From the article: Top 5 Ways to Avoid Fake Coins on eBay
Buying fake coins on eBay can mean a total financial loss, since most counterfeit sellers are based in China and Hong Kong. Share your tips on how to avoid becoming a victim. Share Your Tip
Due Diligence
- It is very simple to do your own research on a slab coin offered on e-Bay. If it is legitimate you will see the serial number in the listing or picture and your only work is in calling the grading service and ask if it is what they say it is.
- —Guest kccollector
PayPal Address Confirmation
- You can get burned as a seller, as well. I sold 2 Krugs to a buyer in Japan who paid with PayPal. I thought I was protected, so I shipped the coins and transferred the payment to my bank account. A few weeks later, I received a notice from PayPal that I was over $1000 overdrawn. It turned out that the purchase had been funded by a stolen credit card, and the legitimate owner of the card requested a charge back because thay knew nothing about buying gold coins using PayPal. I had several emails from the buyer, which turned out to be from temporary addresses, and there was nothing PayPal could do to get the money back, and by the way, I had better repay the shortage in my PayPal account - PRONTO. The buyer had set up a PayPal account, but never confirmed the mailing address. I just did not catch that. After I shipped the coins, the buyer's PayPal account and email addresses vanished. Try to track down a missing shipment in Japan - at your own expense. Seller beware!
- —gmcnorton
