #2.

Ben

My problem with bidding on ebay is when I see a coin that I like I will put in my max bid. Then within one minute of the sale ending people start bidding like crazy and I always get outbid. Usually by only a few bucks. My question is, what is the best way to bid and win on a coin? Should I stay with my max and take the loss or do what others are doing and jump in the last minute?
Thanx
Kelly

Slobbed coins seldom are. The ones that make the grade are cracked out an resubmitted until they are overgraded.

I only buy bulk silver on ebay because it can sometime be grabbed for less then spot.

Snipe, snipe, snipe, this is the best way to get something that you really want. I have done max bids a fair amount of times and the only ones I end up winning are very common pieces that everyone wants ans what is the point of that. If you snipe, then there are multiple things that can happen:
1. Get the item for cheaper.
2. Not start a bidding frenzy.
3. Practice typing in your last bid with less than 3 seconds.

The problem most people have is that they think they can start sniping at the last few minutes when you need to be doing it during the last few seconds. But, you have to take into consideration that you are not always the same one biding on it and there is no way to know a max bid before going over it. You also have to consider that even with sniping, you need a max bid and stay with it, if an item is at $30.00 with less than a minute left you have to guess what others are going to do and what you will do to counter them. If a coin is very popular or having lots of action then you will end up paying a higher premium. But if you can find one that is not getting a lot of action and at a lower price, then most likely you can get a good outcome from it.

The other thing I do is watch when I am bidding. In the US (where I am) most people work 9-5 and are in bed by midnight so I try to bid between 5-6 when they are driving home and 1-3 in the morning when they are sleeping. If you can set certain bids aside and do this now and then, you will also have better odds of winning the auction. The best examples I can give of this are:

1. At the end of the year last year we decided that we wanted to get the kids MP3 players and that ebay would be the way to go. I did a quick search of what was being offered on ebay and then did some other Internet searches to see what units would be best for the kids and the price range. I found an iPod knock off that had more options for $100-150 at a couple of online stores and noticed them going on ebay for $40-60 or $79 for a buy now option. The seller I found had roughly 300 they were selling over the next month and as many times I tried to get one I was always out bid. So during the last week I stayed up late one night and ended up getting 3 for about $45 a piece.

2. Coins that are offered by someone that does not know what they are and post them at an odd hour is what else I went after. I was trying to get a Large Cent for my collection that I did not want to pay more than $100 for and ended up getting a $300 coin for $35 shipped.

It's very sad you feel that way. IMO, ebay is a tremendous place for a savvy collector like you to buy.

If the seller does not have a return policy of at least 7 days, forget it. You should have the opportunity to at least examine the coin and decide to keep or send back. I always offer a "7 business day no questions asked" return policy on my coins as long as the coin has not been removed from its original holder. That will void the return. Also, if his/her pictures are blurry or distorted in any way, stay away. With todays technology on digital cameras, even a baboon can take a decent picture. I also agree with BadThad, lock in your max bid and be done. My cell phone tells me I won, or got outbid. The other members covered what you need to know. Good luck.