Ebay Numismatic Seller Registration Board?

This is the first I've heard of it, but I'll definitely check it out in detail when our move is over.

Hmmmm. It appears that the only means by which someone who is not a member to view and obtain information about the group is to receive an invitation to join like I did. I did not realize it was an invitation-only group. I received an email stating I was invited to join by ebay username "dykstrac" (whom I don't know by that ID although I may have had dealings with him/her before), followed the links in the email**. If someone is interested in the group, send me offlist the ebay username by which you wish to receive an invitation and I'll send one out.

Meantime, try this hyperlink and see if it will let you in:
http://groups.ebay.com/forum.jspa?f...ID=300013802 . If not, the only way to get more info about the group is to join (Catch-22).

**It occurred to me this might have been some type of phishing scheme, so I copied and pasted the unique coded hyperlink into my browser. Sign In for ebay Groups is at: http://groups.ebay.com/index.jspa

Here's the complete header for the ENSRB's Welcome page:

"The purpose of this group is to establish a set of standards for ebay coin sellers. Then to register all ebay coin dealers who wish to be registered by us, and who agree comply to the standards for registration. The group will take complaints from winners / buyers of offers of coins, precious metal bullion, and exonumismatic items from registered ebay sellers, arbitrate disputes upon request by buyers, and police registered dealers for compliance to the standards they have agreed to follow. Registered dealers found by the group to not be in compliance with the standards of the group, will be removed from registration, or given warnings to come into complaince or be removed from the registered dealers list. Buying from the registered dealers list will greatly reduce the risk of being defrauded over randomly buying coins / bullion / exonumismatic items at random from the ebay markets, and will give the buyer additional recourse in case there is a problem with a registered dealer. This group is not endorsed by or affiliated with ebay corporation. This is an ebay hosted numismatic discussion group, whose members are taking actions as part of ongoing attempts to supress numismatic fraud on ebay. Please invite members to this group by entering their ebay user ID's in the box found here, so as to help make ebay numismatic markets safer against fraud..."

Fred

Yeah, Rick, it's legit alright, but it's still an eBay-owned forum and I question how effective it could or will be under ebay's watchful eyes (if ebay spent just a fraction of the time policing its coin auctions as it does policing its forums, ebay would be a lot safer shopping place). It would be nice if the ENSRB got to the point where every coin seller would have to be registered, but with 10K? 50K? 100K coin sellers on ebay, only the honest ones would seek registration. Those who are ethically challenged would just ignore it as they have ignored ebay's own Terms of Service, the ANA's Code of Ethics, and every other set of rules and laws already on the book.

I still haven't figured out who "dykstrac" might be. If s/he is the one sending out all those invitations, it's been effective: almost 40 newbies since last evening.

Fred

Like errorfinder, I joined the group by invitation through my affiliation with the coin forgery group. Obviously, the group is new and small, and I'm a little leery of the language in some of the dealer ethics code, but I believe the intent of the group is sound. Language may be negotiated, and they seem willing to do that.

There is strength in numbers. It is possible that this group, correctly managed, could become a force for good in the ebay selling community. As of right now, nobody else is mounting such a coherent effort, and I intend to throw in with them.

The Group leader of this new ebay board is a controversial member of a particular yahoo Coin Forgery Discussion List and who has lost all credibility by experienced ancient numismatists by deeming ancient coins fake when they are actually not: he claims to see many fake coins in the offerings of major firms.

I wouldn't join this group.

Regards,

Peter

greekandroman and gettinIT, I know next to nothing about ancient coins except they're a lot older than all coins in which I deal which makes them slightly older than I am. I checked out his feedback in ToolHaus and I agree that it is less than stellar although he's had only one mutually withdrawn so far this year, no negs/neutrals and his worst feedback is almost two years old or older. I suppose the best that might be said of his claims that real coins are fakes is that he didn't make the reverse claim.

I'll keep an eye on the situation and thanks for the heads up. So far, he's been pretty straight on ENRB.

Fred

Fred and Dave, please allow me the chance to explain my position regarding my opinion above.

Just as it was stated in a previous post, unless the group is not associated with ebay in any manner, then people might still consider it as "ineffective until and unless the psychology of many (most?) coin buyers changes." Fred was right in the point that nothing will change on ebay until the buyers change their practices. Unfortunately, this will not happen unless sellers take responsibility for their actions. (I.E...the Asian sellers that sell with the INTENT to defraud...AND the buyers that buy with the INTENT to file false claims) I will not take sides as to who is in the wrong without knowing the facts of each individual and the events surrounding such. That is why it would be most difficult to create an organization as such. It's like feeling like a mouse running in a circle. The problems on ebay are an example of how this world has become.

1. Nothing will change unless change is wanted, desired, and sought.
2. Problems can occur ANYTIME money is involved (and I'm not just speaking of collecting said money.)
3. Unless ebay can be PERFECTED...well, no since in finishing that statement.

I'm sure that MOST sellers have honest intentions. Maybe they were simply mis-informed at one time or another and that opinion is stuck in their head as being right and accurate...who knows. All I'm stating is that, "YES! It's a good idea to have a group of trained members, who have an interest in the hobby, and who have the ability to perform the duties required. But until a solid establishment has been created...the practice of mis-leading auctions will continue."

Some discussion on the group leader: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/bo...opic=22213.0.

The choice is yours on whether to join or not of course, but seeing how he runs his yahoo groups, I won't be joining any time soon.

--Peter

P.S. Why not start an equivalent "Coin Community" thread for a Numismatic Seller Registration Board? e.g. sellers with certain number of posts will have their name entered and are subject to removal if do not meet criteria or behave in a manner not accepted by other members.