A Bad Seller
Rules Of The
Road
For On-line
Auctions
Justice
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Rules Of The
Road
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Justice |
| EBAY
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At one time or another most of us have experienced an auction result as a buyer that did not go the way we planned. In most cases the sellers are reasonable enough to work out any problems that may stand in the way of a satisfied customer but occasionally you run into a hard case who is simply bent on fraud. What do you do in that case? The auction houses themselves have internal mechanisms in place (left column of links) to help resolve most problems. If those do not produce the desired results, there are government agencies to contact (right column of links, "Places To Contact") who are very interested in these types of transactions. Statements
Found In Auction Descriptions
"I don't know if this is a "one of kind" or not but it is certainlyNews Alerts Man Accused Of Ebay Fraud Gets Jail Time (03/11/02)Techniques of Fraud Shill Bidding |
Error
World
WEB SITES
PLACES TO CONTACT Internet Fraud Complaint Center (FBI) |
A good place to pick up those hard to find coins is through the on-line auctions held on Ebay, Yahoo and several other sites. While deceptively simple to use, there are many things of which to be wary. The following tips are the result of long experience with on-line auctions… Oftentimes you will see an item up for auction at a very low price and rush to get a bid in on such a bargain. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Many times a fantastic item put up for auction has been brought to the attention of our Watchdogs only to be found to be a fake. Recently a Sacajewea Dollar / Washington Quarter mule came up on one of the auction sites for less than $25.00. The price in itself should have been a giveaway, as there is probably only one collector, somewhere in Adak, Alaska, who has not heard of "The Mule" and it's $50,000.00 price tag. If it was real, why would someone sell it for $25.00? Always check the picture (scan) that comes with the auction. Make sure that the seller is clear that this is a scan of the actual coin that you will be bidding on and not just, "one like this". Grading is an art and not a science so make sure that you are conformable with the sellers grade for the coin. Check for nicks, scratches, gouges, dents, holes, fingerprints and/or signs of cleaning. This is your only opportunity to "examine" the coin before you buy it so make the most of it. If an auction doesn't have a scan, pass it by, regardless of the price! If the seller can't post a picture of the coin, there may be something that he doesn't want you to see. Pass by fuzzy, blurry, out-of-focus, super small scans for the same reason. Unless it's a $50,000.00 one of a kind coin, the general rule of thumb is, there will always be another one coming along sometime soon so wait for it. Make sure that you know the value of the coin on which you are bidding! There are plenty of good reference materials around (Red Book, Blue Book, Black Book, Coin World Trends, COINage Trends, etc.) that will give you a ball park figure of the value of that special coin on which you are bidding. Read them and don't get caught in "auction fever" where you bid continuously higher and higher just because you WANT that coin! Know what the coin is worth and what it is worth to you. Stop bidding when you reach that figure. Each auction site allows the buyers to rate the sellers and the sellers to rate the buyers. This is called "feedback" and shows up as a number next to the sellers (or buyers) name. Click on it and you will see what other buyers have had to say about this seller. If you read too many negative comments about this seller then by all means pass him/her by. If others have had problems with this person then don't take the chance that you will too. Common sense prevails here, though. No one is perfect and if you sell or buy long enough you will accumulate "some" negative feedback. Use your head. If a seller or buyer has a rating of 500 and you find 5 negative comments, chances are this is a good seller or buyer. When you bid at an on-line auction, you are entering into a binding contract to purchase the item on which you bid if you are the high bidder for that item. Read the sellers terms very carefully before you bid. These terms can generally be found in the Description section of the auction. This is where the seller will tell you how much you must include for Shipping & Handling and Insurance. Some sellers try to pad their profit by charging an exorbitant amount for shipping/handling/insurance and if you win the auction you must pay this inflated amount. Check it out first and if you think the amount is extreme then pass this seller by. Someone else will always be along to sell another of these coins at a reasonable price. If the seller requests reimbursement for insurance or makes insurance optional, always request the insurance. While the law is on your side in cases where the package never arrives it's worth the small price of insurance to avoid the hassle of having to take the seller to court to get a replacement coin or to get your money back. Always check the sellers return policy. an honest seller will generally allow a 5 day return policy, if the item has not been removed from its holder. Usually the only acceptable reason for a return is if the item is not as described in the auction description or in any communications that you may have had with the seller prior to the finish of the auction. You have to remember that this is not an approval process. Be sure that you really want the item before you bid. Always ask questions! There is a hot link provided in all auctions to ask the seller a question. Use it if you have any questions about what the seller is showing you or has said in his auction write-up. After the bidding is ended is too late to ask questions. Be a wise bidder an you will almost always be a satisfied buyer! |
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