NumisMattic2200 Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 Just though I'd ponder the question of eBay - namely, has it finally gone down in a blaze of it's own anal-retentiveness or am I completely out of order? It seems to me the auction site isn't really turning up much in the interesting coin department and prices you get for general coins just aren't what they were. I'm not really sure where and when the line was crossed but it wobbled and tried to come back from time to time but now we're seeing fixed high prices on the better items with sellers to afraid to start them way down low at 99p of for a few pounds. No fun anymore.. PS: this was originally meant to be a poll but for some reasonable that idea was scrapped without my permission.. (sic, it didn't seem to work) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottishmoney Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 With the economy flushed down Sir Thomas's loo, people are not expending dosh on stuff like coins etc. now. Another matter for me, there is not nearly as nice of stuff on there lately, my last purchase was back in January, and that was a Russian CD, not a coin. I still buy coins from Stack's, Heritage etc. Perhaps my collection graduated to something beyond eBay, I look at eBay occasionally, but I never find anything I want there anymore. I used to buy stuff several times a month. I stopped selling in the spring of 2008, and vowed my selling days there are finished. I really do not like all the changes there, what with paypoo only, stupid feedback rules etc. If anybody has to answer for the failure of eBay, it should be their management that came up with a creative way of destroying what used to be a reasonably good venue to buy and sell on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 I'm not sure what to make about eBay any more. Lately I've acquired some really nice specimens and spent less on them than I expected. Although these sorts of coins are few and far between on eBay there has been no shortage of 'interesting' coins, you just have to know what to look for in the hammered section as many sellers do not know what they have. I've also refrained from selling much on eBay as I prefer to do it through my own site where I can do what I want and conduct business in a less restricted manner. This has also enabled me to buy many coins elsewhere via email, phone, post, fairs, auctions and dealers meaning that I'm browsing eBay's junk-filled pages less and less. I don't think that eBay itself has finally gone down but I do feel that the Coins section has seen a significant downfall as of late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drusus Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 I have never gotten that great of deals there when it comes to price and I have been a member for quite some time, then again, I dont sit there for hours and hours scanning. My wish list is pretty exact so when I go there, I am looking for something specific. I have gotten a few extra good deal on misattributed coins but in general, most coins I have ever bid on mostly hit the worth or above if a bidding frenzy happens. Its still a great place to buy coins from dealers on my list. Its a great source for coin types that are almost impossible to find here in the US or on other retail sites (and most often cheaper than retail sites)...I prefer the buy it now feature than the 'pretend' auction...then I can just purchase what I want if its a fair price and I dont have to watch it for 3 days until someone comes in 1 second before the bidding ends and takes it away. For me the fun is collecting, not competing for the coin I want..I just want the coin I want and I dont want to compete. I say 'pretend auction' because no auction I have ever been to allows sniping without a chance to put in a new bid. In a real auction, its not over until everyone has had a chance to bid until they are done...While I know plenty of people like to snipe, I dislike it...mostly because I cannot be online every time something I am bidding on ends so I lose to people with nothing better to do...I know I can always put a higher bid in earlier...but sometimes I dont know exactly how much I would be willing to pay and dont like having to set that before hand. So I prefer a real auction (like other sites that extend the auction if a bid is put in the last minutes) or just buy it now. In essence, I have noticed very little change...There has always been a few good among the crap and I just bought several coins there last week (common world coins from Saarland and a notgeld). Then again, I always find many people who seem to have a different experience than me there...probably because of different objectives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 ...then again, I dont sit there for hours and hours scanning. I do. It's allowed me to purchase new variants and such as they escape the eyes of most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NumisMattic2200 Posted June 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 I used to do just that, at first, now it's just depressing as no-one let's any bargains go anymore... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottO Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 really? i have netted a fair few bargains recently http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=220422700840 like this. 2.99 for a couple of good grade OH victoria 1/2D with lustre on one... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=150347153763 an 1895 small head shilling for £1.60 (in fair) http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=380126900460 22 US wheat cents for £2.95 and it has a 1909 and 1910 and one with partial lustre http://www.omnicoin.com/coin_view.aspx?id=966370 got this charles I oval farthing for £3.21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drusus Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 I still buy coins from Stack's, Heritage etc. Perhaps my collection graduated to something beyond eBay, I really do not like all the changes there, what with paypoo only, stupid feedback rules etc. You mean your collection graduated to over priced coins? Even if there were no ebay I would still look for smaller venues with less mark up. Lot of lovely coins out there you can buy without having to support rent, workers, and screw you fees. As for the things you mention, they were all positives in my opinion...or didnt effect me. I only use paypal anyway...I avoided any seller who didnt accept it already (unless I just had to have something they are selling) its the fastest bestest way to get a transaction done and it offers pretty damn good protection against the rip-off artists and the antogonistic / abrasive jerks who are the true problem with ebay in the first place. Those people who send you something you didnt order then say they did and start pointing at you being the problem. Through paypal I have double protection because I have nothing but my credit card attached to it and the credit card offers good protection...thats double protection And the feedback was a great idea...stops the rip-off artists from threatening to retaliate against an honest negative. If a seller is crap...why should I take a negative when I am nice, polite, pay immediatly, responsive, etc..? In fact it might have even worked as I have found sellers to be quite a bit more friendly and responsive and willing to work with you now that they cant just say 'if you neg me I'll neg you...so there!