Coin Dealer Ethics - Mis-Attributed Coin Follow-Up

The previous installment of this column featured a scenario about an ancient coin dealer (Sami) who incorrectly described a coin due to his own failure to research the specimen properly. A knowledgeable customer (Joseph) caught the lapse and won the coin at auction for about 10% of its true value. The customer shared his good fortune in an online discussion forum right after he won the auction. When the coin dealer found out about his error as a result, he "lost" the coin his customer had bought, only to offer it for sale again several months later. (Visit the original page to read the entire scenario about the mis-attributed coin, as well as the comments readers left.)

Literally everyone who had commented (as of press time) agreed that the dealer should have been ejected from the elite online marketplace (Vcoins) where the original sale took place, but one reader didn't necessarily agree that Joseph deserved the coin:

If you are going to “Cherry Pick” on the Internet, keep your mouth shut (or hands off the keyboard) until you have the coin in your hand. All of this could have been avoided.

Just because we are communicating on the Internet does not give us the right to throw good manners and human kindness out-the-window. Let’s not be rude by flaunting other people’s mistakes in their face.

Vcoins was right in tossing Sami. In my opinion, Joseph did not deserve the coin because of his lack of human relations skills (flaunting Sami’s mistake on a discussion board.) --Jim

Although I agree that Joseph shouldn't have blabbed on the Internet about his find before receiving the coin (if he blabbed at all about the circumstances,) I don't think that a customer's insensitive bragging exonerates a dealer from fulfilling his obligation. It might be unpleasant, and he can refuse to do business with that customer again in the future, but for now I think Sami is obligated to fill the order.

Another reader pointed out the flaw that most people overlook in the voluntary feedback system that some online auction sites use:

This one is a no brainer. Vcoins should have required Sami to either sell the coin to Joseph at the agreed price or kicked him off.

Situations like this show how unreliable user feedback systems are in rooting out dishonest dealers. Sami probably had good ratings on 99% of his deals that went smoothly, but that does not tell you how Sami will act when there is a problem. That I do not crash my car 99% of the time that I drive to work does not make me a good driver. In this case he took short term gain over reputation, figuring that the probability of getting caught was minimal. Having gotten caught, I would make him pay a steep price. --gdnp

As any regular eBay coin buyer knows, there are many pitfalls to shopping for coins on the eBay site. Because of the basically anonymous nature of the marketplace, a buyer who isn't careful or knowledgeable about the type of coins he's buying can be easily ripped off. Since eBay doesn't seem inclined to effectively address these problems in the coins category, (or anywhere else on their site, for the most part) competitors are beginning to gain serious traction against eBay. Some of the leaders in the coins category include Vauctions.com and Collectica.com, both of which have strong anti-fraud and anti-counterfeit coin policies.