Quote:WOW! How do you know when it's a bot or scam on
ebay? Very good information to have if anyone wants to share?
Some things to watch for:
- Seller has low or no feedback and has many high-dollar coins listed
- Seller provides no information about shipping, returns, or insurance
- Seller refuses to answer questions or will not provide different photos, or cannot / will not answer questions such as where they got the coin from or why they're selling it
- Seller is listing lots of rare or valuable coins but has no history of buying or selling coins at all
- Seller contacts you and tries to get you to pay via bank wire transfer or direct money transfer (e.g. Zelle) or otherwise wants you to bypass
ebay's payment systems, or discourages you from paying with a credit card.
- Selling account has not been used to sell anything for a long time then suddenly has a ton of listings (not always a scam, but merits diligence)
- Description has links to outside websites, is written in poor/garbled English, is copy-pasted between listings (or use Google to check), or has nothing at all to do with the coin in the picture.
- Lists a coin as being certified by PCGS, NGC, etc. but doesn't provide the certification # or won't show a picture of the full slab
- If a photo of the slab / certification number IS given, check with NGC or PCGS's websites to verify it
- Has a crazy BIN price (like $20,000 for a $1,000 coin) that doesn't make any sense
- Seller is located out of the United States but does not disclose this anywhere in the listing
- You can use Google Image Search on the photos to see if they've been used before in other listings or websites
- Seller is offering a very valuable coin at a BIN price way below market value (you really think you're going to buy that "PCGS XF40 1795 $1" for $300.00?)
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Posted 03/26/2023 1:37 pm