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedeadpoint Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 I'm with several of the others on this one. I have never bought from eBay (don't trust anyone on the coins section) and I think my collection is a little more "refined" than what eBay has to offer. As for if it's "finally gone down?" Maybe the coins section but I think the rest should still be thriving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottishmoney Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 You mean your collection graduated to over priced coins? Even if there were no ebay I would still look for smaller venues with less mark up. Lot of lovely coins out there you can buy without having to support rent, workers, and screw you fees. Quite a bit of the stuff I collect would likely never see the likes of eBay anymore, deciding to specialise in rarer Scottish stuff and steer away from all the side stuff. eBay was good for finding run of the mill stuff that is reasonably common over time. Get into best knowns, unique stuff, very rare, etc. and sellers won't touch eBay with a ten foot pole because of the perception that they will not get their desired price. As for feedback, two edged sword, I have left a negative last summer to an auction house that used eBay, without fear of retaliation, because it took them five weeks to deliver the goods, in this case two very rare Italian notes. That was after a protracted effort to get them to invoice me correctly, it took nine times, they overcharged me, then refunded me, then charged it again, complete PITA in my opinion. I never had a bad buying experience on eBay before. I had some not quite nice ones, stuff underpacked etc before, but nothing like this transaction with HR Harmer. As for selling, last summer buyers were going around and using the neg thing as a bargaining chip to be little extortionists. It really did happen, not to me, but to quite a few others. I do not like a one type of payment venue. Everything on there is controlled by eBay, and that is fine, that is their venue. I am not forced to use it, and frankly, I don't. For many reasons, as you can see in my above missive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 Quite a bit of the stuff I collect would likely never see the likes of eBay anymore... eBay was good for finding run of the mill stuff that is reasonably common over time. Get into best knowns, unique stuff, very rare, etc. and sellers won't touch eBay with a ten foot pole because of the perception that they will not get their desired price. Exactly. But that only applies when the seller knows what they have. Most of my purchases have been when the seller doesn't know exactly what they are selling and so I've managed to snag a steal although this does not happen as frequently as I'd like it too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arminius Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 The reasons for my increasing allergy to buy coins at *bay: For different reasons i prefer to meet people, shows and even life auctions, to hold the coins in my hands and speak to the counterparty directly. In the middle of Europe and without bordering collecting focus i don´t need to sit at the computer for a bargain and wait to place the finishing shot for a dubious result. The system is unfair. The honest person has a better chance to end up as an idiot than a crook to be penalized. It´s too easy to abuse it (no problem to sell forgeries or tooled coins, all the chill bidding to pretend a bargain chance, paypal phishing, buyers can rate negative - sellers not, reputation and experience is undervalued, it´s possible to buy accounts with high positive feedbacks from other people, ...). The charges are too high to accept their idleness. I see no real activity or concern of them to keep the place clean as a good dealer or auction house will do. (I think it was Frank Zappa stating "We are only in it for the money".) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drusus Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 Everything on there is controlled by eBay, and that is fine, that is their venue. There are certainly nice rare coins on ebay and if you have cultivated trusted sellers...you dont have to take much of a risk. I bought a rather rare one just the other day!! I have said it once, will say it again...who can use ebay on a regular basis and not have a ton of trusted sellers? Isnt that how all venues are? You go to heritage and you not only have them controlling everything, but charging you well over the coins worth on a good day for the priviledge. I go there and I see rather common coins all over 100 USD...its like they wont even SELL a coin under that price regardless of how much its actual worth is. I have a dual collection...one cheap, one rare. For the rare I still buy from indy sellers (or trusted sellers on ebay) and not an auction house where you are supporting overhead...not to mention they suffer from slabbing sickness = mo money...they have happily bought into modern collecting madness but of course because it makes them more money. So for nicer and rare coins I use Vcoins and sellers from that or other sites...for the more common stuff I use ebay. In fact I used to try to get a good market estimate price on coins from coin archives until I realized that most of these over priced auction houses feed into that site so now I take the auction price and subtract all the fees to get the true sale price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NumisMattic2200 Posted June 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 ScottO: hrmh..you did alright there, but I've had a few like that too - you won't make any real bargains you know - not like in the old days of 2007/early 2008... