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Phaseolus

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Hey all

This is a bit of a broad question but I was just wondering what people thought about eBay as a place to buy coins. Of course the majority of pictures (that I have seen) are blurry and lacking any detail, providing little chance to really get a good look, but some with 14-day return policies and good pictures seem less risky and sometimes a bargain (red herrings maybe <_<). I know that there are coin dealers and coin fairs etc but I was just curious to how often people use eBay as a source for coins and what they think about it.

Look forward to hearing the responses, thanks in advance :)

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I suppose it depends what kind of coins your looking for.

Modern stuff i would imagine is a good place to find almost anything you want.

Worth looking for pre-decimal varieties perhaps that have not been attributed.

Overall if i just wanted a high end coin would prefer to leave ebay alone as alot is not very good although described that way.

Having just remembered you have just started collecting i suggest you leave well alone IMO, but feel you could get carried away with the thousands of coins listed

only to find in a few months some maybe for throwing away.

Pete.

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I purchase most of my coins through ebay. Luckily only a couple of duds in hundreds slipped through the net, as you said, the ones with blurry pictures. I even had an undated 20p with the date filed off!! So stay away from dodgy pictures and go with sellers with good feedback and clear pictures. Whether the seller states he accepts returns or not, under ebay policy if your not happy it can be returned. 

As 1967 states in the previous post, if your looking for a high end coin, its maybe worth looking elsewhere if it at all looks suspect.

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I have not been collecting that long but the prices on eBay have been going through the roof on higher grade stuff. There are still bargains to be had but you need to spend a long time trawling through the crap to find them. Only one of my big (by my standards) purchases has been via ebay in the last 6 months or so the rest have come via more traditional routes.

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I have not bought through eBay in months. I find looking at hundreds of pictures of pennies a difficult task unless you narrow the search parameters down and even then you may find quite a few to sift through.

Having said that it is another place to look and there are still some good coins on there amongst a lot of rubbish, and its too easy to rush in and overbid on something that you should have left.

Spend some time looking at the various dealers sites. Get some books and do some reading and just take it slow. Easier said than done I know.

 

Edited by IanB
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7 minutes ago, IanB said:

Having said that it is another place to look and there are still some good coins on there amongst a lot of rubbish, and its too easy to rush in and overbid on something that you should have left.

Spend some time looking at the various dealers sites. Get some books and do some reading and just take it slow. Easier said than done I know.

I quite agree with Ian and from experience. I will admit i jumped in feet first on eBay when I first started and did make many mistakes and a couple pricey ones as well. I still dip my feet in on a weekly basis and have had a few good buys to date. But as everyone says there is a lot of rubbish to wade through but I live in hope to find that bargain now and again. So I would say by all means troll through the listings, if you have the time. But take care choosing what you want to bid on, check out the seller, and lastly have fun with you collecting.

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I'm a full time dealer and now rely almost solely on ebay for trade. My life circumstances and location mean that fairs are a non-starter. I used to run a website that was slowly dying a death and it was a little perplexing that I could sell a coin at twice my web prices on an ebay buy it now? Trade is definitely slowing on ebay and that is probably due to the thousands and thousands of worthless bits of crap that people list every day.

I know several dealers that also rely very heavily on ebay for income although they also attend fairs where the trade is mainly dealer to dealer on the whole. As a dealer the pitfalls are numerous on ebay and we are regularly hit by fraudulent claims of non-receipt etc. The ebay/paypal listing and selling fees are fairly high and once you throw HMRC costs into the mix it's a tough game to be in at times.

The good old web has certainly changed the way business is conducted.

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I think eBay is a case of everyone wanting and expecting things for 99p with free postage. Sellers are obliging by listing things that are worth what the buyer is prepared to pay. Fees, shipping and HMRC take a huge chunk out of a small sale.

A dozen or more years ago when the British listings typically numbered about 3000 at any one time, the number of quality items was as many as are listed now. The down side is that current listings are well over 100000, so the dilution of quality is certainly 30-fold and probably more. Most people have a life. From a personal viewpoint, I only look if a customer is asking for a specific item, otherwise I can't be a***d.

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That all makes sense, I have already found myself getting a little carried away with the coins, but have slowed down now. @IanB Waiting on a couple of books to arrive then I can get down to some reading and hopefully maintain my interest whilst leaving my bank account relatively unscathed. @declan03 Sorry to hear about the 20p, that must've been a big disappointment, did you get your money back?

 

I think I will leave eBay for now and just casually flick through without committing to anything when I have the time. Save up my money for the November London Coin Fair :)

Thanks for the advice all! Much appreciated!

 

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eBay's certainly a good reference site if you want to see what a particular coin really looks like and the sort of condition you might expect to find them in.  

