x

JRH

airplanenut

Bondman22 definitely enhances images... absolutely no question.

TonedCoinTrader

I agree, Bondman22's images Look Tweeked out!

Scott

gsaguy

((Has anyone had experience buying toned Morgans on e-bay only to find that the images seemed to have been altered slightly to increase the chroma (saturation of color) to make them perhaps more appealing (only to find that in person the colors are more muted).))

I would say that only those who have purchased toned Morgans on ebay have had this problem.

GSAGUY

stman

Hmmm, only Bondman huh? Interesting.

JRH

Thanks for the information. Would you consider this practice just a marketing ploy or totally unethical (perhaps even fraudulent) ???

ziggy29

<< <i>Thanks for the information. Would you consider this practice just a marketing ploy or totally unethical (perhaps even fraudulent) ??? >>

I have no problem with a SMALL amount of picture doctoring, and ONLY when you are making an honest effort to make the picture look like the coin as much as possible. I occasionally slightly change brightness, contrast and whiteness correction if the picture doesn't look much like the coin in terms of color and brightness...but not much, and ONLY to make the picture look as much like the coin as possible.

If I have to do anything more than tweaking, it's time to take a new picture under different lighting and try again. I definitely wouldn't mess with the color on toners, though. Again, brightness, contrast and such, to make the picture look more like the coin, maybe. But NOT any color settings.

nwcs

Yes, it is a common practice.

JRH

<< <i>I definitely wouldn't mess with the color on toners, though. Again, brightness, contrast and such, to make the picture look more like the coin, maybe. But NOT any color settings. >>



So, if someone consistently alters toned coins to make the colors more intense or attractive (LESS like the real thing rather than MORE like the real coin looks)...... is this unethical or perhaps even fraudulent ???

sTONER

<< <i>Bondman22 definitely enhances images... absolutely no question. >>

you guys have no idea,,STEVE

ziggy29

<< <i>So, if someone consistently alters toned coins to make the colors more intense or attractive (LESS like the real thing rather than MORE like the real coin looks)...... is this unethical or perhaps even fraudulent ??? >>

If their intent is to make the toning look more or less prominent relative to the rest of coin than it would be if you held the coin in hand, then yes, definitely unethical and arguably fraudulent.

If their intent was to make it look more like the coin they have in hand, it might not be unethical -- but I still think they are better off adjusting their lighting and taking a new picture, so they won't have to futz with the color.

JRH

<< <i>

<< <i>Bondman22 definitely enhances images... absolutely no question. >>

you guys have no idea,,STEVE >>



So, please give us an idea. What exactly are you saying ???

gemtone65

I'm not quite sure either what sToner means, but regardless, you'll certainly want to avoid the Bondman. Of course, you'll want to avoid almost all of the other sellers of toned material on E-bay. What you'll find for the most part are either 1) AT coins, 2) coins at the very low end of the grade, and/or 3) pieces whose real look has been enhanced.

There are a few exceptions. Those E-bay sellers currently active who's offerings are worthwhile to consider include Anaconda, Texas Bullion Traders, JB Stevens, and UOFA. For the rest, all I can say is, you've been alerted.

K6AZ

<< <i>There are a few exceptions. Those E-bay sellers currently active who's offerings are worthwhile to consider include Anaconda, Texas Bullion Traders, JB Stevens, and UOFA. For the rest, all I can say is, you've been alerted. >>



You left several off your list, including me (that is when I have something to sell). But I will agree, for the most part one must be very careful buying toned coins on eBay. Never buy a toned Morgan on eBay without a rock solid return policy. There are a few nice coins to be had there, but you have to really search through all the garbage.

airplanenut

I don't enhance my images

airplanenut

Oh, while we're mentioning non-doctors of images...

Russ
CarlWohlForth
Frattlaw
MNMCoin
darktone

If I left anyone out, I didn't mean to... these are just the first names that came to mind as people I've done business with

K6AZ

Here is a good example. This is a coin I sold a few months ago, and the image I used to sell it:



I did not do anything with that image other than crop and size it.

Now, playing around in my photo editor, look at what I was able to do playing around with the colors and saturation:

ddink

I bought a toned Morgan from Bondman a few months ago (without knowing about his photoshop habits) and when I got the coin, it really looked NOTHING like the picture. Fortunately he honored his return policy, even refunding S&H. Be very wary of coins that look too good to be true!

