Anyone have any experience buying at ma-shops for world coins?
ELuis
Posts: 1,111 ✭✭✭✭✭
On the help page, they show a USA contact info on Sarasota, FL, and the other one in Germany.
I see on any of the coins, they have a Cart and below displaying a seller location, can be in any place in Europe, i can see some on the USA too.
It is worth to give it a chance to this site to buy coins at that place? I am in CA.
Thanks for any comments!
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Comments
I have in the past bought a couple of coins from them but in recent years have seen what appears to be serious price inflation on everything - do they really sell at those prices?
Well, just Love coins, period.
MA-Shops is based out of Germany, but I think they have expanded into the US some.
When you buy something on MA-Shops, you are not buying an item from MA-Shops but rather from a dealer that lists items on MA-Shops. Your experience on MA-Shops will be more tied to the dealer you are buying from than from MA-Shops itself. Some dealers have great material at great prices. Some dealers will overprice certain types of coins. Some dealers will not always call out problem coins. I have bought on MA-Shops many times from dealers in Germany (and sometimes France and Austria) with good results. The vast majority of dealers on MA-Shops are real, established professionals that have good reputations that go beyond MA-Shops. I would shop there without fear.
IG: DeCourcyCoinsEbay: neilrobertson
"Numismatic categorizations, if left unconstrained, will increase spontaneously over time." -me
As it is with many things, it depends. Many dealers on MA-Shops have reasonable prices. Many are expensive. Which dealers or coins are you referring to?
IG: DeCourcyCoinsEbay: neilrobertson
"Numismatic categorizations, if left unconstrained, will increase spontaneously over time." -me
My experience is a few years old, so things may have changed since.
They are geared to sell in continental Europe, so the prices (by law) include VAT. I used to check out and indicate PayPal as the method of payment. But before paying, I would contact the seller and ask them to remove the VAT and be sure the shipping amount was correct for USA and then pay the resulting charge. In every case, the price was lower than it had been originally. YMMV.
I’ve bought a few thing on there, it’s all worked out fine so far.
I collect some World coins, including British colonial, British, Panama....To use an example, later Panama Franklin Mint gold and proofs - out of line, not crazy, but maybe 25-40% high.
Well, just Love coins, period.
I highly recommend the MA Shops platform and the dealers they present. Over the last
10+ years I have purchased 40-50 coins from the dealers on the MA Shop platform. They
are easy to work with and at times accept my counter proposals. The dealers I've bought
from all have high standards and are beyond reproach. Most of the forum knows the
narrow collecting area that interests me. Yes, at times their prices may seem high, but
most will negotiate. If they don't I might still buy the coin. In my collecting area the coin
maybe listed as common or scarce but even they do appear only once every 15-20 years.
Compared to some of the coins I collect an American 1804 dollar is rather common if you
consider auction appearances. I would without question recommend MA Shops and the
dealers they present. IF the price seems high then negotiate with the dealer or move on.
Agree with @Tibor above. Never had a problem on my purchases. But, you are dealing with many different companies so might be best to ask about the individual dealers.
I’ve purchased from Dirk Loebbers a couple times and been pleased.
My current "Box of 20"
I bought couple raw coins form two or three dealer there. It is ok.
Another consideration as I have considered listing coins there, is the fees dealers pay are higher than ebay if I'm not mistaken.
I have no problem buying through MA. I have had several awesome pick ups in the cast material I am interested in that is offered thinly in the states. If you know your sector, price not an issue. I’ve had several conversations and communication with 6-7 different dealers and never hurts to ask questions first. I took the leap a few years back and have been impressed ever since.
I have been very pleased with MA. The only problem, and this is due to the COVID situation, is the length of time it takes to receive an order. I still have an order back from 10/27 that has not arrived. I hope it is not lost as the packet contained a medal for which I had been searching since 2005.
DPOTD
I'll bite...... what's an "MA-Shop"?
Just once, and they never stop pestering you with many emails from them and dealers that use them... even when you opt out.
MA shops is owned by a fellow, Joachim Schwiening, and his Family. a long time ago we discussed a possible co-operation in North America. Remnants of that can still be found on google. I know JS for over 10 years, when he was relatively small.
all he provides is a platform for dealers to sell their products. he has very stringent pre-qualification requirements.
Its all shown on the website. there is also a 24 hr manned phone number with an English speaking person on the other end.
They act usually fast if a complaint is lodged.
MA-shops itself has absolutely NO say in how one of their dealers does business, what he charges and what his shipping charges are (usually very high). Grades are often based on the European "rubber band" system.
MA-shops takes a commission from each sale (negotiable for high turnover) but has a monthly Membership fee.
each member / dealer is his own business and can sell as he wishes, as long as he sticks to the rules.
One of the advantages is that MA shop insists on a "truthful to the facts" return policy is in place.
Payments are directly to MA-shop, who in turn pays the dealer minus commission.
I venture to say that over 500 world dealers are members of MA-Shops.
The chance is that you find what you are looking for.
So, if you think you have a beef with MA-Shops, it is fairly certain that your issue is with the dealer itself.
MA-shop itself is NOT an auction place. However, they do have an auction site.
https://www.muenzauktion.info/auction/
Feebay, watch out!!!!!!!!!!!!
