Feedback on coins is very easy to confuse.
Feedback is the main thing that you as a buyer have to check the bona fides of the vendor.
The main problem is that it is relatively easy to get good feedback for a vendor.
All that he or she has to do is buy a number of low value items for 99 cent or so.
This way anyone can get reasonable feedback for just a couple of hundred dollars.
When you are thinking of buying gold coins however you want to be REALLY sure that the vendor is genuine.
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 1 TROY OZ BAR 100 MILLS 24K GOLD AMERICAN EAGLE BULLION  US $39.99
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 1933 St Gauden GOLD PROOF Dbl Eagle Amer Mint LE 9999 US $6.99
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 TEN GRAM 10g GOLD INDIAN PROOF GEM ART BAR COPY BULLION US $3.95
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 10 2010 1OZ OUNCE AMERICAN SILVER EAGLE GEM BU COINS US $227.89 |
 1 TROY OZ BAR 100 MILLS 24K GOLD CLAD AMERICAN EAGLE US $29.99
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 RARE German 3rd Reich 1937E Reichspfennig WWII COIN US $1.51
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It is fairly easy to check the vendors feed back - just click on the feedback line in their auction.
What you want to look for is that the vendor has previously sold coins and that the purchaser was happy with the purchase.
Scammers will ONLY have feedback for themselves as buyers not as sellers.
This may well be under 4 or 6 different ebay identities (its fairly easy to have a few ebay identities).
The other thing to look for is the feedback score - look for the RED entries and go through their whole feedback listings and check the each of the sales on those and look at the comments - if they regularly are mistaken about coin condition then they are either very inexperienced or scamming by over valuing the coin.
A Common trick is to say that a coin is a proof coin when it is just uncirculated.
Check the other listing of goods they have sold too - these may well be in various categories.
There is no reason of course not to buy from a private buyer with just a couple of coins to sell and these may well be the best buy of your life !
Private vendors should be emailed and asked about the condition of the coin and if it has been to a reputable grading service.
Many grading services are really just back room jobs and not worth the plastic they are slabbed in .
Gold coins are a favourite item for scammers so please look at the vendors website as this may reassure you.
Slabbing a coin does NOT make it into a Proof Coin.