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 I think my experience is somewhat like that of Drusus. I buy many tokens, medals, and related research items on Ebay. I have my automated watch lists and scan them each day for items of interest. I also buy from my favored dealers through the mail and at shows. Most of the ebay material I buy is on the low end of my collecting costs, but it is almost all stuff I do not see at shows on the west coast. I place my maximum bid if I know what I'm looking for and let it ride. Sometimes I get a deal, sometimes at get what I want, and sometimes I don't get the item because someone out bid me. If I really want something and I don't have a clear idea of appropriate value, then I sit on the auction and bid high. I've probably overpaid for some items, but I've underpaid for others. I think I'm ahead over all. I buy all my coins from trusted dealers, auctions, and shows. I don't really watch any coins on Ebay since my coin purchases generally tend to be more expensive. I want to know who I am buying from or I want to examine the piece myself before I buy. I've only been stiffed once on ebay and Paypal/Ebay resolved the issue in my favor and my money was refunded. It all worked easy enough. I consider ebay to be one of my collecting tools, not the sole tool, but certainly an important tool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottO Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 real bargains? lustrous 1840 farthing for under £9? a few months back, i dont care if i can get the coins for a few quid under the book prices i dont really care Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NumisMattic2200 Posted June 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 real bargains? lustrous 1840 farthing for under £9? a few months back, i dont care if i can get the coins for a few quid under the book prices i dont really care Let's see the lustrous farthing then, tsk?.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottO Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 alright. its on my omnicoin http://www.omnicoin.com/coin_view.aspx?id=963192 there ya go have other piccies but they dont show the lustre as good (the lighting ya see ) was £9.27 with postage http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=350190524990 there ya go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NumisMattic2200 Posted June 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 alright.its on my omnicoin http://www.omnicoin.com/coin_view.aspx?id=963192 there ya go have other piccies but they dont show the lustre as good (the lighting ya see ) was £9.27 with postage http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=350190524990 there ya go OK, does have some lustre that one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drusus Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 I buy many tokens, medals, and related research items on Ebay. I have my automated watch lists and scan them each day for items of interest. I also buy from my favored dealers I consider ebay to be one of my collecting tools, not the sole tool, but certainly an important tool. I couldnt have said it better. Its just another possibile venue to feed my need Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
constanius Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 I can only comment on buying medals from ebay, not coins or selling: I have purchased from England, Wales, Scotland, France, Belgium, Austria, Australia, Spain & the Netherlands, Oh and Canada & the USA. I have never had a bad experience (guess I am just lucky) in fact some sellers have gone above and beyond. One, when I mentioned that my Wife was born in the same town as he was in (Southend England) and missed the sea & beach, included a small packet of sand from the beach. One included some postcards of Amsterdam, as I mentioned it was a place I would like to visit. One even included another medal, which was in the same auction & had not sold so he threw it in for free. I can still find real bargains, not quite as many sellers start really low but I cannot fault them for that. Some medals/trial-strikes that I have purchased are extremely rare and some possibly unique, if I did not use ebay I might never have found them or got them at such a bargain price. I still buy from coin-shows, antique-shows and a couple of dealers on the net but pay a bit more than I would for the same items on ebay. I just purchased from the same dealer in England, in four separate listings on ebay, 4 small English medals: one R.(rare) two RR.(very rare) and the last RRRR. (the highest rarity rating in BHM) for a bargain price. So to sum up, I guess I am a happy ebayer. P.S. I do not have shares in ebay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arminius Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Looks like we can´t generalize on ebay. It depends on the collecting focus, the alternatives to sell/buy, buying or selling preferences and communication habits and if you are living in the middle of nowhere or near Metropolis. From my point of view it´s more and more a disappointing mess (compared to other alternatives) than a good place for "beeing on the prowl". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexbq2 Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 ScottO: hrmh..you did alright there, but I've had a few like that too - you won't make any real bargains you know - not like in the old days of 2007/early 2008... Just wandered over here from the very quiet Russian Coin section. An interesting discussion! Thread of the month candidate? As an eBayer active since August 2001, I can’t quite refer to 2007/8 as the good old days And as someone who got burned quite a few times on that site, I can’t say that I am 100% happy with it. But I like the recent changes to their policy, at least as a buyer. It did get easier to get you money back when you’re unhappy. Back in the “good old days” I wouldn’t even bother leaving a negative feedback over an inexpensive coin, you’d just get slammed back with a negative. It was almost pointless. And PayPal protection was not available on many many items. So for the most part I’m happy with their attempts at improvement, and with a lot of things I bought on that site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NumisMattic2200 Posted June 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 That's topical, but what do you think about the way it's driven away a lot of good sellers as well as small-time sellers of job lots out of family lofts that you were once able to win at bargain prices, any thoughts?? :>/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottO Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 yea i love job lots, not as many of those, had a freebie though, bought a rew fair viccy pennies and got some more thrown in (wanted an 1894 example... got another one thrown in lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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