Is It Even Possible To Get A Good Deal On Ebay?

It can be a bit irritating that so large a percent of listings are so overgraded and/or overpriced on ebay. It wastes buyers time to have to wade through coins that are 2+ grades overgraded and then 150%-300% of RETAIL to boot.

IMO, you rarely get a decent deal with BIN. It happens, but it is extraordinarily rare. Auctions are much more likely to render a good deal but as mentioned if it is a nice coin those can get ridiculous fast as well.

BE PATIENT! Set up automatic searches and also try other sites as well.

Good Luck!

Auctions and "Best Offer" bids are the best way to get decent prices on ebay, no doubt.

I've had some spotty success with a couple of other sites, for slabbed coins at least.

One is http://www.collectorscorner.com which is linked off the PCGS website. There are a fair number of dealers who list there so it has more coins than most sites. Plus it is like a pre-defined "Best Offer" as you can email the dealers an offer from the site ( you can buy now as well but I have never done that since I'm always trying to haggle a bit at least - offering to pay by check often helps ). Have bought maybe a dozen coins that I found at that site now, never a problem. A couple of the dealers don't like email offers much - from their snide/snotty responses - but most are okay folks. Surprisingly, to me, a couple dealers sent the coins out to me before they even got my check. I must "sound trustworthy" on the phone to them. LOL

Northern Nevada Coin http://www.brokencc.com also is decent in that their stated prices tend to be more reasonable than a lot of dealers/sites. Again, they are amenable to "discount by check" offers as well. For 4-figure coins, that 3% cc fee can be a big deal to them.

www.cheapslabs.com can also be useful.

Good Luck ALL!

Just yesterday, I watched an 1877 cent in G-VG sell for $143.50. It was mistankely listed under Mexican coins. Still kicking myself for not bidding.

I have gotten several great deals on ebay over the years, but be warned that it takes time and effort.

IMHO a good deal on ebay is getting what you have paid for at a price you are willing/happy to pay.
I haven't the patience to penny ante on bids , I normally bid the max of what I am prepared to pay for a coin and not even look at the listing.
If I get a notice in my email that I have "Won" a coin I always know I haven't overpaid.
Sometimes you get it for the opening bid which is great for me but a bit sad for the seller