Some comments on dealers I've bought from:
-Franquinet: A pillar of the German Numismatic community and a trusted source for authentication. He will have top coins and errors, recognize their value and will price up for them. I have gotten good material. However I have gotten a couple coins with active PVC residue that weren't listed as such. Overall, it is a very respected business.
-nsw-Leipzig (Dr. Hansen): He is a good grader and has a wide variety of material. He prices fairly well, albeit a little high. You won't get a steal, but you'll get what you are expecting.
-Pollandt/Muenzen am Zoo: Has a lot of mint products and more modern stuff for market prices. What you see is what you get.
-Dirk Loebbers: Trusted dealer that I believe is one of the main bodies behind WAGO. He gets some top material from time to time. I don't always agree with grades/pricing, but I do often enough.
-Hamilton-Bowen/Superb German Coins: They have top coins for astronomical prices. I haven't tried negotiating with them yet. I will sometimes see reasonably priced items.
-Gerhard Dylla: I have bought from him several times. His grading and pricing is hit and miss, but he hits often enough for me to keep checking his inventory.
-Fenzl: Overprices his stuff to a fault. I get the impression he doesn't have the best reputation in Germany because of it. His business seems to rely on people making poor decisions.
I haven't bought from a place on MA shops I'd be worried about. Returning items internationally is problematic with some of these dealers because a 14-30 day return period can expire before you get the item.
Some of those dealers I'd be willing to buy from without photos. For others, I would want high resolution photos before buying. The greatest crimes I've been victim to have been receiving a cleaned coin that wasn't labelled as cleaned and a coin with PVC residue that wasn't labelled as such.
IG: DeCourcyCoinsEbay: neilrobertson
"Numismatic categorizations, if left unconstrained, will increase spontaneously over time." -me
Well Neil, YOU were lucky and on overall, I do agree with you.
However, with a couple of exceptions, they all use "rubberband" grading and based on old catalogues pricing.
I only buy Canadian coins from them. and there, most of them know close to nothing.
I agree if rubberband means what I think it means. They use adjectival grading. This means there is a lot less resolution to the grades, particularly towards the high end. Most dealers are consistent within their own inventories, but there can be differences from dealer to dealer in how they grade. And then there's your usual amount of market grading, which I usually appreciate.
I don't want to be too hard on MA-Shops and world dealers because their problems are not unique. All of these problems are commonplace with US dealers who sell raw coins as well. At this point, words like Brilliant Uncirculated and Gem are all but meaningless nowadays in your average United States coin show. I have a habit of doing a couple more exploratory small purchases from a dealer before I start to spend more.
I only buy German and European coins on MA-Shops, and they're generally more in touch with market pricing than a lot of people in the US.
IG: DeCourcyCoinsEbay: neilrobertson
"Numismatic categorizations, if left unconstrained, will increase spontaneously over time." -me
My interpretation of Rubberband is this:
It can be stretched endlessly . or the grade can go, let's say from barely SS (VF20) to VZ+ (EF 45) when it is
at best a nice F15 (-SS).... get the drift? Knowing the way European dealers grade will help.
What's the website address?
https://www.ma-shops.com/?curr=USD
Hello,
Grading coins is still very atypical in Europe. With PCGS and NGC you can evaluate relatively quickly what you buy and whether the coin sold is genuine. When buying in Europe you have to pay a lot of attention to the seriousness of the dealer, because the coin does not come in slab. Here is the advantage of MA- stores. It is certainly a little more expensive. But you also get what you expect and experience no nasty surprise.
Except for the black sheep, which of course there are everywhere
@Marty111
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
Hello, I got a few coins from Ma-shops and , besides some relatively high prices, everything went smooth, absolutely no problems. I buy only 1984 and got a few very low mintage coins from them.
Coinsof1984@martinb6830 on twitter
Thank you. Yes I am new here in the forum. I am from Germany and know MA stores quite well. Therefore my first post.
Welcome! Collector, dealer or a little bit of both?
8 Reales Madness Collection
What does MA stand for?
Thanks, only collector.
The Grading Standards used by sellers differ from country to country. For example, FDC (Fleur DE Coin) in France embraces all grades from MS 65 to MS-70. In England their equivalent is UNC. In Germany, ST (stempelglanz) Italy, FDC (Fior di Conio) and Spain, SC (Sin Circular) My # 1 ranked Fr20FrGR collection on the PCGS Set Registry was compiled almost exclusively from a handful of sellers on the MA-SHOPS platform. If shipping fees seem high, it is because expedited secure insured deliveries to you are arranged via privately contracted services. I regret to say sellers are scrupulously honest. 🤣During a recent global outage knocking out the ability to pay by by bank wire, I sent USD which was promptly acknowledged and change, in €, returned, in kind. I recommend MA-SHOPS without reservation.
Purchased 3 times from them and never had any issues. Fast shipping and fast delivery (Europe to Canada 10-12 days Registered Mail).
NFL: Buffalo Bills & Green Bay Packers
I asked this back in 2021 when I started again into coins in 2020, must admit that only one coin has been bought on MA-Shops.
****The good thing about forums and replies is their timeless elasticity. I posted for the benefit of the collector community some members of whom may have been interested in an updated reply. My experience embraces the time frame of from 2019 to the present. MA-SHOPS is a top shelf platform.