How exactly is GSC's success possible for so long?

It's funny to read some of their responses to the image was better than coin complaints. "We try our hardest on images" is the reply. There is a reason the images in their auctions are set to the default gallery view within the auction. Plus they do try hard to cover up all problems with lighting and low resolution images. I am glad they at least add the GSC logo to all the images in all of their listings. It makes it very easy to bypass when I'm looking for coins.

Because, just like many do on here, people that get ripped off are told they "paid tuition" instead of offering honest, and friendly, advice.

ask they guy who bought a couple buffalo nickel proofs as unc

Volume.....

I guess some folks just don't know or they don't care the coins from GSC are cleaned or have other issues. I also bypass their listings. No good, stay away, is my suggestion to all. JMO

I thought there was an accusation much of their offerings are shilled.

If that's the case, where is the overall success?



Either way, I haven't purchased from them yet do find it a bit tough to believe

so many people, let alone 80% of their buyers are stupid.



Sounds insulting and an answer that is a bit too simplistic.

Well, I think since they start everything at $9.95 it's all a lock to sell. Since E-Bay uses algorythm's that reward sellers that bring them a cut, those coins get presented when you search for things first. Add to that the fact that they shill things and don't care about the consignors well being......



Funny, I can put up an identical coin, date and mintmark, in a holder with a CAC sticker for less that the "sold" prices they realize and get no looks. Like most though, starting quality at a low price is just too stupid to attempt.

Greed is the most common cause of blindness.

except for the experienced.



a little bird told me someone(s) picked buff proofs and major varieties from them. hehe



i've done it.









ahh yes, good 'ol monkey-poo theory.

.

I can think of another dealer who's been in the coin business for over 40 years, and is a total jerk and bad businessman who overgrades and overprices everything. He makes his money by cheating people, and he is good at it. He's the type of individual that would not hesitate to rip off an elderly person who walks into the shop with coins to sell and no idea what they're worth. He berates customers over the phone in plain view of everyone in the shop. Sometimes, being a total con man can lead to longevity in the coin business as long as the profits keep rollin' in.



As for GSC- they must have a return customer base that is happy with their purchases, or they wouldn't have lasted for so long on eBay. Personally, I bought one coin from them years ago and returned it without a problem.

I bought 5 coins from them during one week years ago.

All had problems, but their return procedure is very easy and they issued the refund very fast.

GSM blocked me. When I first started collecting I bid on one of their sales...looked great in the pics, right? Then I won the auction and noticed the shill bidding. I told them to save themselves the shipping as I wasn't paying for an item that they so obviously shilled. Needless to say, if ever tempted (which hasn't happened once in 7 years), I have an appropriate counter-measure in place by being blocked.

80% reserve the right to remain ignorant. 19% might not care. 1 % is left over.

I was surprised when I found a bids cancelled, auction ended recent listing from them - I did not realize they did this with their shill friends bidding and all.

http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayI..._trksid=p2047675.l2565

Every year some people wise and up and no longer do business with that type of dealer....only to be replaced by fresh meat. And that meat keeps rolling in year after year.



I often wonder how some of my local dealers with varying degrees of integrity have stayed in business for 30-40 years. Basically, they talk smooth, rarely want to buy back what they sold for a fair price, and rely on a fresh supply of customers as older ones wise up. For every person that gets burnt and doesn't return, another one takes their place.



The coin market relies on fresh newbies that have to go through the learning process of grading and evaluating problem coins. It keeps the $$ rolling in. I'd agree that 80% of buyers are either ignorant or lacking in adequate knowledge to compete with said dealers.



In the collectibles field, being really honest is almost 1 strike against you. People don't generally want to believe you when you speak the truth or are trying to give them a fair shake. They'd rather go the next guy who they don't even know, who is offering the same item (of lesser quality) for less. Why do people with stuff to sell beat feet to the wrong buyers and sell out for peanuts? I don't know...but it's how it generally works. Make a fair or strong offer, and invariably you won't get the coins.



I took up the "honesty is best mantra" early on when trying to sell coins to the public...and it never worked. Being part-shyster/huckster/promoter is usually the better business model for continued long term dealer success. For every Jim Dimmick though, there are 4-5 others using the shyster model.

I took a fellow co-worker to his first coin show. He had been buying for years off the coin vault TV show. We had a stellar buy,sell, and trade day at the show. He was so happy to fill in his Peace dollar holes. When we got about home I asked you want to go to the show next month? His reply,"naw I'd rather drink beer and buy coins off TV".

The vast majority of the coin market is not as sophisticated as the membership of this forum, and therefore has lower standards for their collections.



Many of us are So selective and discerning, in fact, that there are NO coins for sale, anywhere in the marketplace, that meet our ultra-high standards of quality and value,

and therefore we no longer buy any coins at all.

GSC exists for the same reason casinos exit and for the same reason lottery schemes exist.



Greed...and the tantalizing sensation of buying something of high value for less than its perceived worth.



PS. Baley, well said!!

We don't realize how much higher the level of sophistication is among the people who post on this board compared to the overall collecting community. At lot of people just don't know that much. Look at how many of the not very convincing counterfeits on eBay get bids before they are pulled down.

Some people never learn because they never try to sell anything they buy. When they try to sell or their heirs try to sell, they find out the truth. They get angry, but their anger is directed toward the dealer who gives them the bad news, not the jerk who sold the coins to them in the first place.

As for embarrassment, I don't think that plays much of a role. If it did GSC would run out of suckers.

A very similar question could be asked about the coin sellers on HSN.

These guys sicken me. It has gotten to the point of them listing counterfeits as genuine pieces and when eBay is notified nothing is done.

Makes me think of the dealers at shows who put raw coins in 2x2s and write MS65 on every one. There are always some dealers who take a lot of liberty with their "grading skills." And there are buyers who will take the dealer at his word for whatever grade he writes on the 2x2.

It amazes me the amount of raw coins at shows with high grades and high price tags on them. I'm always thinking, "if that coin really is that grade and the dealer really wants to sell at that price, then why doesn't he spend $25 and send it in to PCGS first?"

The next time you see one, bring it up on this forum for the 'mass notification' service provided by forum members.

Believe it or not there are few dealers who follow the national circuit of coin shows who are almost as bad as GSC. A few of them sell raw coins, but most sell certified material exclusively. They charge very high prices relative to other dealers, offer large quantities sub-par "C" quality coins or amazingly get away with doing both.

I don't know how they stay in business, but they keep doing it year after year.