Ebay bullion purchases

[Emu213]

Hi,

Just started acquiring silver and have a question on Ebay sales. Is there any sellers that I should avoid. People have retold stories of getting taken for a ride, either fakes or never recieving product. Everyone stay safe. Thanks

Ed

[Tattoedamat]

Same as always look for high feedback, I know a few on here sell on eBay(think there is a thread somewhere)

 

[cypressc]

Buying on eBay sucks. Yes, you can get some deals. There are auctions that slip through the cracks, and titles with misspellings that prevent them from coming up in common search, and sometimes you even find people selling at reasonable pries.

But there are a number of reasons to avoid eBay if you can:

1) Prices are stupid. The seller is paying 10-14% in fees between eBay and PayPal, so they are already inflating their prices just so they net what they think they should be getting.

2) Fakes are getting really good. If you don't know much about coins, you probably won't be able to tell a fake Kookaburra that someone bought off dhgate for $1 and a real one someone originally got from the mint. And you may buy an auction with a real photo and get a fake in the mail. Unless you know how to spot one and/or all the nuances of a particular coin design to look for, you may be buying a very good replica.

3) Best deals are always on auctions -- but how confident are you in crazy times like this that the spot price of silver won't be plus or minus 20% a week from now when your auction closes?

4) There are simply a lot of scammers online. Especially in panic times.

I've bought a lot of silver on eBay. When premiums are low and precious metals aren't on anyone's radar, it's a little easier to navigate. But right now, it's the equivalent of people selling Clorox Wipes for $50/can. Everyone and their brother is trying to make a buck any way they can - legit or not. Avoid. 

 

[MickB]

I won a 1939 2 Reichmarks (E mintmark) silver coin on eBay and it went for £10.50 plus postage. It should have been delivered yesterday but the only thing that turned up was the envelope with a tear in the corner, enough for the coin to fall through. Seller immediately refunded but gave the impression with the tone of their replies that I robbed it, even though it never arrived. That coin is worth more than what I won it for. It wasn't securely packaged for starters so seller may have realised it was sold at a loss then concocted a way of making it look like it was lost.

Ebay is full of sharks but there are genuine sellers out there.

[Tattoedamat]

Who packs coins loose in first place ???

I always pack mine between 2 bits of card to hide what they are and bubble wrap at the very least.  Multiples get boxed or jiffied securely

[dicker]

Ebay can be a bit of a nightmare.  
 

There are a couple of people I buy from but have had a fair few bad experiences in the past. 

Be very careful, look at the feedback !

Best

Dicker

[MrMole]

I have bought plenty from Ebay, no issues what so ever. Just check feedback, see if they have similar items for sale or have sold similar items to see if they are a experienced seller, only bid what you can afford to pay, just common sense stuff really, just spend 5 minutes doing your homework. Plus the buyer protection policies are pretty good. 

[Booky586]

2 hours ago, Tattoedamat said:

Who packs coins loose in first place ???

Thoughtless, stupid sellers, there are plenty on eBay. They just want a sale with the lowest P&P costs.

[Booky586]

2 hours ago, Tattoedamat said:

I always pack mine between 2 bits of card to hide what they are and bubble wrap at the very least.  Multiples get boxed or jiffied securely

An honest seller, thankfully there are more conscientious sellers like yourself than not.

eBay can be fun with lots of bargains, just tread carefully.

[sovereignsteve]

There are scammers on both sides of the deal. Know the beast and don't go there unless you're happy to take and mitigate the risks.

[Booky586]

14 hours ago, Emu213 said:

Hi,

Just started acquiring silver and have a question on Ebay sales. Is there any sellers that I should avoid. People have retold stories of getting taken for a ride, either fakes or never recieving product. Everyone stay safe. Thanks

Ed

Hi Ed,

I make coin purchases on eBay. I'll look at the photos, ignore it if it's not a stock photo, and ask questions about marks and flaws. Read the description, get a feel for the seller, are they genuine?

Don't get taken for a ride, if it's a fake then ask for a refund, eBay generally falls in favour of the buyer and you'll get a refund. If it doesn't arrive, report it as not arrived, you still get a refund. If it isn't as described or isn't the coin in the photo then ask for a refund, in nearly all cases you will get a refund.

Take the plunge, make a purchase and have fun. And stay safe!

[Emu213]

Hey great advice thanks! Will be using your tips in the next couple of weeks. I will post my first ebay purchase. Thanks again

Cheers

Ec

[LiquidMetalsUK]

I use ebay  for my date run coins and have had some great deals. Over the years I have saved the good sellers in my list and try to use them. Very rarely use people not on my list. Have been stung once before in the early days of coin collecting. but am now very careful. Ebay is a great resource if your careful.

Good luck and stay safe guys 👍

[cypressc]

Gotta know how to hunt on ebay to get the deals:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/392736917853

[Emu213]

WOW!  You are a great Ebay Master! I am humbled by your god like skillz!

[Prospector]

Nothing is wrong with the ebay itself, it is some of the people that might take you for a ride.....

[Tattoedamat]

Let's put it this way I posted an item for sale and quoted x amount for shipping, the buyer paid the total I gave. Shipping cost me more so what did I do?

Packed it as carefully as I would want my own coins delivered making sure wouldn't get damaged on the post no matter what and paid the extra shipping out of my own pocket.

The customer got their shipment this morning earlier than I quoted and not only left great feedback also personally messaged me how happy they was.

 

To me a happy customer is much better than one who's not as they will buy again.

Value or volume is irrelevant.. every customer is special regardless of spending £1 or £10000.

 

Just my take on it and I'm sure most here can relate

[Coolsmp]

Trouble with ebay is the excessive fees they charge. Then theres paypal fees. But ebay own PayPal so in effect they are charging you twice.

[Tattoedamat]

Agreed and has anyone else noticed they stopped the £1 selling deals since the virus started 🤬

[RiverbankSilver]

9 minutes ago, Tattoedamat said:

Agreed and has anyone else noticed they stopped the £1 selling deals since the virus started 🤬

I don't think we shall see these offers for a while as i think their trying to avoid over loading delivery services etc..I maybe be wrong i usually am..

[sovereignsteve]

More likely just maximising profit as they think more people will be sat at home with nothing better to do than buy and sell on eBay.

[Tattoedamat]

Maybe but I wish they hurry up bring it back...my eBay fees this month..... 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭🤬🤬🤬🤬

[Troy77]

If they are not on next week I think they are gone for a good while. Think it's been about 3 weeks.

[Troy77]

On 31/03/2020 at 21:12, Booky586 said:

Thoughtless, stupid sellers, there are plenty on eBay. They just want a sale with the lowest P&P costs.

I've bought jiffy bags for 7p and boxes for 12p how tight can people be😁

[Booky586]

45 minutes ago, Troy77 said:

If they are not on next week I think they are gone for a good while. Think it's been about 3 weeks.

 Hopefully we'll get a 4 day deal next weekend, but I'm not counting on it. I check the UKHD website to sell when the deals are expected and I found this: https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/30-days-of-no-fee-selling-on-ebay-3427569

It's for business sellers only, eBay are reacting in support of businesses currently and giving them a no fees period until there end of May.