Too good to be true? Best avoid!

[FBNeNotes]

Welll it is ONLY a $156,000.00 diiference. LOL !! Very sad.

[FBNeNotes]

Very weak answers... run do not walk.

[FBNeNotes]

Gone

[Speedracer1]

Upon reading this thread I realized that I was one of the buyers duped by this seller. I sent him several questions about why the coins were so cheap and he had a very plausible answer.

Of course the truth is that I just got greedy and let myself believe it when I knew it "smelled funny". I just placed a stop payment on the check I sent to the seller.

I will probably get a negative feedback from the seller but I am now certain that this guy is a scammer.

All I can say is THANK YOU for pointing this guy out.

The ironic thing is that I was coming to the forum to post a message about some of the sleazy "so called" grading services being listed on eBid. I wanted to help inform buyers that not all grading services are the same. In doing so I found out some information that I needed to know.

Once again,

Thank You all.

Bill

[FBNeNotes]

Many live in lalaland and have a simple mind. Only bid/buy on your own Knowledgeable insight.
Red Flags.... hype!! Or I dont know how to grade and/or is from an estate sale, or an about me sob-story, the Large colorful fonts used, I am selling these for a friend, I am selling these and donating a portion to charity.. just endless.
There are exceptions but no excuses in doing it wrong.
I have seen rip-offs galore the last 13 years in public online auctions.
Again I say... Bad buyers make scammers survive.
Want to read eye openers....
http://coins.about.com/od/coingradin...gs_genuine.htm

and for Bill...
http://coins.about.com/od/coinbuying...coin_fraud.htm

[poppa501]

FBNeNotes--Those were good articles. Everyone should read them. I've been stung a few times through my own ignorance of course. Have bid on a couple of coins that sounded realistic, good seller ratings, etc. but had horrid pictures! People don't seem to realize that the pictures are the only real way a buyer has of judging the coin. Have seen some clear pictures so small you couldn't see any detail and have seen some nice large ones so blurry you couldn't tell if it was a dime or a half dollar. Those few times I was burned was because of poor pictures (and my greed and impatience of course). Nice seller-could have gotten a refund-but not a high-dollar coin so just kicked myself and moved on. Of course I'm talking about raw coins not slabbed to which I will address--
Speedracer 1--Never been a great fan of any TPG slabs. Grading is still too subjective. NGC will grade a coin MS63 for example. Take it out and send it to PCGS and they may grade it MS62 or MS65. If I have to buy a coin over say $50 and I can't put my hands on it, then I would naturally choose one from the top TPGers.
I think most of us know what you are referring to about "not all grading services are the same" Have been reluctant to mention any specific names here because some seller who hawk those may be visiting this forum. Suffice it to say that anyone who is contemplating buying a slabbed coin should really familiarize themselves with the grading service before making the purchase. This is especially true if we are talking about more than a few dollars here.
Just my thoughts on these lines. Hope I haven't offended anyone.
Later
Poppa

[FBNeNotes]

EVERYONE who lives Coins or wants to learn... really must own this book..
http://helpdesk.ebid.net/showthread.php?t=114548

[jiml4004]

I don't care if I offend anyone or not!!! NGC or PCGS are the only ones to by or sell and I'll add ANCS or what ever the letters are. The rest are very suspect. The other grading service coins don't bring the value at auction because no one that knows anything at all about coins believes the grades. I belong to both the NGC and PCGS registries and have top collections on both. I agree about the pictures are the only way that we have to judge the coins when buying on the Internet. word to the wise stay away from The Collectors Internet & Ken Pines Coast to Coast Coins both sell over graded and cleaned coins.

Later jiml4004

[TiasTreasures]

I don't care if I offend anyone or not!!! NGC or PCGS are the only ones to by or sell and I'll add ANCS or what ever the letters are. The rest are very suspect. The other grading service coins don't bring the value at auction because no one that knows anything at all about coins believes the grades. I belong to both the NGC and PCGS registries and have top collections on both. I agree about the pictures are the only way that we have to judge the coins when buying on the Internet.

Unfortunately, even a slab from NGC or PCGS is not foolproof. Every few months Coin World reports on counterfeit coins, in counterfeit slabs. They show pictures to spot the fakes. The counterfeiters read them and trot back to fix their machines. I will never buy an extremely rare coin on the internet (or from a dealer) unless I can put the money in escrow and have the coin validated by a professional.

I would have bought one of the auctions currently on eBid. I asked about putting the money in escrow. His response: money orders or checks only because "PayPal doesn't work for us." If those coins were genuine, I could flip them for at least a 200% profit. My question and his answer are no longer showing, I didn't know it was possible to remove them from the auctions.

[FBNeNotes]

Do NOT fall for obvious rip-offs. Why does Greed sway folk.. geesh, just walk away, never to return to such a seller. I do it most most most of the time.. wearing out my shoes.