A Better Understanding Of Why Dealers Get Bashed.

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Originally posted by national dealer

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Originally posted by SFDukie
But, there ARE honest vendors-keys

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I totally agree with you sir, but it is far from a safe place given the current code of ethics, and lack of accountability and enforcement.
My BIGGEST complaint with ebay is their lack of desire to do what is right. They consistantly allow their own rules to be broken while spouting off "We are only the venue" logic.

If that is the locig, why bother with rules? Now of course ebay is not alone in this. Many dealers do this, the ANA does this, and each and every numismatic magazine. My question is why? Do we really have to be this pathetic?

Unfortunately (I have no idea why) we live in an age where we glorify stupidity, promote ignorance, and happily strive for mediocrity.

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You have my complete agreement that ebay is stubbornly, even counterproductively lame and pathetic, and folks get fleeced with regularity because of it.
Don

All the above arguments for and against ebay go back to an earlier post by Susan: before anyone clicks onto the "submit bid" button, s/he had best educated his/herself first. As ND states, ebay is NOT a safe place to shop. A person unfamiliar with the pitfalls IS going to get burned early on in his/her ebay career. I suppose the ebay experience is comparable to learning to drive a car. One with a learner's permit doesn't hop into the driver's seat and drive cross-country on his/her first trip; s/he takes baby steps until s/he has enough experience and has made enough mistakes to drive (or bid) with confidence and expertise.

Susan has secrets? Can do secret things! The world of MOMs is a truely amazing place!!!

Stujoe, your last post says it all in a nutshell. You can get ripped off through any of venue's you mentioned. Where, who, and what are the watchdogs at the major shows? The ANA? Give me a break.

In this hobby, be it for fun or as a profession, along with the rest of the ways you conduct yourself you have ethics you follow, or you don't. I don't think this business or any other one where people think they can fox someone else out of something for little or nothing, is flush with virgins! Mike

I have mentioned my contacts with dealers at both ends of the spectrum before, so will be very brief.

My current coin store dealer is friendly, completely trusting, fair, honest, and will obtain a coin for me if he (or his daughter) doesn't have it. I can sit in their shop and look at coins (and handle them), or notes, valued at $1,000, and they don't stand looking over my shoulder.

At the other end of the spectrum is a dealer I met (well, sort of met) during a trip to Florida. I had to ring a bell installed next to his door. He then got up from a table where he and his friends were sitting, and pushed a button which let me in. I looked through plate glass at some of his coins, which seemed overpriced. He went back and sat down and continued talking with his friends.

Had I bought from him, it would have been a great deal. I did have about $300 and was looking for a gold coin.

He never talked with me. Finally, I signaled I wanted out, and he pressed the button again, and that was that. The "bad taste" still lingers in my mouth.