Ebay Advice

very true carl--I have gotten coins from forum people and they have been great.

Yes, there are some ebay horror stories but the availability and variety of coins is incredible. I buy mostly on ebay and research the sellers carefully. There are a lot of great people selling on ebay - and then there's the scammers. This forum is a great resource for researching that kind of information.

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm probably going to resume collecting for my set in the New Year so hopefully by that time my post count will be high enough to start buying off this sight. Hopefully I will be able to post up a completed set in the not to distant future.

I too have had mostly good luck on ebay. At times the picture is not worthy of the coin in hand and in those cases the seller has been happy, if not eager, to return my money. Most ebay dealers are so afraid of getting negative feedback, they'll do anything you ask.
However, one time 2 or 3 years ago, I bought a sweet proof barber half from a big outfit (can I say the name?) and they sent me a completely different proof coin that looked liked trash. I got my money back, but still, the nerve of them, like I wouldn't notice the coin was different after spending $550. I'm sure it's not just incidental either, because that same company is still recycling the same gorgeous pictures. And prey tell, how do they have a 100% positive feedback. It looks like ebay is taking kickbacks for high ratings or something.

As you can see here one of the important factors about ebay is to watch for a NO RETURN policy.
And even if you can return a coin, who pays for all the postage? In many instances people pay when buying and again when returning. Few people dealing with ebay purchases mention the cost of things like postage, handling, insurances, etc. Always attempt to add those costs to your purchases.

I personally think that ebay has an excellent marketplace for numismatic items. The only recommendation I have for making ebay purchases is to make sure that the seller has clear, sharp photographs. Most disappointments arise from the buyer simply not being able to see all the nicks, scratches, or other minor distractions because of the poor picture quality. If you're going to buy off ebay, make sure you stick to a nice handful of sellers that put in the effort to take quality photographs.

Also, don't get too caught up in all of the "horror stories." There is a plethora of collectors who have had enormous success buying off of ebay. However, those rare "horror stories" seem to linger in our minds much easier than tales of success.

You are absolutely right NicO. You'll only hear about the bad. You will not see postings about the thousands of good transactions that occur for every sour one. Unfortunately, it's the bad that we remember the most.