It is very important to exercise caution when bidding on non-OBW (original bank wrapped) rolls of coins on Ebay.  Many sellers on Ebay are selling "ch gem BU" rolls and some sellers even state in their listings that they will all grade very high (MS-65+).  That is obviously the seller's opinion and should be clearly stated in the listing as such.  Otherwise, how would they know what grade will be assigned to the coins?  I recently won a roll of mixed date ch gem BU walking liberty half dollars.  When this roll was submitted to PCGS for grading, only one coin graded MS-65.  A total of 8 coins were rejected as being either cleaned, an altered surface or damaged in some way.  Two only graded AU-58.  The rest graded MS-62 to MS-64.  After contacting the seller, a refund was eventually processed.  This does not always happen.

Most non-OBW rolls have been cherry picked (e.g.  the best potentially high grading coins have been removed) for grading by the seller.  What you are bidding on are the left over coins, in the majority of cases.  Look for OBW rolls and make sure the wrapping is clearly from a bank, financial institution or a recognized coin distribution company.  Some sellers will even sell coins rolled by a coin counting machine they rented.  You can tell this because the wrapper will say only  "$10 Quarters" or just "Halves" and appear recently wrapped.  These machines are easy to obtain, especially since the development of coinless slot machines which issue tickets instead of coins.  An original OBW roll will have the bank name and location stamped on the wrapper and not appear very new.  Make sure the ends of the OBW wrapper have not been tampered with.  Older OBW rolls have ends that can be unrolled, allowing coins to be pulled out of the wrapper.  If the seller does not have a picture of the ends, ask for them or do not bid!  There may be a reason why the ends of the roll are not pictured in the listing.

Most collectors buy rolls to submit for grading, so quality is a very important issue.  Some investors buy rolls for the precious metal content and hold them long term, so quality is a secondary issue here.   Whatever your objective may be, minimize your risk by carefully examining listings and buying only genuine OBW rolls.  Please register your vote if you found this guide helpful and may Lady Luck smile on you!