Proof That Ebay Is Not the Platform for Pricier CAC Coins (Great Collections Is) — Welcome to the CAC Educational Forum

Proof That Ebay Is Not the Platform for Pricier CAC Coins (Great Collections Is)

In the prior 90 days, Ebay sellers have sold just 17 five-figure CAC coins. I suspect that Great Collections has sold hundreds of times as many without any risk of fraud or other loss to the consignors. With by far the lowest selling fees in the business (hence their $243 million in annual sales).


Comments

  • edited March 2023
    I don’t see where anyone ever claimed that eBay was the platform for “pricier CAC”/ five-figure coins.

    And I “suspect” that Great Collections hasn’t sold “hundreds of times as many” (as EBay’s 17) five-figure coins during the past 90 days. Doing the math, “hundreds” (which would be two-hundred or more) times 17 would amount to 3400 coins, at a minimum. For that matter, I “suspect” that they haven’t even sold “dozens” of times as many (as eBay’s 17).

    However, I know of a different auction house that has sold well over 300 five-figure coins since the start of the year.
  • I should have said that GC has sold many times the dollar volume rather than the unit sales. I suspect that a good percentage of GC's $60 million in sales in the referenced 90-day period is probably CAC certified.

    And yeah, HA is there, too. I have heard that they did $336 mil in coin auction dollar volume last year versus GC's $240 mil. But GC's consignors' fees are the lowest of any firm of which I am aware.

    And you can probably add Stack's to the list although I do not have a clue about their actual dollar volume. And maybe Legend?

    But again, Ebay pales in comparison.

  • edited March 2023
    As a collector buying coins, the size of the bp doesn’t matter at all to me. I adjust my max hammer bid so that I pay a very similar amount including the bp.

    As an occasional seller, while GC is a wonderful firm, I haven’t had them give me more than the hammer price, while HA, Stacks, and Legend do. So even though buyers (like me) will often reduce their max hammer bids more with a higher bp, that difference is minimized to the seller who receives more than the hammer from the other auction houses.

    As such, to ME (and many others like me), the size of the bp is not a factor in my decision as to where I buy or sell my coins at auction.

    I buy and sell at all of the above auction houses mentioned, plus DLRC. I occasionally buy at eBay, but will no longer sell there. While my limited sales on eBay have NEVER been problematic, I’ve read too many true horror stories here about “kookie” buyers. I always try to avoid trouble.

    Steve
  • No, old Ian has done a few mega deals quietly. If you follow his auctions-like all auctions recently, they are not that strong.

    I have a little auction that gets strong prices-so long as the coins warrant them.

    Ebay is not a place to attract top buyers. If anything its bottom fishers and newbies. The dealers on ebay are more like scamsters-in my opinion. They are looking for victims.
  • Legend said:

    No, old Ian has done a few mega deals quietly. If you follow his auctions-like all auctions recently, they are not that strong.

    I have a little auction that gets strong prices-so long as the coins warrant them.

    Ebay is not a place to attract top buyers. If anything its bottom fishers and newbies. The dealers on ebay are more like scamsters-in my opinion. They are looking for victims.

    Laura, how about something less than all-encompassing, like “Some of the dealers on eBay…” instead of “The dealers in eBay…”?😉
  • Legend said:
    No, old Ian has done a few mega deals quietly. If you follow his auctions-like all auctions recently, they are not that strong. I have a little auction that gets strong prices-so long as the coins warrant them. Ebay is not a place to attract top buyers. If anything it’s bottom fishers and newbies. The dealers on ebay are more like scamsters-in my opinion. They are looking for victims.
    That’s absurd. I have bought a few great coins at good prices from some reputable companies. Your statement is disrespectful to the honest dealers on EBay 
  • Stevie said:


    Legend said:

    No, old Ian has done a few mega deals quietly. If you follow his auctions-like all auctions recently, they are not that strong.

    I have a little auction that gets strong prices-so long as the coins warrant them.

    Ebay is not a place to attract top buyers. If anything it’s bottom fishers and newbies. The dealers on ebay are more like scamsters-in my opinion. They are looking for victims.

    That’s absurd. I have bought a few great coins at good prices from some reputable companies. Your statement is disrespectful to the honest dealers on EBay 

    Agreed, wholeheartedly.
  • Another poster said: "Ebay is not a place to attract top buyers. If anything its bottom fishers and newbies. The dealers on ebay are more like scamsters-in my opinion. They are looking for victims."

    Huh? Most of the country's largest and most reputable dealers sell coins on Ebay. Are they "scamsters"?

    And Ebay has brought my firms many big spenders, most of whom buy directly. Ebay is a good tool for attracting wealthy customers, just as full-page Coin World ads used to be.

