Do you trust ebay?

[TomGoodheart]

I was about to bid on a coin today. Then I noticed that $100 of bidding was from one person who only ever bids on this seller's coins. Now ... I suspect I shan't bother. And am beginning to wonder if ebay is worth the time and effort.

What do you all think?

[Peter]

Hi Tom

As long as you set your limit...snipe for it.

At coin fairs dealers grading aren't consistant so the grade attributed isn't important.If I make an offer and we can't agree on a price I will walk away.

Good luck and I hope you get your coin.

Peter

Edited September 11, 2010 by Peter

[RLC35]

I like the eBay concept, but it is full of pitfalls!

1) Now that you can't see the screen name of the bidder, it is harder than ever to recognize if there is a shill, bidding for the seller. The % of bids with this seller option, does help somewhat.

2) You can just about forget the grading given to a coin by the seller. It is better to try to grade for yourself, and bid on what grade you believe the coin is. Some sellers will provide better pictures on request...but other buyers will be "reluctant" to provide the extra clarity you may need. For those sellers that will not provide extra clarity, especially for rare coins...I stay away from!

3) The PayPal guarantee is also a joke, and is full of conditions you will never know, unless you file a claim. For instance...if a seller has less than a 50 feedback, then the maximum PayPal payout is $200. Then there is also the $25.00 deductable! Under the <50 feedback rule, you can lose a coin valued at $3,000, and you will just receive $175.00 (200-25) from PayPal.

Even with the above issues, I still like to use eBay, and PayPal, despite the 15% combined cost.

[TomGoodheart]

As long as you set your limit...snipe for it.

Yes, it's true setting your own value is the way to do it. But it kinda pains me to think I might be paying more than I needed to because the seller has pushed up the price himself! Why not just set a reserve?

The coin is still at what I consider to be an acceptable price so I may yet try for it. But I'd feel a lot better about ebay if I was buying coins for £10. But with prices approaching £100 any hint that I might be being ripped off and I start thinking twice about that 'Place bid' button.

I guess I need to be more dispassionate, decide what I consider to be a fair price and stick to it. But I doubt I'm the only one that looks back through old sales and thinks "Gosh. That looks quite reasonable now. Why on earth didn't I bid on that?"!

1) Now that you can't see the screen name of the bidder, it is harder than ever to recognize if there is a shill, bidding for the seller. The % of bids with this seller option, does help somewhat.

Agreed, although without the buyer details in full I can no longer see whether all their other purchases are postcards or car parts for a few ££ made to push up their feedback rating. Nor can I see if they 'win' lots of items from a seller but never receive any feedback or have a record of always being the underbidder.

(As you can see, I don't like ebay's 'improvements' much!)

Edited September 11, 2010 by TomGoodheart

[Hussulo]

There are still some nice coins to be had on ebay but it is buyer be ware.

You do have to sift through a lot of not so good and over rated ones to find them though.

Also I have decided to be tougher, if in future I receive a coin I am not happy with ie not as described I am going to start retuning them. I have seen me turn the odd blind eye in the past.

I have seen several coins I have been watching being pulled of late as well. As a buyer this is quite annoying. One coin I was watching was in an auction format. I guess the seller wasn't happy with the price it was at with a couple of days to go and pulled it. He has now re-listed it at £650 or make an offer.

[Peckris]

3) The PayPal guarantee is also a joke, and is full of conditions you will never know, unless you file a claim. For instance...if a seller has less than a 50 feedback, then the maximum PayPal payout is $200. Then there is also the $25.00 deductable! Under the <50 feedback rule, you can lose a coin valued at $3,000, and you will just receive $175.00 (200-25) from PayPal.

I would just like to point out that anyone who bids (or even thinks about bidding, or even lingers) where a seller has less than 50% feedback absolutely needs their head examining, and quite possibly deserves everything they get .. or not as the case may be. Will be.

[RLC35]

Peck,

The <50 feedback, in this case, is less than 50 "sales" or "purchases," not 50 % feedback approval. I think you and I are talking about separate things. I don't think I have ever seen a feedback of 50% ( and I hope I never do, LOL). Many sellers won't even accept bids from Buyers who have a feedback of <5, and PayPal won't pay more than $175 regardless of the sales price, if the Buyer has <50 (sales or purchases) feedback.

