How safe is ebay?

[ProfessorStacker]

Hi everyone,

Up until now I have been buying all my numismatics and bullion directly from APMEX. Yesterday I was surfing ebay and found a lovely 2 Sovereign 1983 coin apparently graded by NGC at PF69. I want to hit the button but I've heard of a lot of fakes on ebay. Is it safe or will I get a penny slug instead of a Sovereign?

[LiquidMetalsUK]

It's hard to tell without more info. I have been very lucky with my only ebay gold purchase and got a Beautiful half sovereign few months back. But as some can tell u in here there are fakes around. I would ask the seller for very clear pictures. Measurement and weight pictures. Also check the feedback. If all this adds up then I would say go for it. When u get it make sure to do your own checks imediatly. Worst case you have ebay protection so if after all this it's a fake u can open a case and get your money back. At the end of the day there is always a slight risk. Personaly I only buy gold now from premium forum members and Atkinsons. Hope this helps 

[ProfessorStacker]

Thanks JamesD. The auction shows a picture of the coin NGC slab with the serial number. I looked up the number on NGC's registry and found it. I suppose if the seller has a lot of good reviews it's safe. I know from browsing I've seen a number of Morgans that look suspect with the NGC serial number purposely blurred out. Since you can buy slabs that resemble NGC slabs I chalk those up as fakes.

[ProfessorStacker]

This is the item on ebay I want.

[LiquidMetalsUK]

Hopfully one of the hardcore soverigne guys on here will be able to help for a little more experiance 

[LiquidMetalsUK]

I would hope that if it matches the numie listing and has good feedback that it's legit. Maybe send the seller a message. Good luck 👍👍👍

[augur]

Bought from logicpapa before. With 20 years of history, 2,500 items and 100% positive feedback it should be fairly safe

[AppleZippoandMetronome]

It sounds to me like you are doing all your homework with regards to the purchase and you should be safe. Although it is always possible for fakes to slip through the net with almost any seller - if the fakes are good enough - you cut down your risk massively by doing the checks you have.

Also remember there is always buyer protection on ebay. If you discover the coin to be a fake you have recourse.

[TheRaven]

I recently bought 6 5oz coins from China on eBay (what was I thinking?!?), and have since discovered they have a specific gravity of around 7.25, which is nowhere close to the 10.5 expected.  I will be requesting a refund.  Caveat Emptor

[Shinus73]

1 hour ago, ProfessorStacker said:

 I know from browsing I've seen a number of Morgans that look suspect with the NGC serial number purposely blurred out. Since you can buy slabs that resemble NGC slabs I chalk those up as fakes. 

This is possible, but it's equally likely that the seller was obscuring the serial number to prevent somebody else using it with a fake.

[HighlandTiger]

I've bought dozens of sovereigns on ebay over the years. I don't worry too much about fakes, if you're paying by paypal you are covered. I just make sure the seller has a good amount of feedback, and see if they are selling other coins/gold/antiques etc. If you find someone with low feedback who has only had a few "private" transactions on the feedback, these are usually fake paid for feedbacks and are to be avoided like the plague.  

HOWEVER.......with slabbed coins, you do have to be extra careful, because you cant take them out of the plastic to check the coin is genuine. This is the reason I wont go anywhere near any graded/slabbed coin. The Chinese are getting better and better every year with the fakes, and with slabbed coins its much easier to fake than a loose coin.

[ProfessorStacker]

2 hours ago, HighlandTiger said:

I've bought dozens of sovereigns on ebay over the years. I don't worry too much about fakes, if you're paying by paypal you are covered. I just make sure the seller has a good amount of feedback, and see if they are selling other coins/gold/antiques etc. If you find someone with low feedback who has only had a few "private" transactions on the feedback, these are usually fake paid for feedbacks and are to be avoided like the plague.  

HOWEVER.......with slabbed coins, you do have to be extra careful, because you cant take them out of the plastic to check the coin is genuine. This is the reason I wont go anywhere near any graded/slabbed coin. The Chinese are getting better and better every year with the fakes, and with slabbed coins its much easier to fake than a loose coin.

That is a good point. Slabbed coins can't really be evaluated by traditional specific gravity tests. 

[universalcurrency]

It is possible that an xrf tester might work through the plastic encapsulate, well worth asking in your local pawnshop/goldbroker.  However I am not an expert on such kit so I defer to anyone with greater knowledge.

[Serendipity]

Many reputable bullion dealers we buy from online also sell via eBay which is why I don’t have a total blanket ban on anything eBay sells. We need to check the seller. It’s also worth pointing out that not everything graded and slabbed is bona fide.

[Elements]

On 07/06/2019 at 16:03, HighlandTiger said:

I've bought dozens of sovereigns on ebay over the years. I don't worry too much about fakes, if you're paying by paypal you are covered. I just make sure the seller has a good amount of feedback, and see if they are selling other coins/gold/antiques etc. If you find someone with low feedback who has only had a few "private" transactions on the feedback, these are usually fake paid for feedbacks and are to be avoided like the plague.  

HOWEVER.......with slabbed coins, you do have to be extra careful, because you cant take them out of the plastic to check the coin is genuine. This is the reason I wont go anywhere near any graded/slabbed coin. The Chinese are getting better and better every year with the fakes, and with slabbed coins its much easier to fake than a loose coin.

I’ve seen a post by @Marc using a sigma analytics device that he says works through slabs. I think he’ll concur with the Chinese comment

[Murph]

Yes, some sellers are fine but you have to watch with sellers who don’t usually sell coins or sell mainly coins that are often faked.

Ive received a couple of fakes when the picture has been poor or of another item and I’ve received an obvious fake. Fortunately I’ve been refunded even when I’ve refused to send the item back for them to sell it again.

one was a French silver 5 franc that I only paid around £20 for and another was a slightly dearer South American silver coin that was started at around £50 so even though the picture was poor I thought they knew the value and we’re more likely to be a collector.

There are plenty of reliable sellers though.  For example Andreas from coincabinet has some encapsulated coins for auction on eBay this weekend.

[Fathallazf]

It can detect the design too or you have to enter that somehow? It says britannia 🤔

[KevjustKev]

I always film when opening stuff up from ebay, think it's the best 'proof' you can have if something is fake or broken .

[Murph]

Filming isn't likely to show it's fake unless you can test it straight away with a recognised tester.  Even then I wouldn't rely on ebay staff to know what you're talking about.

Luckily it seems most fake sellers know when the jig is up and refund you.

[danmc82]

On 29/06/2019 at 14:39, Fathallazf said:

It can detect the design too or you have to enter that somehow? It says britannia 🤔

Also detects the age of the coin, between 90 - 12 years old 😁

[Fathallazf]

42 minutes ago, danmc82 said:

Also detects the age of the coin, between 90 - 12 years old 😁

I know i sounded stupid but i didn't see any  keyboard or such to type in info 😅😅  but yea lets forget about it now and move on 😂

[danmc82]

Just now, Fathallazf said:

I know i sounded stupid but i didn't see any  keyboard or such to type in info 😅😅  but yea lets forget about it now and move on 😂

Forget what 😉😁

[Fathallazf]

Just now, danmc82 said:

Forget what 😉😁

My stupid question. I guess you already did 😁 

[danmc82]

Just now, Fathallazf said:

My stupid question. I guess you already did 😁 

Now you've brought it back up again 😂 Lets talk about it abit more 😋

[Murph]

You must either buy some very expensive ingredients or dine out at some very exclusive establishments for your dinner to cost £600 plus!