I’m New to BST - Some Help Please

winesteven

Hi - Can you guys and gals help me a bit?
1. Please define many of the most commonly used initials on this site. For example, I understand “FS” means “For Sale”. How about many of the others?
2. What return privilege is expected/most common?
3. What payment methods are most commonly used? I think I saw mention of paying with PayPal and avoiding the 3% fee? How does that work?
4. Does the buyer typically pay before the coin is shipped, like with typical transactions?
5. I see several postings referencing the posters coins being currently for sale on certain auction sites - is that allowed and OK?
6. What are the etiquette guidelines for the frequency of reposting ones listings?
7. What other etiquette rules should I be sensitive to?
8. Precautions to avoid “bad” buyers?
9. Other advice and suggestions?
Thanks in advance for your help and guidance.

JasonGaming

1. FSH- for sale here, FSHO- for sale here only
2. Usually there’s no return privilege, but 7 days is second most common.
3. PayPal mainly. You can “send to a friend” which means you don’t have any fees but no buyer protection. The 3% one is for goods and services, which means it protects you but the seller gets 3% less money than you sent.
4. Yes, unless the seller is completely new and the buyer is experienced and known on the forums.
5. Also yes, but put where you listed your coins in the title. (For example, “New coins listed on my eBay!”)
6. Once a day, you can either post a new post or comment on your post, thus “bumping” it up to the top feed.
7. Common sense and decency. Don’t comment on other’s posts saying that their coin is overpriced, ugly, etc.
8. Ask for references, or who they have dealt with on here before. Also check activeness or post count. Besides that, pretty much no other way. Just be cautious, and if it’s too good to be true, it usually is.
9. Not really, if you have any more questions just post them here.

Thanks for joining the boards!

nankraut

: What JasonGaming said

skier07

I think what Jason said but most sellers do offer returns. Me personally, if there’s no return privilege I won’t buy a coin. I’ve been buying coins on the BST for 15 years and have never once returned a coin but a return privilege adds an extra layer of buyer security.

Also when selling a coin try to take halfway decent pictures. They don’t have to be professional quality but with a smartphone you should be able to accurately represent what a coin looks like.

winesteven

Thanks. Yes, I would absolutely offer a 7 day no questions asked refund on any coins I sell. While I'm a collector and not a dealer, it's still all about relationships and reputation! Virtually all of my coins I've purchased through auction, so the photos are decent, and many have PCGS photos. Regardless though, as we all know, even with todays technology with high resolution photos, seeing a coin in hand is SO much better than these photos. That's why a return privilege is essential.

Hallco

This thread needs more photos of coins that are being offered for sale!

winesteven

@Hallco said:
This thread needs more photos of coins that are being offered for sale!

While in the future as I upgrade my collection I'll be posting coins for sale on this site, since I just found out about BST I still have a few coins in upcoming auction channels. I just want to learn the proper etiquette for this forum, so in the next week or two I'll post on BST just a limited few of those offerings, with either photos or hotlinks to the item(s) in auction. Thanks.

DCW

While the questions are about the BST, this thread really belonged in the Q&A forum. This forum is for buying and selling coins, so it should not keep going to the top and burying actual sellers' threads.
(Though I just gave it a bump!)

KindaNewish

And if you are the Winesteven who is currently consigning on Gerry Fortin's site, you would be welcomed here without question.
You have awesome offerings which I'm sure the folks here would like "first dibs" at.

winesteven

@KindaNewish said:
And if you are the Winesteven who is currently consigning on Gerry Fortin's site, you would be welcomed here without question.
You have awesome offerings which I'm sure the folks here would like "first dibs" at.

One and the same. Thanks for your kind words.

okiedude

Any Seated Liberty Halves?

winesteven

Sorry, no, and I think I maxed out on the one in my Type Set, so no upgrades foreseen to replace that one.

okiedude

Thanks!

derryb

My posted terms on my BST listings:

"Terms: I am responsible for all shipments until post office says delivered. Will send shipping info/tracking number upon shipment. Payment by bank wire (within 24 hrs.), paypal within 24 hrs. (add 3%), or postal money order (mailed within 48 hrs.). No checks or PP gift payments accepted. (I got the "no more PPG" warning from PP.) If sending postal money order I ask that you do so with delivery or signature confirmation so there is no question that I received it. I ship immediately upon receipt of payment and ship only to US addresses. I will need a backup method of communication from you and you will receive same from me."

"Successful BST transactions with:"

Note that abuse of the no fee "family and friend gift" paypal transfer of funds will eventually catch the eye of paypal.

RG

Often wondered about the PPG effect on PP's bottom line. Now I know.
Good summary in all the above traffic.