 

Occasionally there are bargains or potential bargains, but I have only ever bought two coins from eBay.  In each case I left a max bid and then walked away.  I have bid on more, but the winning bids have exceeded my maximum.  I suspect if the coin is under-described or misdescribed (favourably to the purchaser), the casual browser might miss it, creating an opportunity for the informed buyer.

Edited by Stuntman

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Ebays not bad if you know your stuff. You need good reference guides first so you know your not overpaying for coins but in some cases stuff like that goes out the window if its a really sort after coin your after. 

Don't bid on anything thats got blurry pictures. Be picky and selective about what you bid on. Use a sniper also to drop your bids in. Never bother with ebay on a Sunday. Its great the rest of the week but Sundays are stupid. Seems to be people without a clue of a coins value on Sundays running up the prices and paying silly money for coins. Sunday is definitely a sellers market on ebay. I avoid it at all costs on Sundays. 

I mainly use ebay for buying my coins and a few dealer's when they get fresh stock. I am thinking of trying some of the online auction houses soon , if anyones got any recommendations or tips on using them I'd be most appreciative.  Also anyone who sells coins feel free to PM me your website details so i can browse your stock. 

Thanks. 

Edited by Ukstu
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I find it annoying as a buyer, you select the coins page and all you get are £1 coins and 50ps....

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2 minutes ago, scott said:

I find it annoying as a buyer, you select the coins page and all you get are £1 coins and 50ps....

Agreed. It annoys me when i browse Celtic coins and it comes up with loads of £1 coins with the Celtic design on them. 

You have to be specific in your searches but in some cases it doesn't always work. 

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I definitely need to get more informed before going back to eBay myself as I believe some coins I previously bought on there were probably overpriced on reflection!

I didn't know that about Sundays, I will avoid them like the plague in future, I appreciate the heads up. 

Luckily as I am only collecting £2 at the moment I don't have so much of an issue with having to be specific, but I can see that hitting me in the near future. 

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14 hours ago, Phaseolus said:

That all makes sense, I have already found myself getting a little carried away with the coins, but have slowed down now. @IanB Waiting on a couple of books to arrive then I can get down to some reading and hopefully maintain my interest whilst leaving my bank account relatively unscathed. @declan03 Sorry to hear about the 20p, that must've been a big disappointment, did you get your money back?

 

I think I will leave eBay for now and just casually flick through without committing to anything when I have the time. Save up my money for the November London Coin Fair :)

Thanks for the advice all! Much appreciated!

 

You should look for good dealers on there and add them to your followed sellers, one above springs to mind, argentumandcoins, has a great feedback and extremely reliable. I think someone started a dealers list of those who are active on the forum and also deal in coins whether it be ebay or their own site and ebay. They may not always have what you want, but they are very reliable

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Good idea azda, I will check around for the list you mentioned.

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8 hours ago, azda said:

You should look for good dealers on there and add them to your followed sellers, one above springs to mind, argentumandcoins, has a great feedback and extremely reliable. I think someone started a dealers list of those who are active on the forum and also deal in coins whether it be ebay or their own site and ebay. They may not always have what you want, but they are very reliable

Thanks Dave, your commission cheque is in the post ;-)

 

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8 minutes ago, Phaseolus said:

Good idea azda, I will check around for the list you mentioned.

I think @Nordle11 started it somewhere 

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Just now, argentumandcoins said:

Thanks Dave, your commission cheque is in the post ;-)

 

Thanks old bean, glad to see you back on site and sharing your experience. Hope all is well after everything.....

Off to watch coldplay at the Munich Olympia station and it's pissing down, been sunny for the last few days, sods law <_<

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Just now, azda said:

Thanks old bean, glad to see you back on site and sharing your experience. Hope all is well after everything.....

Off to watch coldplay at the Munich Olympia station and it's pissing down, been sunny for the last few days, sods law <_<

Getting back to normality (kind of) thanks mate.

The weather is shite here too but at least it saves me having to water the crops....

Enjoy the wetplay concert in the cold!

 

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Just now, argentumandcoins said:

Getting back to normality (kind of) thanks mate.

The weather is shite here too but at least it saves me having to water the crops....

Enjoy the wetplay concert in the cold!

 

beeeeetch, sarcastic as ever B) 

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I like ebay because it is a 24/7 resource.Back when £1 - $2 i filled my boots up from the US.it can be hard work but I still enjoy burning some mid-night oil.

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7 minutes ago, azda said:

beeeeetch, sarcastic as ever B) 

John is an ex cop.;) Have a great concert wear your bin bag with pride.

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6 minutes ago, Peter said:

John is an ex cop.;) Have a great concert wear your bin bag with pride.

Peter sarcasm is a gift not a curse.....

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1 minute ago, argentumandcoins said:

Peter sarcasm is a gift not a curse.....

Part of the training ? .I have a few blue force buddies...great chaps.:)

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