[azda]

I wish they would filter some of the dross though, it can be tedious sometimes looking at discs

[Red Riley]

Also I have decided to be tougher, if in future I receive a coin I am not happy with ie not as described I am going to start retuning them. I have seen me turn the odd blind eye in the past.

Some months back I started to take a hard line with sellers - anything I wasn't 100% happy with went back. Since then I have returned 5 coins for a refund, only one of which caused problems as the seller stuck by his 'no returns' policy. This went to appeal through E-bay's dispute resolution process and in the end I got my money back.

Incidentally, I cannot understand why e-bay set 'no returns' as a default i.e. you have to go to some effort to change it. Many sellers completely overlook this clause when inserting items for sale and few seem to stick to it when the chips are down.

[TomGoodheart]

Also I have decided to be tougher, if in future I receive a coin I am not happy with ie not as described I am going to start retuning them. I have seen me turn the odd blind eye in the past.

Some months back I started to take a hard line with sellers - anything I wasn't 100% happy with went back. Since then I have returned 5 coins for a refund, only one of which caused problems as the seller stuck by his 'no returns' policy. This went to appeal through E-bay's dispute resolution process and in the end I got my money back.

Incidentally, I cannot understand why e-bay set 'no returns' as a default i.e. you have to go to some effort to change it. Many sellers completely overlook this clause when inserting items for sale and few seem to stick to it when the chips are down.

As I understand it, under the Distance Selling Regulations you have a right to return goods bought at a distance - and therefore which could not be inspected before purchase - within 7 days for a full refund. If eBay suggest that sellers can refuse to accept goods back then I believe they are in error.

Of course, if we have any legal experts here who can confirm or deny this it would be appreciated!

Regulation summary

[Chingford]

As I understand it, under the Distance Selling Regulations you have a right to return goods bought at a distance - and therefore which could not be inspected before purchase - within 7 days for a full refund. If eBay suggest that sellers can refuse to accept goods back then I believe they are in error.

Of course, if we have any legal experts here who can confirm or deny this it would be appreciated!

Regulation summary

[Red Riley]

As I understand it, under the Distance Selling Regulations you have a right to return goods bought at a distance - and therefore which could not be inspected before purchase - within 7 days for a full refund. If eBay suggest that sellers can refuse to accept goods back then I believe they are in error.

Of course, if we have any legal experts here who can confirm or deny this it would be appreciated!

Regulation summary

Far from being a legal expert, but I believe the law only applies to professional sellers, everything else is a 'grey area'.

[scottishmoney]

I trust fleaBay and believe in the Easter Bunny, Santy Claus, and that Elvis is still kicking.

[Peckris]

Peck,

The <50 feedback, in this case, is less than 50 "sales" or "purchases," not 50 % feedback approval. I think you and I are talking about separate things. I don't think I have ever seen a feedback of 50% ( and I hope I never do, LOL). Many sellers won't even accept bids from Buyers who have a feedback of <5, and PayPal won't pay more than $175 regardless of the sales price, if the Buyer has <50 (sales or purchases) feedback.

Oh right, I understand. Yes I've seen that "rule" that some sellers apply. It begs the question - if you're a new eBayer buyer, and sellers won't sell to you until you've made 5 purchases, how will you ever get the 5 feedbacks you need in order to buy something? Sounds a classic Catch 22 to me.

I trust fleaBay and believe in the Easter Bunny, Santy Claus, and that Elvis is still kicking.

[azda]

The <50 feedback, in this case, is less than 50 "sales" or "purchases," not 50 % feedback approval. I think you and I are talking about separate things. I don't think I have ever seen a feedback of 50% ( and I hope I never do, LOL). Many sellers won't even accept bids from Buyers who have a feedback of <5, and PayPal won't pay more than $175 regardless of the sales price, if the Buyer has <50 (sales or purchases) feedback.

[1949threepence]

You can get some stunning bargains on there, but it's not a place for beginners or the naive.

