| Author |
 Replies: 26 / Views: 3,722 |
|
New Member
United States
27 Posts |
I'm thinking of adding to my collection by purchasing some silver pieces off ebay. What are my do's and don't's? Have you had much luck with it? What are some good things to look for when I do this? Thanks! |
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
899 Posts |
ebay can be a great place to buy coins. ebay can be a terrible place to buy coins. There said that... Don't buy from anyone who has less than 98% positive feedback (check recent feedback). Don't buy from any Chinese sites - period. Don't buy German Silver (not silver). Know what the prices should be before buying - use the recently sold button and look at the history for sold items - to know what they are selling for currently on ebay (that is a reference only - you'll still want to look elsewhere for actual pricing). If you get emails from sellers suggesting you can buy an item cheaper - by not using eBays bid/pay setup - ignore them. That should be a start...I know I am missing a lot.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2311 Posts |
The best thing is to look at the feedback. Kind of like Doug stated.
|
|
New Member
 United States
27 Posts |
Thank you! That is a lot of help.
|
|
Rest in Peace
United States
10625 Posts |
Look up past threads on this site about recommended and discouraged sellers.  |
|
Forum Dad
 United States
24154 Posts |
Click the Member ebay Sales link at the top of the page first. There's usually better than 3,000 items listed at any given time by CCF members with more than 100 posts. |
|
New Member
United States
27 Posts |
Can I do that with only 20something posts?
|
|
Rest in Peace
United States
3039 Posts |
As in all purchases, CAVEAT EMPTOR. That being said, the advice given in these posts is good.
|
|
Moderator
United States
188213 Posts |
Quote:
Can I do that with only 20something posts? View the list? Yes. Be on the list? No. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
899 Posts |
Here are a couple of other ebay tricks I have used when searching for items. You can sort your searches - ebay defaults to best match. I generally will look for ending soonest and just listed and peruse those first for most things I am looking to buy. Ending soonest will let you know if something is getting ready to end - at a price you are interested in bidding on. Just listed is generally the other end of the spectrum - if something is just listed at a buy it now price that you might want to get before too many people have a chance to snatch it up. If nothing suits your fancy - then you can browse through the listings... Watch the prices + shipping. It isn't as bad now as it used to be - but there are several sellers that will list a low price and then tac on high shipping fees. Always look at shipping costs. If you find a seller you like - click on their ebay store and browse their other items. Many sellers will combine shipping on multiple items - or give you a discount for multiple items. This is quite nice for lower priced items - if you are looking to purchase several. Don't pay until you get an updated billing if you do this. ok... I am sure there are other things to note. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4901 Posts |
I have had hundreds of purchases and hundreds of sales on ebay....almost all of which have worked out great. With that said it is a great place to meet idiots but I can also meet them almost anywhere...I have made some fine friends and have had many repeat sales/purchases. As was stated, if you have a good transaction with a seller add that person to your "favorite sellers" and check them out every so often... Don't put too much weight on pictures...they can be VERY misleading.. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1037 Posts |
Next to the Search button there is an Advanced link, click on it. On this page you'll find a check box for Completed items. (Don't forget to type in the item you are looking for.) You will see a list of completed items with the price the item sold for. This is helpful so you do not over pay for your items.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1590 Posts |
Pictures! Never buy from a stock picture. They will always put up the very best example they can find. Mind you if they advertise an MS coin and show you a pic of an MS66 coin, you will still, usually, get an MS coin. But usually it will be closer to MS60 than to MS66.
Even those who show the pic of the actual coin....well...sellers want it to be as good as possible, and buyers want the pic to show the coin to it's worse advantage. Most will not alter the pic to eliminate defects, but they might angle or use lighting to their advantage. On the flip side, some sellers can't take a good pic to save their lives. I once bought an MS 1884 S Morgan because the pic was out of focus and shaky. No one else bid on it and I got it for $9.99 ( before the big run up in silver).
Look for someone with a return policy, especially when starting out.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
84 Posts |
I think I got burnt on an ebay deal. Guy was selling a 4 coin gold proof set. Paid like 3 grand for it. Get it home, everything looked ok. Stupid me then had to buy a scale. I had vernier calipers and a accurate micrometer. Thickness: check Diameter: check Finally get my scale and 3 coins were <<Keep it Family Friendly>> exact. One coin was overweight (half ounce). Close analysis showed a minute scratch in the shiny field of the obverse. My guess is that someone else did a destructive test to see if it was in fact gold. Bought the coin to a dealer, he said some mumbo jumbo,"it's probably real" probably mad that I didn't get it from him. Said "never to buy from ebay, go to Heritage Auction" Came here. Now this is the scary part. I put my trust and faith into what the other members told me. They said the weight can vary a little. I think it was off 15/1000's or something. Didn't make much sense that the mint would give away extra gold. And that is where I stand. Finally joined PCGS, I have 7 coins (need one more) to get the member special. If the label comes back genuine, I'll be happy. All this talk the seller said "never out of the capsule" is total BS. Now I only buy graded coins. Unless they can counterfeit holds (sure they can), I should be good. One thing on grading. When they issue a number that is unique, and if they know of 10 people with the same number, then they should be able to help us track the owners. Think you can do that with the secure, but I mean, it's real expensive. A reminder to the community.....I put my trust in you guys, people talking out their butts should do exactly that: BUTT OUT. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
624 Posts |
Quote:
All this talk the seller said "never out of the capsule" is total BS. The sad part is that the statement could be true. The guy who sold them to you might have bought them from someone else and 'never taken them out of the capsule.' I hope things work-out for you! |
|
Valued Member
United States
211 Posts |
About 80% of the coins are not worth buying. Once you learn how to sift through that 80%, ebay is a great place to buy. There are many many sellers that have 99+% feedback and still don't sell great coins. Feedback is only an indicator of the fact that you will actually get your coin once you pay for it. Actually read the feedback comments to get more information if you want to get an idea of how accurate listings are and what not. The hardest part is finding non-cleaned coins and you really just have to be tough in how you interpret the photos. Many people list coins as BU and UNC that are really AU and worse. Bid conservatively and photo grade conservatively. |
| |
Replies: 26 / Views: 3,722 |
Posted 06/26/2013 2:06 pm
