I personally buy on
ebay simply because there are no local coin shops in my area. I buy carefully though and try not to jump into things before taking the time to check out the seller's past transactions and feedback. With all the recent fakes out there, it's getting difficult to tell exactly what is good and what is newly manufactured. The Chinese counterfeiting operation also produces a "circulated" version of their coins that get machine tumbled and chemically aged.
~ Jim