Even experienced campaigners can get stung at times.

[DaveG38]

You can get some stunning bargains on there, but it's not a place for beginners or the naive.

Even experienced campaigners can get stung at times.

I've just been caught out. Not seriously, but still caught. I spotted a 1965 sixpence for sale and the photo was the rarer variety with the 'I' of 'REGINA' to a space. Checked with the seller whether this was the actual coin in the photo and was told yes it was. Arrived this morning and it clearly isn't the same coin and is the common old 1965. Only $3 wasted, so no sweat. Not worth sending back, but a good excuse to leave a great big negative feedback. Why these people do it, I really don't know!! In the long run they are the losers.

Edited September 15, 2010 by DaveG38

[1949threepence]

You can get some stunning bargains on there, but it's not a place for beginners or the naive.

Even experienced campaigners can get stung at times.

I've just been caught out. Not seriously, but still caught. I spotted a 1965 sixpence for sale and the photo was the rarer variety with the 'I' of 'REGINA' to a space. Checked with the seller whether this was the actual coin in the photo and was told yes it was. Arrived this morning and it clearly isn't the same coin and is the common old 1965. Only $3 wasted, so no sweat. Not worth sending back, but a good excuse to leave a great big negative feedback. Why these people do it, I really don't know!! In the long run they are the losers.

Indeed they are, Dave. It's very difficult to understand such a mindset. For the sake of a minor score on a few coins, they are risking long term isolation as the collecting and dealing community soon come to recognise a seller who is effectively a crook.

[VickySilver]

I have not had too many bad experiences with ebay, in fact quite the contrary and it has been a very good source for decent coins over the years. I must say that the quality of available material has significantly deteriorated over the last 5-7 years. I have been burned on a couple of occasions to the tune of several unrefunded hundreds of dollars but have literally bought coins on which gains were in multiples of that so overall quite a bit ahead. Not so many bargains these days but occasionally still find the nice bit. Plenty of dross out there so I use directed search functions nowadays.

[DaveG38]

You can get some stunning bargains on there, but it's not a place for beginners or the naive.

Even experienced campaigners can get stung at times.

I've just been caught out. Not seriously, but still caught. I spotted a 1965 sixpence for sale and the photo was the rarer variety with the 'I' of 'REGINA' to a space. Checked with the seller whether this was the actual coin in the photo and was told yes it was. Arrived this morning and it clearly isn't the same coin and is the common old 1965. Only $3 wasted, so no sweat. Not worth sending back, but a good excuse to leave a great big negative feedback. Why these people do it, I really don't know!! In the long run they are the losers.

Indeed they are, Dave. It's very difficult to understand such a mindset. For the sake of a minor score on a few coins, they are risking long term isolation as the collecting and dealing community soon come to recognise a seller who is effectively a crook.

And the proof of the con is that the 'dealer' in this case hasn't come back to me to complain about the negative feedback, which has knocked him down to around 97%.

[Gary D]

You can get some stunning bargains on there, but it's not a place for beginners or the naive.

Even experienced campaigners can get stung at times.

I've just been caught out. Not seriously, but still caught. I spotted a 1965 sixpence for sale and the photo was the rarer variety with the 'I' of 'REGINA' to a space. Checked with the seller whether this was the actual coin in the photo and was told yes it was. Arrived this morning and it clearly isn't the same coin and is the common old 1965. Only $3 wasted, so no sweat. Not worth sending back, but a good excuse to leave a great big negative feedback. Why these people do it, I really don't know!! In the long run they are the losers.

Indeed they are, Dave. It's very difficult to understand such a mindset. For the sake of a minor score on a few coins, they are risking long term isolation as the collecting and dealing community soon come to recognise a seller who is effectively a crook.

And the proof of the con is that the 'dealer' in this case hasn't come back to me to complain about the negative feedback, which has knocked him down to around 97%.

I,m always on the lookout for 1965 sixpences and have often come across the rare variety on ebay. I alway now look at any other sixpences being sold by the seller to see in they have used the same obverse in several actions, they always have. Why take a picture of every obv if they are all the same grr. I ended up buying a Peter Davies piece.