    You should try listing coins on Ebay, not that you need any more success (save some for we po folks).



  • edited March 2023
    The first time that a guy tried to rip me off on eBay, playing the buyer protection rules like a fiddle, and eBay customer service eating out of his hands, I knew I’d better find a better way of selling expensive coins. Where he tripped up was sending back an empty envelope, duly recorded on the scales of the Irvine CA post office as weighing 1.2 ounces, insufficient to have held the item he received “damaged”. A 1 Troy oz gold Buffalo. This enabled me to win my appeal, which I was allowed to,submit 1 photo and a little text, like maybe 100 or 1000 chars. God protects fools like me who enter into such transactions without thinking through the possible failure points.
    Ebay front line customer support is outsourced , offshored, and is totally empowered for the buyer, as long as you know the right trigger phrases. They ordered me to give a refund, and took it out of my funds anyway. Luckily there is a high value frauds team overseeing this whole process. and they overturned the “verdict”. By the wsy the only way to get ahold of an actual ebay employee is thriugh online chat or the eBay for business group on Facebook.
    P.s.I’m pretty sure that other place we sell to in Irvine is totally legit and one of the best coin dealers out there. And I’m not even going to start ranting about the fakes, I have had 2 raw coins kicked back from PCGS as counterfeit’s , one was a gold dollar with a cast look to it in retrospect,the other more surprising one was an Isabella quarter in AU condition. Both bought on eBay by me, eager amateur. I have a friend who bought a 1911-D quarter eagle in an NGC slab MS-62 who wanted to trade it with me but my radar said no way he bought it from a guy with a Russian-sounding name off eBay 2-3 years ago and I think he’s now gone. The best lesson for anyone buying on eBay is that no sale is truly final until180 days have passed. That’s how ,long the charge back window stays open.so when a friend makes a dumb purchase i inform him of this , because truly 99% of people are honest.
  • I’ve had far more success using eBay as a billboard to attract passers-by in cyberspace. I’ve met some really nice folks that way. It’s just tough to buy low enough to keep them happy, so it just keeps me engaged in the hobby, I’m not ruthless enough to be a dealer! There are others out theres who straddle the gap between collector and dealer, such as dirty gold guy. I try to make sure everybody wins, if that’s possible. I try to pass along knowledge to the younger folks, so they learn from my mistakes. LOL that’s enough for now old timer, have a seat.
  • The first time that a guy tried to rip me off on eBay, playing the buyer protection rules like a fiddle, and eBay customer service eating out of his hands, I knew I’d better find a better way of selling expensive coins. Where he tripped up was sending back an empty envelope, duly recorded on the scales of the Irvine CA post office as weighing 1.2 ounces, insufficient to have held the item he received “damaged”. A 1 Troy oz gold Buffalo. This enabled me to win my appeal, which I was allowed to,submit 1 photo and a little text, like maybe 100 or 1000 chars. God protects fools like me who enter into such transactions without thinking through the possible failure points.
    Ebay front line customer support is outsourced , offshored, and is totally empowered for the buyer, as long as you know the right trigger phrases. They ordered me to give a refund, and took it out of my funds anyway. Luckily there is a high value frauds team overseeing this whole process. and they overturned the “verdict”. By the wsy the only way to get ahold of an actual ebay employee is thriugh online chat or the eBay for business group on Facebook.
    P.s.I’m pretty sure that other place we sell to in Irvine is totally legit and one of the best coin dealers out there. And I’m not even going to start ranting about the fakes, I have had 2 raw coins kicked back from PCGS as counterfeit’s , one was a gold dollar with a cast look to it in retrospect,the other more surprising one was an Isabella quarter in AU condition. Both bought on eBay by me, eager amateur. I have a friend who bought a 1911-D quarter eagle in an NGC slab MS-62 who wanted to trade it with me but my radar said no way he bought it from a guy with a Russian-sounding name off eBay 2-3 years ago and I think he’s now gone. The best lesson for anyone buying on eBay is that no sale is truly final until180 days have passed. That’s how ,long the charge back window stays open.so when a friend makes a dumb purchase i inform him of this , because truly 99% of people are honest.

    Unlike thieves, video recordings do not lie. You could also submit video evidence of fraud to the crook's county detectives and even the postal inspectors if more than $50,000 is involved.

    Years ago, a very old man tried to cheat us out of thousands of dollars via a primitive scam, claiming that he had mailed us something that he had not sent. But he unintentionally admitted his deceptions in one of his rambling handwritten letters, possibly because he subconsciously felt guilty. We submitted the evidence to the postal inspectors but never heard back, probably because it did not meet the $50,000 threshold.

    But again, video recordings are the way to go. Then it ain't he said, she said, and/or the criminal said.


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