K6AZ

<< <i>I bought a toned Morgan from Bondman a few months ago (without knowing about his photoshop habits) and when I got the coin, it really looked NOTHING like the picture. Fortunately he honored his return policy, even refunding S&H. Be very wary of coins that look too good to be true! >>



That's exactly who I was trying to emulate with the enhanced image.

ziggy29

<< <i>I bought a toned Morgan from Bondman a few months ago (without knowing about his photoshop habits) and when I got the coin, it really looked NOTHING like the picture. Fortunately he honored his return policy, even refunding S&H. >>

Which I guess separates the mere hucksters from the scam artists. Scammers don't offer returns.

TonedCoinTrader

My Toned coin Pic's are not inhanced one bit I Never even us any program to "brighten" or "Darken" the color nor inhance color. I use indirect sunlight with a slight tilt to reflect the colors to the camera then I recrop them to be larger and I'm done. And I allway's offer Returns!

Scott

gemtone65

I'm sorry to have left several forum members off my list. I am simply not familiar with your offerings. My focus has always been on Morgan dollar E-bay auctions, not E-bay stores or offerings of other denominations. Accordingly, except for Russ's flea market Morgan (RIP), I don't recall seeing any of your auctions for gem toned Morgan dollars. Nevertheless, after reviewing several of your websites, e.g., K6Az and TCT, your pictures certainly look accurate.

JRH

Thanks for the good info on who's images are accurate ...... Now, who would you AVOID due to altered images that are enhanced to make the coins look better than they are ???

Dog97

stman says: Hmmm, only Bondman huh? Interesting.
I bought from bondman before & all I can say is thank God his coins DON'T look like his pictures.

I've bought coins from most of the toned coin dealers that everybody is always talking about how their images are accurate representations of the coin. I guess when everybody has cosignments with these dealers they will say anything.

I think the dealer with the most accurate pictures is Mike Billy from mbcoins.

JRH

<< <i>stman says: Hmmm, only Bondman huh? Interesting.
I bought from bondman before & all I can say is thank God his coins DON'T look like his pictures. >>



Are you saying Bondman's coins look better in person than the computer images ???

ddink

<< <i>Are you saying Bondman's coins look better in person than the computer images ??? >>



Mine certainly didn't.

stman

<< <i>

<< <i>stman says: Hmmm, only Bondman huh? Interesting.
I bought from bondman before & all I can say is thank God his coins DON'T look like his pictures. >>



Are you saying Bondman's coins look better in person than the computer images ??? >>



Hi, while I can't say for a fact what Dog97 was talking about.... knowing him I can take a shot at it.

I believe what he meant is in his opinion (and many others) the pictures look so tweaked a naturally toned coin shouldn't (and won't) look like that in person.
Collectors with toned coin experience, and that can read an image good, can just about tell what the coin will look like in person. Many of the images we see are a fantasy, and if you have an eye for toning you should know that the coins, regardless of what the image looks like, aren't going to look like that up close and personal. Hope this helps a bit.

Newmismatist

<< <i>I'm not quite sure either what sToner means, but regardless, you'll certainly want to avoid the Bondman. Of course, you'll want to avoid almost all of the other sellers of toned material on E-bay. What you'll find for the most part are either 1) AT coins, 2) coins at the very low end of the grade, and/or 3) pieces whose real look has been enhanced.

There are a few exceptions. Those E-bay sellers currently active who's offerings are worthwhile to consider include Anaconda, Texas Bullion Traders, JB Stevens, and UOFA. For the rest, all I can say is, you've been alerted. >>



Add Greatoning to that list - Dick takes nice images and from what he showed me at Pittsburgh, they are very accurate.

JRH

Thanks. That makes sense.

gemtone65

Dog97 suggests that the forum members who praise certain E-bay sellers for the accuracy of their scans have a conflict of interest because they consign coins to those sellers. I can't speak about the motivations of these other forum memebrs, but for the most part I believe their comments are unbiased. For me, as relates to the 4 sellers I noted earlier in this thread, I have never consigned a coin to any of them.

With regard to Mike Billy, cited as an example by Dog97 as having accurate scans, I agree completely and emphatically with this assessment. Mike hasn't offered many gem toned dollars in about a year, so I forgot about him. I have never consigned to Mike either, but I have purchased a few lovely pieces from him -- no, make that terrific pieces.