Tried to list a raw coin in auction with “buy now” price and eBay did not allow

TwoSides2aCoin

This was a first. I’ve seen high priced coins with buy now prices before, but when I went to list a coin with a $.99 start and a “buy now” price of $3,000+, eBay disallowed the listing because it is not graded.

Anyone ever have this happen ?

MasonG

Listings for ungraded coins and currency or raw currency:
-Must not include a non-approved grading company, numeric grade or estimated value anywhere in the listing and can't show an image of the item in a graded holder if the image shows a grade
-Must include photos of the front and back of the actual item for sale (stock photos are not allowed)
-Must have a starting, reserve, or Buy It Now price of less than $2,500

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/collectible-currency-policy?id=4337

MsMorrisine

correctamundo - current policy. been years, too

yosclimber

-Must have a starting, reserve, or Buy It Now price of less than $2,500

It seems this requirement was met, because the starting price was $.99, even though the BIN was $3,000.

So I guess there was a numeric grade or estimated value somewhere in the text of the ad?

jmlanzaf

@yosclimber said:

-Must have a starting, reserve, or Buy It Now price of less than $2,500

It seems this requirement was met, because the starting price was $.99, even though the BIN was $3,000.

So I guess there was a numeric grade or estimated value somewhere in the text of the ad?

No, it can't have a BIN price of over $2500. Period. The "or" is in reference to listings of different types as not every listing has more than one of those.

jmlanzaf

@MsMorrisine said:
correctamundo - current policy. been years, too

Yes. Many many years. HOWEVER, I will point out that people like Apmex list raw DEs and the like all the time and they are over $4000.

Alpha2814

Wait, eBay enforced one of their own policies?

TwoSides2aCoin

@Alpha2814 said:
Wait, eBay enforced one of their own policies?

On some of us, not all. Typical.

johnny9434

@Alpha2814 said:
Wait, eBay enforced one of their own policies?

Fake news

yosclimber

@jmlanzaf said:

@yosclimber said:

-Must have a starting, reserve, or Buy It Now price of less than $2,500

It seems this requirement was met, because the starting price was $.99, even though the BIN was $3,000.

So I guess there was a numeric grade or estimated value somewhere in the text of the ad?

No, it can't have a BIN price of over $2500. Period. The "or" is in reference to listings of different types as not every listing has more than one of those.

OK, so the correct text of their rule should have stated something like:

• ALL starting, reserve, and Buy It Now prices used must be less than $2,500

Steven59

@yosclimber said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@yosclimber said:

-Must have a starting, reserve, or Buy It Now price of less than $2,500

It seems this requirement was met, because the starting price was $.99, even though the BIN was $3,000.

So I guess there was a numeric grade or estimated value somewhere in the text of the ad?

No, it can't have a BIN price of over $2500. Period. The "or" is in reference to listings of different types as not every listing has more than one of those.

OK, so the correct text of their rule should have stated something like:

• ALL starting, reserve, and Buy It Now prices used must be less than $2,500

Obviously not:
"1909 $20 St. Gaudens NGC PF69 Rare Coin Rare Coin"
US $1,295,000.00
or Best Offer
eBay item number:376710753809
https://www.ebay.com/itm/376710753809?_skw=rare+us+gold+coins

blitzdude

eBay is a crazy place. I had 2 bullion transactions there just today. Glad they exist but be extremely careful. Lots of risks. RGDS!

yosclimber

@Steven59 said:

@yosclimber said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@yosclimber said:

-Must have a starting, reserve, or Buy It Now price of less than $2,500

It seems this requirement was met, because the starting price was $.99, even though the BIN was $3,000.

So I guess there was a numeric grade or estimated value somewhere in the text of the ad?

No, it can't have a BIN price of over $2500. Period. The "or" is in reference to listings of different types as not every listing has more than one of those.

OK, so the correct text of their rule should have stated something like:

• ALL starting, reserve, and Buy It Now prices used must be less than $2,500

Obviously not:
"1909 $20 St. Gaudens NGC PF69 Rare Coin Rare Coin"
US $1,295,000.00
or Best Offer
eBay item number:376710753809
https://www.ebay.com/itm/376710753809?_skw=rare+us+gold+coins

But this PF69 is graded by an approved grading service, so this rule limiting prices does not apply.

I was only trying to correct the one rule of 3 that are targeted on coins not graded by an approved grading service.

