The Coin Scam Thread On Ebay

Interseting, theres some good info, and some really bad info. For instance on the first page someone says...

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1) Avoid any auction with a 99 cent starting bid that quotes a coin's value in excess of $500.00. (Such as TRENDS AT $12,500)

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That's ridulous. Why should anyone that's a reputable seller have ANY qualms at all starting a $500 coin at 99 cents? We start almost all of our auctions at 99 cents. It's cheaper and the more bids an item has, the more bids it attracts.

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Originally posted by bobby131313



Interseting, theres some good info, and some really bad info. For instance on the first page someone says...

quote:

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1) Avoid any auction with a 99 cent starting bid that quotes a coin's value in excess of $500.00. (Such as TRENDS AT $12,500)

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That's ridulous. Why should anyone that's a reputable seller have ANY qualms at all starting a $500 coin at 99 cents? We start almost all of our auctions at 99 cents. It's cheaper and the more bids an item has, the more bids it attracts.

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I agree. I start most of my auctions at 99 cents and let the coin sell itself. My listing cost went way down and the bidding went way up. I never say what the coin trends or what I feel its worth. it has worked pretty well for me and I have never had a negitive feedback or a coin returned yet.

I also start all my auctions at 99 cents or $9.99 just to get the bidding started. However, I don't state what a coin might be worth by quoting the PCGS Price Guide; that's false and misleading. If it's a high ticket item in which I need a certain amount to break even, I set a Reserve. Once the bids start flowing, others just naturally chip in and unless it's really a dog coin, it'll go up to (or hopefully exceed) its market value. Further, this is an auction site where bidding is SUPPOSED to start low. High start prices just discourage bidders. Why should I pay an extra 20 bucks for a listing with a high start price when I KNOW a coin is going to bid up into the hundreds or thousands and not going to dangle at 99 cents? It's just a good business practice to attract potential buyers.

BTW, we've seen mioka's efforts before. His/her research and resource list is a tremendous asset for those of us who fight fraud.

Fred

I just think its brilliant that the more bids you have, the more it will attract. That makes so much sense and I never thought of it. DOH! lol
Ty

With ebay's new increases, we are now officially starting ALL of our auctions at .99. We used to start the higher dollar items at 9.95, but we have found it really isn't necessary.

I would not be concerned about a high-priced coin that is started at .99. I am more concerned with sellers who quote values from PCGS, Trends, or any other publication. A coin is worth what a person is willing to pay. That could mean way under BV or way over. I don't see any reason to tell people what they should pay for a coin - especially by choosing the most expensive price guides to do it.

I think that using this method is VERY misleading and is a warning sign to me.

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I'm wondering at what point ebay will consider adding a buyer's premium to the auctions. In most other auction systems, isn't most of the auctioneer's fees paid by the buyer, not the seller?

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I used to sell a lot of coins through a brick and mortar ESTATE auction house, so perhaps a coin auction is different.

Anyway, I used to pay 25% as the sellers premium. Soon they dropped it to 20%, because I was a "regular." Buyers paid 10% at that house.

Starting low gets early bids. The more bids an item has the more bids it gets. It's very simple.