[DaveG38]

You can get some stunning bargains on there, but it's not a place for beginners or the naive.

Even experienced campaigners can get stung at times.

I've just been caught out. Not seriously, but still caught. I spotted a 1965 sixpence for sale and the photo was the rarer variety with the 'I' of 'REGINA' to a space. Checked with the seller whether this was the actual coin in the photo and was told yes it was. Arrived this morning and it clearly isn't the same coin and is the common old 1965. Only $3 wasted, so no sweat. Not worth sending back, but a good excuse to leave a great big negative feedback. Why these people do it, I really don't know!! In the long run they are the losers.

Indeed they are, Dave. It's very difficult to understand such a mindset. For the sake of a minor score on a few coins, they are risking long term isolation as the collecting and dealing community soon come to recognise a seller who is effectively a crook.

And the proof of the con is that the 'dealer' in this case hasn't come back to me to complain about the negative feedback, which has knocked him down to around 97%.

I,m always on the lookout for 1965 sixpences and have often come across the rare variety on ebay. I alway now look at any other sixpences being sold by the seller to see in they have used the same obverse in several actions, they always have. Why take a picture of every obv if they are all the same grr. I ended up buying a Peter Davies piece.

I have no problem with people using stock photos or a single one for a range of coins where the coin is a bog standard one e.g. the Eliz II cupro-nickel series. I don't even mind when they don't say so and I have to ask. What I do object to, very strongly, is when I ask the question, I am assured the coin in the photo is the one for sale, and when it arrives it clearly isn't the same one. These sellers are simply con-men willing to sell anything and lie blatantly just a for few miserable pennies - after all they don't go for much. Even more insulting is that they don't think I can tell the difference!

[Gary D]

You can get some stunning bargains on there, but it's not a place for beginners or the naive.

Even experienced campaigners can get stung at times.

I've just been caught out. Not seriously, but still caught. I spotted a 1965 sixpence for sale and the photo was the rarer variety with the 'I' of 'REGINA' to a space. Checked with the seller whether this was the actual coin in the photo and was told yes it was. Arrived this morning and it clearly isn't the same coin and is the common old 1965. Only $3 wasted, so no sweat. Not worth sending back, but a good excuse to leave a great big negative feedback. Why these people do it, I really don't know!! In the long run they are the losers.

Indeed they are, Dave. It's very difficult to understand such a mindset. For the sake of a minor score on a few coins, they are risking long term isolation as the collecting and dealing community soon come to recognise a seller who is effectively a crook.

And the proof of the con is that the 'dealer' in this case hasn't come back to me to complain about the negative feedback, which has knocked him down to around 97%.

I,m always on the lookout for 1965 sixpences and have often come across the rare variety on ebay. I alway now look at any other sixpences being sold by the seller to see in they have used the same obverse in several actions, they always have. Why take a picture of every obv if they are all the same grr. I ended up buying a Peter Davies piece.

I have no problem with people using stock photos or a single one for a range of coins where the coin is a bog standard one e.g. the Eliz II cupro-nickel series. I don't even mind when they don't say so and I have to ask. What I do object to, very strongly, is when I ask the question, I am assured the coin in the photo is the one for sale, and when it arrives it clearly isn't the same one. These sellers are simply con-men willing to sell anything and lie blatantly just a for few miserable pennies - after all they don't go for much. Even more insulting is that they don't think I can tell the difference!

There was a nice 1922 penny on ebay a couple of weeks ago, GEF, what turned up was about fine and he had the cheek to try the no returns lark. Got a full refund including postage. I send more stuff back now days then I used too, even if it was only a couple of quid.

[VickySilver]

Well, caveat emptor.I think you have to look for warning signs and even with apparently none that you may get "caught out" on a few bits. At least in my experience, the good has far outweighed the bad and very happy in balance with ebay.

[Peckris]

Well, caveat emptor.I think you have to look for warning signs and even with apparently none that you may get "caught out" on a few bits. At least in my experience, the good has far outweighed the bad and very happy in balance with ebay.

Me too. So far so good, but I haven't bought an enormous number of items.