Steven59

@yosclimber said:

@Steven59 said:

@yosclimber said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@yosclimber said:

-Must have a starting, reserve, or Buy It Now price of less than $2,500

It seems this requirement was met, because the starting price was $.99, even though the BIN was $3,000.

So I guess there was a numeric grade or estimated value somewhere in the text of the ad?

No, it can't have a BIN price of over $2500. Period. The "or" is in reference to listings of different types as not every listing has more than one of those.

OK, so the correct text of their rule should have stated something like:

• ALL starting, reserve, and Buy It Now prices used must be less than $2,500

Obviously not:
"1909 $20 St. Gaudens NGC PF69 Rare Coin Rare Coin"
US $1,295,000.00
or Best Offer
eBay item number:376710753809
https://www.ebay.com/itm/376710753809?_skw=rare+us+gold+coins

But this PF69 is graded by an approved grading service, so this rule limiting prices does not apply.

I was only trying to correct the one rule of 3 that are targeted on coins not graded by an approved grading service.

Oh -It was graded by a top TPG - that's right.

jmlanzaf

@Steven59 said:

@yosclimber said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@yosclimber said:

-Must have a starting, reserve, or Buy It Now price of less than $2,500

It seems this requirement was met, because the starting price was $.99, even though the BIN was $3,000.

So I guess there was a numeric grade or estimated value somewhere in the text of the ad?

No, it can't have a BIN price of over $2500. Period. The "or" is in reference to listings of different types as not every listing has more than one of those.

OK, so the correct text of their rule should have stated something like:

• ALL starting, reserve, and Buy It Now prices used must be less than $2,500

Obviously not:
"1909 $20 St. Gaudens NGC PF69 Rare Coin Rare Coin"
US $1,295,000.00
or Best Offer
eBay item number:376710753809
https://www.ebay.com/itm/376710753809?_skw=rare+us+gold+coins

That coin is not raw.

jmlanzaf

@yosclimber said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@yosclimber said:

-Must have a starting, reserve, or Buy It Now price of less than $2,500

It seems this requirement was met, because the starting price was $.99, even though the BIN was $3,000.

So I guess there was a numeric grade or estimated value somewhere in the text of the ad?

No, it can't have a BIN price of over $2500. Period. The "or" is in reference to listings of different types as not every listing has more than one of those.

OK, so the correct text of their rule should have stated something like:

• ALL starting, reserve, and Buy It Now prices used must be less than $2,500

Probably

airplanenut

@jmlanzaf said:

@MsMorrisine said:
correctamundo - current policy. been years, too

Yes. Many many years. HOWEVER, I will point out that people like Apmex list raw DEs and the like all the time and they are over $4000.

While the policy doesn’t state it, I don’t think it applies to bullion. That said, it would be determined by category, so it would depend on whether the DE was listed under bullion or coins>gold. Further, the big bullion players have a different fee structure (it’s how they can have relatively low margins—they couldn’t sell on eBay compared to their websites if you factor full eBay fees) and I wouldn’t be surprised if they can bypass certain rules for certain items given they’ve been vetted as sellers.

jmlanzaf

@airplanenut said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@MsMorrisine said:
correctamundo - current policy. been years, too

Yes. Many many years. HOWEVER, I will point out that people like Apmex list raw DEs and the like all the time and they are over $4000.

While the policy doesn’t state it, I don’t think it applies to bullion. That said, it would be determined by category, so it would depend on whether the DE was listed under bullion or coins>gold. Further, the big bullion players have a different fee structure (it’s how they can have relatively low margins—they couldn’t sell on eBay compared to their websites if you factor full eBay fees) and I wouldn’t be surprised if they can bypass certain rules for certain items given they’ve been vetted as sellers.

It applies to everything.

There's no doubt Apmex etc have exemptions. That was my point. I'm also not mad about it. But I was certain someone would point it out if I didn't.

They likely do have a lower fee structure. However, the ebay fees for bullion aren't much higher than standard credit card rates, so it isn't much cheaper for them to sell on their own website.

airplanenut

@jmlanzaf said:

@airplanenut said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@MsMorrisine said:
correctamundo - current policy. been years, too

Yes. Many many years. HOWEVER, I will point out that people like Apmex list raw DEs and the like all the time and they are over $4000.

While the policy doesn’t state it, I don’t think it applies to bullion. That said, it would be determined by category, so it would depend on whether the DE was listed under bullion or coins>gold. Further, the big bullion players have a different fee structure (it’s how they can have relatively low margins—they couldn’t sell on eBay compared to their websites if you factor full eBay fees) and I wouldn’t be surprised if they can bypass certain rules for certain items given they’ve been vetted as sellers.

