Vcoins approaching $9,000,000 mark

As some of you know, I'm a Vcoins addict. Every morning during
breakfast I check out the items added within the last 24 hours hoping
that (if the price is right) this early bird will catch a nice worm.

During the last week, the total worth of the offerings on Vcoins has
been slowly but surely approaching $9 million. This A.M. it's just a
shade under $8,900,000 with 87 dealers advertising on the website and
15 soon to be on board.

~Anka

"Anka" wrote in message
oups.com...
As some of you know, I'm a Vcoins addict. Every morning during
breakfast I check out the items added within the last 24 hours hoping
that (if the price is right) this early bird will catch a nice worm.

During the last week, the total worth of the offerings on Vcoins has
been slowly but surely approaching $9 million. This A.M. it's just a
shade under $8,900,000 with 87 dealers advertising on the website and
15 soon to be on board.

~Anka

I have a store on VCoins, in addition to the main Classical Coins website,
and in my opinion it is a far superior venue to eBay for collectors. eBay at
one time was a good place to buy ancient coins, but today I don't think it
is. There are many shady sellers (and no small number of outright crooks)
selling fakes and altered coins on eBay. There are also fraudsters who post
images of coins that they don't really have.

Bill Peutz, whose brainchild VCoins is, has singlehandedly revolutionized
the Internet coin business. He has created a very well organized and
convenient cybermall that is one of the safest and most reliable online
shopping experiences.

The best feature of VCoins, in my opinion, is that it is so well policed. If
a dealer looks like he might possibly be involved in anything that is even
slightly suspect, Bill immediately finds out what is going on and takes
appropriate action. If a dealer offers a coin that might be a forgery, that
gets noticed and the coin is immediately challenged. The incidence of
questionable coins offered on VCoins is extremely low.

There is an online discussion group about coin forgeries in which a lot of
sensational claims about fake coins have been and are being made. Quite
some time ago, I posted a challenge to the self proclaimed experts in that
group to post examples of coins offered on VCoins that they thought were
forgeries. I then stated that I did not think anyone could propose 10
questionable coins.

So far, only two coins were ever proposed as questionable, and one of those
was later shown to be OK. There are presently 44,816 ancient coins and
antiquites and coin books offered for sale on VCoins, and I think that your
likelihood of encountering a fake coin on VCoins is lower than if you buy
from major auction houses.

As a result, collectors can count on VCoins. Dealers are honest and ethical,
and if a coin is ordered, it will be shipped. If a coin is disappointing in
the hand, which is not at all likely, you can return it. If a coin is ever
shown to be a forgery, which is extremely unlikely, you can return it. Shill
bidding and other shady practices are not tolerated in VAuctions.

VCoins is a place where the good guys, ethical and reliable dealers and
collectors, come together for the benefit of all. I recommend it highly.

Dave Welsh
Classical Coins
www.classicalcoins.com

Thanks, Dave, for the great plug.


~Anka

For ancient coins seems like there are quite a few dealers. Pretty
useless for US collectors. Tools are primitive; none of my searches
scored a single hit, even though I used common words like
"commemorative" and "commem."

Regards,
Tom

"winwin" wrote in message
oups.com...
For ancient coins seems like there are quite a few dealers. Pretty
useless for US collectors. Tools are primitive; none of my searches
scored a single hit, even though I used common words like
"commemorative" and "commem."

The US coin part of VCoins has only recently been started. Give it some time
and you will find that it will grow into a great experience.

If you send feedback toBill about the tools etc. that you would like to see,
he will act on it.

Dave Welsh
Classical Coins
www.classicalcoins.com



Regards,
Tom

VCoins is a great concept....I visit every day even though I rarely buy
coins there. Bill Peutz is a fine gentleman who has helped our hobby in many
ways, but like any concept...VCoins has it's weaknesses. If you shop VCoins,
be prepared to pay prices that are on the higher end of the market. This is
not the dealers fault...they must recoup the fees they are charged for
listing on VCoins. I suspect that many VCoins visitors are doing attribution
searches (a great feature) for coins they already have or plan to buy
elsewhere. Nevertheless, VCoins is a fine site for what it is.

