I hear so many ebay members complaining about ebay, the fees, the scamming coin sellers, paypal fees, etc, etc. But isn’t it time to stop complaining and do something about it? We can’t just blame ebay and rely on them to take care of us, that a socialist environment, and we don’t live in a socialist society.

Ebay does have a responsibility to their buyers and sellers to help make it a safe place for trade, but ebay can’t do it all. It’s up to the sellers and buyers to take some responsibility and help make ebay a safer environment for buying and selling coins. Although ebay can make the policies, and has made several policies, none have been perfect or ever will be, and none will please everyone.

A ebay members must do their part also. It took one person to start ebay and it only takes one person at a time to help make it safer for others. It can’t be fixed overnight, and with the lack of international laws, foreign offenders are free to con without prosecution. But that’s another matter out of our and ebay’s hands.

Ebay was started as an online auction venue so everyone could sell anything they no longer wanted from the convenience of their home, and for people who would like to start a business and make money. Since the inception of ebay, the market place for coins has changed. No longer do coin collectors have to rely on dealers to buy their coin collections at well below market values, and pay the high dealer premiums to add coins to their collection. With ebay the coin market is wide open with deals to be had everyday. If the buyer is properly informed and educated.

Unfortunately, ebay has also become a venue for con artist whom, fueled by greed,  prey on the ignorance of coin collectors. Slowly this aspect of ebay is changing. However, people still complain about ebay’s policies and feel that ebay still isn’t doing enough to prevent fraud. But in every policy there are loop holes. It’s a fact of policy and law making.

But all is not lost because most of these loop holes being used by con artist can be discovered and reported to ebay. Remember that I said earlier “cons artist… prey on the ignorance of coin collectors” and below is a list of suggestions that are available to help everyone make a difference and not get themselves caught up in the ever present scams on ebay. Knowledge is the key to preventing most of the scams and frauds on ebay.

If one doesn’t follow some or all of these steps below then they have no business bidding on ebay coin auctions, and have no right to bash ebay.

1. Learn as much about the the coin series you wish to collect. Ebay has guides, and the Internet is a virtual encyclopedia on U.S. and World coins with many informative websites, forums and other sites where you can ask a coin question and get a knowledgeable answer. Post the auction your have a concern about with a live link and forum members will be glad to give you advice.

The members might even know the seller, or the seller might be a member of the forum, or even better, they might have purchased from this ebay seller and can tell you their experience buying from them. Not only that, but many forums have a list of reputable ebay sellers, and they’re worth checking out. Recommended Coin Forum

2. Learn about grading services. There’s a reason ebay only allows PCGS, NGC, ICG and ANACS to be mentioned in the auction titles, they are the top grading services and are considered the most conservative and consistent companies in the business, by dealers, experts and collectors alike. Some people don’t like this fact, but coins in any other holder on ebay is a potential rip-off.

If you chose to bid on a coin in any other holder, then you do so at your own risk and are taking a chance at buying cleaned, counterfeited and/or over graded coins for a premium higher that the coin’s actual value. So don’t bid on lower tier or self  slabbed coins thinking your getting a deal on a good coin. It doesn’t work that way, and you’re better of paying a premium for a coin graded by a top tier grading service. You will gain more than you will lose this way. Grading Service Info

Here’s is another link to help identify fake and counterfeit coins click here

3. Learn to grade coins properly. Although no one is perfect at grading coins, and it’s difficult to grade coins from ebay pictures, you should purchase many of the available coin grading picture guides. You need a good idea of how to grade the coin series you collect to keep from getting burned.

Once you are familiar with how to grade a series, and you can’t ascertain the grade of a coin via an ebay seller’s pictures, DON’T BID! Some sellers purposely hide details of their coins so they appear a higher grade than they actually are. Again, you will lose and they will gain, it’s a no win situation for the buyer. This will help you get started Grading Coin by Photos

4. Ebay is loaded with unsearched rolls, collections and lottery coin auctions. Most of the unsearched lots contain common and problem coins, and the chances of getting a key date or decent coins is no different than buying a state lottery ticket. Many people are buying but very few are winning.

It’s just a fact. You don’t get good coins for nothing and if you where one of the lucky few. Great. But for every winner there are hundreds if not thousands who  have lost on these deals. (The author of this post has sold on ebay for years and has bought a few of the unsearched coins at ebay, and most where common or damaged coins.) How To Buy Unsearched Coins

Follow the four rules and you will save a lot of money and add quality coins to your collection with few hassles. We can’t make ebay perfect, but we can make it better. I don’t like ebay fees no more than anyone else, but I would rather pay ebay than a coin scammer anyday!

Have you been scammed or defrauded on ebay or do you know of a seller that is violating ebay listing policies? Click Here