On Trust In Coin Transactions

I've read a lot of interesting comments from the buyer's perspective, and now I'll throw out a few observations from the perspective of sellers. A lot of this is going to sound very obvious, but you might be surprised how many people just don't get it. In fact, many coin dealers don't get all these either.

Rewind to that "dark alley" scene above, which happens to be from one of my favorite action films, Ronin. If you ever see this film, pay close attention to that scene because I think it nails what not to do when two strangers come together to do business. That scene is a long chain of stupid moves that ends in unmitigated disaster.

So how do sellers mess up? Here are a few possible scenarios:
• Unclear, missing, or inaccurate information for the item being sold. If your buyers get confused often or repeat similar questions, you might need to be more informative about your items. Can the buyer easily judge the coin's grade and other features from the photo? If not, time to upgrade from your cell phone.
• Once engaged by a possible buyer, changing the terms of the sale such as agreed price, shipping costs, or even the item itself. This is commonly referred to as "bait and switch"--never a good thing.
• Bringing in another person the buyer must deal with, which can only add to their confusion. This is a red flag for a lot of people, as we know con games often involve tactics to keep "the mark" off-balance. Worry a buyer, lose a sale--it's that easy.
• Changing locations. If you've identified yourself as living in Denver, but tell the buyer to send money to Miami, do you think they won't be worried?
• Thinking you can pull anything on the buyer. Providing exaggerated descriptions or trying to force a quick decision indicates to me there's a problem with what you offer. Sales professionals use these tactics all the time, but it's simply bad business, and suggests they really don't believe in their product.

On the other hand, sellers who consider the buyer's interests upfront will naturally have more favorable results. Unless you're running a scam, it's in your favor to:
• Accurately describe and picture the item. The more the buyer knows up front, the less surprise or disappointment. If you need fuzzy photos to make a sale, that might indicate something.
• Once contacted by a buyer, give them all the info they need regarding final price and shipping costs so they can decide quickly, pay, and receive the item satisfied. Most likely, they will bother you less for information during the deal.
• Be consistent from beginning to end. If you find yourself changing your story through the transaction, you're simply lazy and haven't given it enough thought.
• Keep the buyer in the loop at all times: tell them when the money was received, when the item was shipped, and get their feedback when the transaction has been completed. How many coin sellers conduct satisfaction surveys? They'll learn something if they do.
• The final clincher to me: if you have a good item to sell with real value to the buyer, you're more inclined to be transparent throughout the transaction. Good coins, products, etc. are sold by objectivity, which most buyers recognize immediately.

Nothing about the Internet has changed the basic virtue of the human race. 99.5% of us are decent, moral people who would never willingly allow a deal to go wrong. What the Internet has done is to give the other 0.5% a broader audience, and now they seem disproportionately numerous to paranoids like myself.

I can look back at almost 400 ebay transactions, and hundreds more at other fora, none of which caused the slightest stress. And when I mention the large number of scams I had to deal with in my last Moderator's position, it must be remembered that the forum had over 75,000 members.

It is not difficult to protect yourself in an online transaction - it's just not automatic. Effort is required.

That's the point I was trying to convey in my post. Like SuperDave stated, It's not difficult to protect yourself with online transactions, it just requires effort in all aspects. I just payed Paypal for a coin I purchased on ebay. The seller is in Canada and I'm in California. This seller has 100% positive feedback which is a huge plus with me, especially if he has been on ebay for awhile or has huge transaction history. I am sure I'll get the coin soon unless of course the post office loses it

Specifically with respect to ebay, you should:

1) I think the important thing to do on ebay is to actually read the negative feedback comments. I have seen people posting negative feedback because their item took a day longer to ship, which I personally wouldn't bother me.
2) If the seller has a description/blurb about who they are and what they sell, check to see if the items they are offering are consistent with that description. Also, be aware of their location. If you find someone who usually sells kitchen appliances in Turkey, offering to sell uncirculated silver maple rolls, it would be wise to ask a few questions. Also keep in mind that ebay is for everyone, and not just specialty stores. You will encounter individuals wanting to sell what they found while cleaning out their basements.
3) This is the most important point. Read the item description, shipping info carefully, BEFORE even looking at the photos! Look out for deceptive language like "Silver-ed", or "(leaf) silver/gold". Ask yourself, what info do you have, and what is missing? How much of the text is actually dedicated to the actual item? If it sounds ok, look at the photo, and compare the information you read to the photo.
4) Learn the coverage policy offerred by the payment processing system you are using. I personally process all of my payments through paypal within the paypal insurance limit. If worse comes to worse, you can always call up paypay or your credit card company and report the transaction and not lose any money.
5) Don't buy from people who are claiming to sell items which belonged to dead family members. I usually find these auctions to be exaggerated, and misleading.
6) Don't buy items of high value online. If I was able to fork out $10,000 on a coin, I would want to analyze it in my hand before purchasing. That is unless I was buying directly from the mint.

If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't!

For me the most scary part is mailing, niether the seller nor the buyer has control over it.

I can honestly say that I never worry about ebay transactions. I think that I mitigate the risk by using a credit card (usually through Paypal). If my coin is not delivered, I'm not paying for it. Unfortunately I've had to test this theory twice and things turned out in my favor both times.

I think a I'd rather buy from a seller with a good return policy than high feedback. Seller feedback really doesn't mean much to me since some of the best deals on ebay are people that create an account to pawn an inherited collection.

When it comes down to expensive coins, I typically stick to a few favorite sellers that are off ebay. Not because of trust, rather they always provide me with the best deals.

WOW!

Something to be watched for. Thanks for the discovery.