Hello to all the readers out there in eBay,  and thank you for taking the time to read my guide.  I'm going to share with you today what I consider to be my best bargains and biggest mistakes when it comes to eBay coins.  I offer these from both the buyer, and the seller's perspective.  If you're new to the hobby,  I can hopefully help you prevent making the mistakes I've made,  and if you're a seasoned collector,  I hope you can smile,  and nod along having made the same mistakes, and found the same bargains. 
    I'll begin this guide with my greatest misfortunes and mistake in coin collecting.

• The "super rare 1948 Canadian Half Penny".  This was my first purchase on eBay,  and I thought what better way to enter the hobby than to pick up a coin that doesn't even circulate any more.  The experience was made even more thrilling by the fact that I won this coin for only $2.  What a steal...until I get the invoice,  shipping will be $5 to Canada.  I was upset,  but wanting to start off on the right foot (maybe high shipping is common on eBay,  and it's something I have to factor in for the future) I paid.  The coin came a week later in a white envelope with a 51 cent stamp,  and with paper towel covering the coin.  I had made my first purchase from an eBay "predator".  This seller,  who may or may not be known to you, preys on the eBay newbies by offering low prices on "stunning" rare coins,  and hiking up the shipping costs to make a profit.  Most of the time,  the items he sells are such low grade that they don't deserve the final bid price,  and even more often,  they aren't even Canadian coins.  Beware these sellers,  they prey on the new eBayers and the uninformed.
• Despite my shaky start,  I quickly caught the eBay bug,  and was buying with regularity.   Still being a novice,  and without the help of so many eBay guides that are now posted,   I was vulnerable to many of the well tested tricks of eBay's lowliest.  Combine this with my own ineptitude,  and I soon fell victim to another thief.  The item was an unsearched (alarm bells should start sounding right here) lot of over 150 George V pennies.  With the key dates available,  and the low starting price of $20 and with free shipping.  I thought I'd take a chance on this auction.   I won - unfortunately.  When I attempted to pay,  the PayPal icon I always use wasn't available.  I neglected to pay attention to EVERY detail of the transaction,  this is a no PayPal seller.  Not a big deal I thought,  so I proceeded to write and mail a cheque.  Several weeks passed, and I had not received the coins.  I emailed the seller several times without reply.  This is when I noticed his feedback,  96%, and littered with negatives.  There was no recourse available through eBay (I hadn't paid PayPal),  and since he had not left feedback,  I couldn't either (he had left negative retaliatory feedback for every single negative he received).  The lessons from this transaction were threefold:  Always make sure you can pay by your desired method,  always read feedback,  and if something seems too good to be true,  it probably is.  I'm sure that if I ever receive these coins I can add a fourth point - no lots are EVER unsearched,  don't waste money in the hopes of finding a bargain.
• I would like to share with you a reader's email which I found especially helpful,  and I know will save at least one person from being taken in a scam.  There are many varieties of the 1859 Large Cent,  some of them quite rare and expensive.  The problem occurs when some eBayers use deliberately bad scans, or doctored images to misrepresent the coin they are selling as one of the rare varieties.  This often fools the bidder into paying a high premium for a common item.  Another Large Cent scam involves the sale of coins with rare obverses.  A scammer will take a photo of the revers of the rare date,  and find another coin (from a different year) which has the "rare" obverse.  They use pictures from two different coins to sell as one rare coin and collect a high premium.    Thank you to Ann and Corrie for sharing these tips.
  

I don't like dwelling on my negative experiences because they are far outweighed by the positives I've experienced.  99% of eBayers are hard-working honest people who aim to make eBay a positive experience for everyone.   Here are a few positive experiences I've had on eBay thanks to these people:

• Have you ever sent PayPal payment,  and the next day received a refund becuase you've paid too much shipping?  I couldn't count the times I've bought multiple lots from a seller without realizing it,  and then received a refund the next day when they combined the shipping costs.  These people are giving money to you that had been sitting in their bank accounts,  and they could have easily kept without being detected.  Sellers like these exemplify eBay at its finest.
• I always enjoy questions from prospective buyers,  you never know what they'll ask.  There was one "question" I got that truly stands out for me.  An eBay browser emailed me and said "I'm not bidding on any of your items,  but I just wanted to say that you've got one of the nicest layouts I've ever seen for a sale".  This eBayer made my day.  It's times like these that I wish I could leave feedback for non-buyers.
• How often have you been aimlessly browsing through the various categories,  and just for the sake of curiosity taken a peek at an item with an unassuming title.  I found one of my biggest bargains through one of these auctions.  For sale were "Canadian Nickels",  and I decided it was worth a quick look.  For sale was a lot of over 200 George V nickels with "at least one 1925,  and several 1926 examples".  I bid,  and won this auction for a ridiculous price of $40.  When I got it,  I plucked the 1925 and immediately sold it for $75.  In the end,  I was left with $35 cash,  5 1926 near 6 nickels,  several EF to AU nickels,  and a multitude of VF nickels.  Not too bad for a listing that was barely worth a first glance.
• Anyone with insomnia can tell you that eBay's best bargains can be found at 4:00 in the morning.  While there aren't many sales ending at that time,  there certainly aren't many bidders biddingagainst you if you do find an item of interest.  One such morning/night I stumbled across a lot of Queen Victoria silver dimes.  There were 18 in the lot,  and most were damaged or well worn.  I checked the eBay completed listings and found a similar lot that had sold for $70.  This lot was going for $22, and had 10 minutes remaining.   I placed my bid and won the coins for $31.  When I received them,  I plucked the four G-4 coins from the group,  and wrote a listing scheduled to end Sunday evening.  It resold for $70,  and I was left with four very nice album fillers.

I hope you've found my guide informative,  or at least entertaining.  If you have,  please let me know by clicking the Yes button below.  Thank you very much.