Ebay Bulk Orders. Worth It?

They are probably as honest as any ebay seller. Most are honest, with some bad apples.

Selling bulk lots of world banknotes for very little is not a sign of dishonesty, because there are a lot of world banknotes that are very cheap. This is not new. I bought a few such lots years ago probably for 20 cents each.

A lot of countries had such bad inflation that the currency was replaced every few years.

I am assuming that these are UNC notes, or mostly UNC. If they are heavily used I would stay clear of them.

IF UNC, it is a cheap way of starting a world banknote collection. Many are quite interesting to look at.

If you are not sure, post the ebay link for a few.

The first one has some interesting older notes but the grade is low. Many of the modern one are also low grade. I personally would not get it.

The second one is a decent lot for the price, all UNC, and I see one from North Korea which is worth more. If I were starting out, I think that I would be happy with this lot. The price seems fair.

be wary of the second listing, what is shown is not what you will get:

50 X DIFFERENT BANKNOTES FROM MANY DIFFERENT COUNTRIES ALL PERFECT UNC (picture may vary)

Although world notes in general can be cheap, once you've made a few purchases, it can really add up (with postage) and the binders/sleeves you need to keep your notes in good shape. It really makes sense to set a few goals (or at least guidelines of what notes you won't buy). Since they're pretty cheap, I encourage my fellow collectors to seek only UNC from certain countries (or with certain themes, eras, places travelled?) The fun part of it is you set the criteria- but once you set it- try to stick to it.
Check out:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Complete-S...AOSwwMxdn~Gd
He has been a favourite seller of mine for the past year since he offers sets at a fair price (& rarely are the notes AU or less than UNC).

- yes, I believe he does that (& like you, bought a while back). Or has agents who can send him the notes for a modest mark up above Face Value (FV) soon after the notes are issued. Generally speaking: most collectibles only go up in price so dealer/collectors who bought years ago have a distinct advantage over 'us guys' who just realize "I want that." Dealers also get great discounts from other dealers through their authorized dealer memberships (tax free). I won't get into the specifics- but trust me- they get heavily discounted stock. So he knows what he's doing (& I doubt his "mark up" is that modest as ebay fees can be crippling).

There are other sellers who are actually less expensive then "Yuri" (the one I suggested) but he has been an excellent communicator with me, is based in USA (so I get my items quick & he wins out in many other areas- such as honesty with grades/etc). With the other sellers (who are based in Asia or Europe) their packaging is so-so, their grading is questionable & it can take a glacial pace for their poorly packaged/labelled parcel to reach me.

CASE IN POINT:
I just received a package where the seller misidentified a note & I paid a $10 premium on it because he labelled the note as a much earlier/rarer version (when it was the most common/recent version). I had bought from him before (so no issues & my guard was down) but actually didn't verify his error (that he incorrectly[b] IDENTIFIED the note & I later verified that he didn't attribute the correct Pick #) until after I gave him +ve feedback (so I had ZERO recourse). This doesn't happen often (thank God) but enough to make me very wary to try new Sellers (who have low BIN prices on lots). And I am still waiting for my package from Turkey (purchased on Mar 1st).

"Wade" earlier made a very good point to be wary of those who post that the picture may vary from what you get[/b] & my problem seller had posted a similar warnings

I think it pays (or saves one $) when one deals with a seller who is very transparent, has a good attitude & wishes to keep up that good rapport (like the one I suggested). I sell notes on my site too (& strive to satisfy) as I hate being led down the wrong rabbit hole.

@walk2dwater the ebay seller yuri you shared is exactly the type of seller I was looking for on ebay. And based in US a few states away is a big plus!

-my suggestion to you is to take your time (no rush) & look over your uncle's notes. Try to discern a pattern for what he collected. Or you can decide which ones you like best & set some goals (how high a denomination, which countries, etc). Be methodical. Remember to set limits on what you will collect (& what you will spend on/what you won't buy). Those are some of the things I discuss on my site (&. in my videos).



-good to hear. Remember there are others like him too. Scroll down the page & ebay will show other similar items (often for less). BTW: I don't just stick to one seller but always shop around (that's part of the "thrill of the hunt" as "DavidUK" suggested in another post here).

I am not a big fan of bulk buys but recognize they're a great way to pay for your collection (if you don't mind selling extras down the road). But it's not for everyone.

I actually prefer TAsL (True Auction style Listings) over BIN (Buy it Now) b/c I want to buy quality (older/rarer/easier to sell down the road) over quantity.


"Oriole" that seems a bit steep but the higher he has to pay for stock the higher he has to charge (with ebay fees). CDN (Aus/NZ & GB) all seem high to me. So it goes.

@walk2odwater, yes, 2 1/2 times is higher than it would be locally here, but not outrageous. I am just getting back into banknotes after years of absence, so my sense of what the best prices are is probably a bit off.