How NOT to sell coins on Ebay...

tbirde56 · May 24, 2004 7:01AM

This seller baits you with his honest ignorance:

'Ok heres the deal! I know nothing about coins so what you get could be worth alot or a little. Maybe I am getting ripped off and maybe you are getting ripped off. All I know is that I have coins that I need to sell and here are 12 from wherever!'

Also has the standard blurry, faraway picture.
Deal

Stork · May 24, 2004 7:05AM

That's the kind of auction you can bid on, then leave feedback about the Really Cool and Rare Coin you got, Worth Hundreds!!!!!! It would kill the guy wondering what he'd sent you.

tbirde56 · May 24, 2004 7:10AM

Unless he actually DOES know.

MSD61 · May 24, 2004 7:11AM

I've seen this sellers auctions before Brad and have asked the same thing. But what is sad is there are people that will bit on this auction and bid, win and find out later they have nothing. I don't understand people sometimes. You'll get an honest seller with clear descriptions, clear images and thier auctions get very little attention. Then some schmola with the type of auction you point out here, with crap pictures, crap descriptions will still get people to buy their stuff. Sometimes even having bidding wars over them. I just don't get it at all

wybrit · May 24, 2004 11:35AM

I've seen this sellers auctions before Brad and have asked the same thing. But what is sad is there are people that will bite on this auction and bid, win and find out later they have nothing. I don't understand people sometimes. You'll get an honest seller with clear descriptions, clear images and thier auctions get very little attention. Then some schmola with the type of auction you point out here, with crap pictures, crap descriptions will still get people to buy their stuff. Sometimes even having bidding wars over them. I just don't get it at all

Nothing to add to this. My sentiments exactly. My auctions did very poorly today. They will be the last coins I sell on ebay for a while.

satootoko · May 24, 2004 12:47PM

<< <i>Maybe even not what is in the picture. >>

How would a buyer know

Lloyd · May 24, 2004 4:46PM

wybrit · May 24, 2004 8:14PM

I let out a 1921 sixpence in GEF on Sunday night for £3.21. My crime was grading the coin. If I'd let it go as "very high grade" it would have reached £12+.

I've been wondering about this "High Grade" and "Very High Grade" business - more and more sellers are doing it. It essentially is leaving it up to the buyers to grade the coin from a 2-D image, which really hacks me off. The seller thinks then that his/her hands are washed of the responsibility of accurately describing the coin. Even digicam pictures can make an EF look UNC.

I have seen "High Grade" used by "reputable" sellers describe purely mid-grade coins - anything better than fine. "Very High Grade" raises the biggest flag. It means that the coin may be UNC, but probably is not. I seldom will buy a coin described in this manner.

My biggest complaint is that virtually no seller on ebay will describe accurately a coin having cleaning hairlines or whizzing. Camera angles can be manipulated to obscure it and scans completely hide it. There are many, many well-known ebay sellers I no longer deal with who seem to provide nothing but such junk.

wybrit · May 24, 2004 8:21PM

I've been told more than once that by other Ebay sellers that my pics are "too good" and "too clear".

This one amazes me to no end. You would think having a clear picture would be an asset. I can not for the life of me understand why a buyer would gravitate to an auction having a poor picture unless it is that "getting something for nothing" gambler's programming kicking in. Poor pictures almost always raise a red flag that there is something the seller is hiding (again, usually hairlines).

Steve27 · May 24, 2004 9:25PM

"But they all will come in a protective case like shown"

Does he mean a 2x2?

MSD61 · May 24, 2004 11:08PM

wybrit I think you hit the nail on the head mate in saying "getting something for nothing" gambler's programming is kicking in. There are so many people that gamble on the chance to get something for nothing. His statment "I know nothing about coins so what you get could be worth alot or a little. Maybe I am getting ripped off and maybe you are getting ripped off." opens the door and invites a bidder to "gamble" that they will find something more than just low grade coins.

We've all heard it from people " So I pay this amount, big deal it's worth it if I get something more than what I paid for." Think of the number of people on Friday nights spending a big chunk of their paycheck on lottery tickets knowing there is a small chance of the big pay off. These are these people that say "Yeah, I know I spend alot on tickets. But look at it this way I spend $500 and make 15 mil." These are the kind of people this seller is hoping for.

WhiteTornado · May 25, 2004 2:40AM

MSD61, I couldn't have said it any better myself.

Wybrit, I also have noticed a lot of "mushy" grade descriptions on many eBay auctions, even Liteside stuff. The last Peace Dollar I bought turned out to have been dipped. It made me decide that my next major purchase will probably be in person.

How NOT to sell coins on Ebay...

Comments