It applies to everything.

There's no doubt Apmex etc have exemptions. That was my point. I'm also not mad about it. But I was certain someone would point it out if I didn't.

They likely do have a lower fee structure. However, the ebay fees for bullion aren't much higher than standard credit card rates, so it isn't much cheaper for them to sell on their own website.

My understanding is that the big players have exceptionally low rates--I once heard 1%, though that may have been before payment processing came under the umbrella of eBay, so the net fee would have been 3.5-4%.

Also, the policy definitely doesn't apply to bullion unless I unknowingly have an exemption (didn't want to say that last night without first checking/confirming this example). A few months ago, I had a number of gold sovereigns listed individually when a buyer made an offer for all of them. I combined them into one large lot and listed that under bullion with a BIN of $4920. All the coins were raw, the specific stated they were uncertified, and there were no issues with the listing going up or selling.

jmlanzaf

@airplanenut said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@airplanenut said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@MsMorrisine said:
correctamundo - current policy. been years, too

Yes. Many many years. HOWEVER, I will point out that people like Apmex list raw DEs and the like all the time and they are over $4000.

While the policy doesn’t state it, I don’t think it applies to bullion. That said, it would be determined by category, so it would depend on whether the DE was listed under bullion or coins>gold. Further, the big bullion players have a different fee structure (it’s how they can have relatively low margins—they couldn’t sell on eBay compared to their websites if you factor full eBay fees) and I wouldn’t be surprised if they can bypass certain rules for certain items given they’ve been vetted as sellers.

It applies to everything.

There's no doubt Apmex etc have exemptions. That was my point. I'm also not mad about it. But I was certain someone would point it out if I didn't.

They likely do have a lower fee structure. However, the ebay fees for bullion aren't much higher than standard credit card rates, so it isn't much cheaper for them to sell on their own website.

My understanding is that the big players have exceptionally low rates--I once heard 1%, though that may have been before payment processing came under the umbrella of eBay, so the net fee would have been 3.5-4%.

Also, the policy definitely doesn't apply to bullion unless I unknowingly have an exemption (didn't want to say that last night without first checking/confirming this example). A few months ago, I had a number of gold sovereigns listed individually when a buyer made an offer for all of them. I combined them into one large lot and listed that under bullion with a BIN of $4920. All the coins were raw, the specific stated they were uncertified, and there were no issues with the listing going up or selling.

Sorry, i don't think i read your response carefully enough. Bullion is a separate category and may have separate rules.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/bullion-policy?id=5041

Sapyx

I don't think there's any way for eBay's robots to automate the enforcement of the coin-specific rules. How's the AI supposed to be able to tell if a coin is actually sitting in a TPG slab or not?

Which means that the only reason your listing was pulled, is that somebody manually reported it, and a human in eBay checked your listing and blocked it.

MsMorrisine

a human absolutely reported it

most likely the competition

MasonG

@Sapyx said:
I don't think there's any way for eBay's robots to automate the enforcement of the coin-specific rules. How's the AI supposed to be able to tell if a coin is actually sitting in a TPG slab or not?

There are Item Specifics that are required when you list a coin for sale. You need to select one of the approved grading services or "Uncertified". I suspect (although I haven't tried to see what actually happens) that your choice here will determine whether or not your listing is allowed for items priced over $2500.

edited to add...

@Sapyx said:
How's the AI supposed to be able to tell...

There's no way the AI can even tell whether or not you actually possess the coin you're listing.

airplanenut

@Sapyx said:
I don't think there's any way for eBay's robots to automate the enforcement of the coin-specific rules. How's the AI supposed to be able to tell if a coin is actually sitting in a TPG slab or not?

Which means that the only reason your listing was pulled, is that somebody manually reported it, and a human in eBay checked your listing and blocked it.

The listing wasn't pulled, it was blocked from the outset. Certified/Uncertified is a required item specific for every coin. For uncertified coins, eBay will also check for the presence of a numeric grade (not allowed) and will block listings it thinks have one, at least if it's in the title. VF would be allowed, VF20 would get blocked before the listing ever begins.

@MsMorrisine said:
a human absolutely reported it

most likely the competition

The coin was never listed. Whether the rule is correctly written per the discussion above notwithstanding, the listing did not meet the intention of the rule and it's very simple computer logic to prevent such a listing from going through.