Buyer Beware!
This morning I happened to take a peak on eBay to see what was happening since silver was beginning to look like it may be on an upswing.
Two active listings caught my attention. The first angered the heck out of me. The second was a truly honest listing that restored my faith in humanity.
#1 - Over hyped exaggeration
LARGE **16 OUNCE LOT** of HIGHLY RECOGNIZABLE OLD US JUNK SILVER COINS
Let's examine this listing. The seller is claiming to be selling a lot of silver coins that weigh 16 ounces. No mention as to the type of weight the seller is using. Silver and gold is sold by Troy weight which is different from most weights the average person is used to.
In the listing itself the seller lists the coins in the lot
The winning bidder will receive the following coin lot which will weigh 16 ounces (1 lb.) or more:
Total of 5 Silver Half Dollars = my choice of: Walking Liberty or Franklin Half Dollars
Total of 10 (mix of 1965-1970) Kennedy Silver Half Dollars
5 Silver Washington Quarters
Total of 22 Silver Dimes = my choice of: Mercury and/or Roosevelt dimes
40 Silver War Nickels
Silver weight using the US Silver Coin Calculator
5 Half Dollars - 1.8085 oz
10 40% Half Dollars - 1.479 oz
5 Quarters - 0.904 oz.
22 Dimes - 1.5906 oz.
40 Nickels - 2.252 oz.
Total Troy Weight - 8.0341 oz.
A troy pound weight 12 troy ounces at 31 grams per ounce. Therefor this lot is actually 3/4 of a troy pound
Value at the time of this posting was $257.41
Seller's Buy It Now price - $389.95
The problem I find is the hype of this listing. Uninformed buyers can easily be mislead by this type of listing language. While the sellers price is very high there is nothing wrong with that in and of itself.
#2 - Factual Honest Listing
10 Different 90% Silver Franklin Half Dollars, 1949-1963, 3.617 Oz Silver!
Short and to the point listing with zero hype. Entering 10 into the half dollar field of the coin calculator shows a weight of 3.617 Oz
Bottom Line
Before you buy or sell any gold or silver coins spend a few minutes performing your Due Diligence. It doesn't matter where you trade knowledge is #1. You can find great deals and avoid disasters by arming yourself with knowledge.
My personal experience while buying silver coins is that I get the best prices from local coin dealers. There are about 10 in my area and I found 2 near by who sell junk silver consistently at or below spot. If you are buying US silver coins check the dealers near you, you may be pleasantly surprised.
Note that I do not know either of these sellers on eBay, nor have I dealt with them in the past, nor do I know anyone who has dealt with either seller.
No comments:
Post a Comment