Ebay Integrity

CharlotteDude

A month ago, I sold the below 1881 Half Eagle to a guy in Atlantic Beach, NC. I gave what I consider a very accurate description of the coin. It is a nice mid-range AU coin... very doubtful it would grade AU-58, unless it's in a PCI or ACG slab, and certainly wouldn't MS-60 or better. This morning, I'm checking out Ebay, and viola!, there's the exact same coin I sold this dude last month, only he's advertising it as a "Gem". I realize there are differences in semantics when it comes to grading coins, but when I see a coin advertised as a "Gem", I'm thinking it should grade at least MS-65 or thereabouts... folks, this coin is not even close to that grade level. My question is, should I warn the bidders vying for this coin? What are your opinions? I see so much crap being touted at ridiculous grades on Ebay... this is one time I believe I could do something about it to keep someone from eventually getting burned. I wouldn't mind if the guy wanted to turn around and sell the coin again, that's his perogative, my problem is that he's touting it as a "Gem" coin. Your opinions?

Here are the links:

When I Sold:

Text

Now He's Selling:

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CharlotteDude

tlhoy

Fixed link

CharlotteDude

Whoops! Thanks Tlhoy. Don't know what happened to that 2nd link.

cosmicdebris

I sent him a question.

Gem to me means MS65. Is this what you are saying?

Let's see what his response is.

RYK

I agree that it is no "gem" (ie. Gem=65), but any intelligent buyer can see from the luster breaks and rub that it is not MS-65. The word "Gem" is not a grade, and the coin is not (yet) trading at a level that one would see for an Unc coin, so I would leave it alone for now. Otherwise, you can nailed for auction interference.

tlhoy

This kind of stuff happens all the time. I've seen the same PCGS slab sale 4 times on eBay, all with different descriptions. Let it go.

CharlotteDude

Gotcha. Like I said, if he was trying to sell it as an AU, I would have no problem with it... if he sells it (as an AU) for $500, good on him. My concern is that he's touting an obvious AU coin as a "Gem". Again, it could be a matter of semantics... I'd just hate to see a new or unwitting buyer get burned, thinking they're getting a "Gem BU" coin. I'll leave it be, though.

thanks,

the Dude

itsnotjustme

Just to note.... from your thread title I thought you had questions on e-bay's integrity. Your issue is of one seller (others too).

CharlotteDude

Thanks Bill... would be very interested in knowing what his response is!

cosmicdebris

I see he is using your pictures. Did he ask to?

MAD4MORGANS

If you "Contact Member (CM)" anyone without the intention of buying the item, you run the risk of being NARU'd by the seller because "bid interferrence" is a violation of eBay policy.

If you CM any of the present bidders, you could inadvertantly "warn" a shill or one of the bidders may pass on your warning to the seller in an effort to argue or back out of their bid. If the seller can implicate you in bid interference he could file a complaint with eBay. As you are probably aware, EBay favors sellers (who pay the listing fees) so you have to be carefull.

The present seller has not mentioned a grade for the coin or even indicated it to be a GEM BU Brilliant Uncirculated but only used the one word GEM, which could be argued as to meaning (i.e. This is a gem of a deal) and is subjective in nature.

The new seller appears not to have have the high moral and ethical standards you had when you advertised the coin originally and other than using the word "Gem" in his advertising, he appears to be leaving the description vague and letting the buyer be the judge.

Unless there's concrete (provable) evidence of fraudulent activity here, I'd leave it alone IMO.

CharlotteDude

Thanks again... will just let it go. He is using my photos, by the way. Don't suppose there's any infringement there, though.

regards,

the Dude

DNADave

ebay seller rkktx does this on a regular basis and has done the same thing on one of my coins. I just blocked him as a buyer.

itsnotjustme

If you put your photos in the public domain, with no restrictions, I think all is fair game.

majorbigtime

"Ebay Integrity"

Now that's an oxymoron!! "We are just a venue"

BillJones

Years ago, "Gem Uncirculated" was a grade. It covered what we would call today MS-65+ to MS-70.

This coin is not going to fool anyone who knowns how to grade coins. The picture tells the whole story. "Ebay integrity" is only as good as the seller. It sure does not go back to the auction firm.

cosmicdebris

Seller's response:

<<no>>