Beware Of "Scanned" Images Vs Digital Photos !

My lordie ! WoW !-----This is the finest expression of the caveat "Buyer Beware" I have ever seen. Thank you so much------It will give everybody food for thought.

Wow....looks to me like a slightly 'doctored' picture.

There's a group of ebay sellers (and I'd love to list their names, but I won't) that either scan the coin and somehow they 'soften' the image so much that they produce an image that looks so much better than the actual grade.

It's especially misleading when the coin is an ef-au condition and with the 'doctored' softened pictured the coin looks like an ms60 to ms63.

I too have been burned (but many years ago) and since then, I stay clear of these photoshopped pictures.

Maybe I'll try to post a few examples of them later.

Yeah but how do you know if it's a photoshoped MS 65 or a real one.

Scott, just curious, even based on the original pic, I can see some distracting marks.. Why did you not ask for better pics.. I took the same image of that scan and just added auto colr from my picasa program and it clearly shows some small issues. I would say the seller did not think anything of it + mabe he does not have a digital camera... and from the pic I am pretty sure I know the seller and have never really had an issue.... I would also go as far as saying in hand those tiny lines are probably near invisible..Maybe I'm wrong... Just hope you didnt pay a fortune... by the way what year is this coin

Beware indeed. Lighting is usually the easiest and most common thing to manipulate in ebay photos. I usually let things go if the coin is inexpensive. However, this week I got this 50 cent King George and the seller insists that it was not a cleaned coin. He was really rude. All this grief over just a $15 item. Not worth it.

Sellers pic and buyers pic (guess which one is the sellers pic)

[size=2][font=Times New Roman]
Yes, this is a good example of "buyer beware".

artdio - It is 1874, and doesn't look good in hand - I didn't ask for pics on this one 'cause I just got lazy - and usually I do blow up the pics and examine more closely - but again, ditto.

And I had purchased many times from this seller before with satisfactory results.

Seller is providing full refund incl shipping charges.

de59 - one of the problems with scanning devices is that the internal software programs are getting pretty sophisticated - and even without intent, someone operating these devices can produce images that just aren't realistic.

DEVLEC - I'd say they're more than run of the mill scrathes - if they're not "cuts" then they might be neck arteries about ready to burst LOL

arianzo - it's tough to know - experience helps, but not if you get lazy - best lesson is to buy only from sellers with excellent history and feedback - and NEVER BUY from a listing that states NO RETURNS.

And last but not least to TCH - re:




As seems to oft occur, we'll have to again agree to disagree on this opinion

Scott's Canadian Coins



Staff Edit - Obnoxious manual signature removed.

Feedback can sometimes be misleading. Case in point, I bought some coins from a high feedback seller and every coin had been whizzed. He was rude, obnoxious, etc. when I called him on it, and eBay/PayPal backed me up for a full refund. The highest priced coins he sold must have all been returned with ebay's help, because none of them resulted in feedback. On the other hand, there were many lower priced coins, mostly sold I'm guessing to newer collectors like myself, who upon receipt left glowing feedback.

I was mad enough at the deception (given some of the things the seller said after the fact, he knew what he was doing) that I contacted the buyers who left positive feedback and advised they may want to have their coins professionally examined. When I checked his feedback again about a week later, he had made it "private" so the buyers or sellers who left him feedback were anonymous.

So, feedback alone is not necessarily a guide. I would say if the seller with good feedback is also a retailer with a good rep, that's different. And, given the current coin economy, I've found several of those that from time to time are letting go of ICCS coins starting with a $0.01 bid. They typically close for a good price. Those ones I would bid on all day.

Good questions!

I expect photos and descriptions that are representative of the coin. Given current technology, I think that's a fair ask.

If there is an obvious flaw on a high dollar coin, I also think it's fair to expect the seller to point it out. I also deal in a couple of other high priced collectible genres, where this is common practice between collectors (and is often/normally omitted by sellers who rarely deal in those items).

I agree scanners, especially with built in software that "fixes" the image, can be problematic. Scanners normally also can be set to turn off those features, and may still present coins in ways that are unusual because the scanning light itself is so bright.

Grading of coins by the seller I am not keen on. If the information presented is clear and complete, then at that point I think it's buyer beware. There have been some interesting threads here that I've read about differing grading opinions between experienced members, so I think it's best left to the buyer to decide at that point.