I know it has become fashionable to bash Ebay as a buying/selling venue, but
I don't agree that VCoins should be promoted by trying to tear down others
(Ebay, etc.). Ebay, like VCoins, is what it is. The Ebay advantage is that
small collector/dealers who can't afford significant fees can nevertheless
offer their few coins to a vast community of collectors. Because the cost of
listing is relatively low they can also list their perfectly genuine coins
at a fraction of the average VCoins price and simply let market forces
determine the value of their item. Are there dishonest & ignorant sellers on
Ebay? Yes! Can you still buy and sell on Ebay safely? Of course! Don't let
greed overrule your brain & do your homework. If someone has hundreds of
feedbacks with a 100% (or close) rating, you can be reasonably sure they are
not a fly-by-night scam artist. After hundreds of transactions on Ebay I
have never had one go wrong. Call me a dreamer, but I still believe that
basically most people are honest if you give them a chance.

As stated before, VCoins is a fine idea...but in the future I believe it
will be seen as a starting point. Someone, somewhere is going to launch a
marketplace that takes the best concepts of VCoins, Ebay, etc. and provides
a safe, searchable and economical way for all sellers (large & small) to put
their coins before the collecting community. Sheer volume would drive the
revenue stream and more competitive pricing would attract a larger base of
buyers.

Joe Winnett



"Dave Welsh" wrote in message
news:lBAse.896$gt5.523@fed1read02...
"Anka" wrote in message
oups.com...
As some of you know, I'm a Vcoins addict. Every morning during
breakfast I check out the items added within the last 24 hours hoping
that (if the price is right) this early bird will catch a nice worm.

During the last week, the total worth of the offerings on Vcoins has
been slowly but surely approaching $9 million. This A.M. it's just a
shade under $8,900,000 with 87 dealers advertising on the website and
15 soon to be on board.

~Anka

I have a store on VCoins, in addition to the main Classical Coins website,
and in my opinion it is a far superior venue to eBay for collectors. eBay
at
one time was a good place to buy ancient coins, but today I don't think it
is. There are many shady sellers (and no small number of outright crooks)
selling fakes and altered coins on eBay. There are also fraudsters who
post
images of coins that they don't really have.

Bill Peutz, whose brainchild VCoins is, has singlehandedly revolutionized
the Internet coin business. He has created a very well organized and
convenient cybermall that is one of the safest and most reliable online
shopping experiences.

The best feature of VCoins, in my opinion, is that it is so well policed.
If
a dealer looks like he might possibly be involved in anything that is even
slightly suspect, Bill immediately finds out what is going on and takes
appropriate action. If a dealer offers a coin that might be a forgery,
that
gets noticed and the coin is immediately challenged. The incidence of
questionable coins offered on VCoins is extremely low.

There is an online discussion group about coin forgeries in which a lot of
sensational claims about fake coins have been and are being made. Quite
some time ago, I posted a challenge to the self proclaimed experts in that
group to post examples of coins offered on VCoins that they thought were
forgeries. I then stated that I did not think anyone could propose 10
questionable coins.

So far, only two coins were ever proposed as questionable, and one of
those
was later shown to be OK. There are presently 44,816 ancient coins and
antiquites and coin books offered for sale on VCoins, and I think that
your
likelihood of encountering a fake coin on VCoins is lower than if you buy
from major auction houses.

As a result, collectors can count on VCoins. Dealers are honest and
ethical,
and if a coin is ordered, it will be shipped. If a coin is disappointing
in
the hand, which is not at all likely, you can return it. If a coin is ever
shown to be a forgery, which is extremely unlikely, you can return it.
Shill
bidding and other shady practices are not tolerated in VAuctions.

VCoins is a place where the good guys, ethical and reliable dealers and
collectors, come together for the benefit of all. I recommend it highly.

Dave Welsh
Classical Coins
www.classicalcoins.com

"Anka" wrote in message
oups.com...
As some of you know, I'm a Vcoins addict. Every morning during
breakfast I check out the items added within the last 24 hours hoping
that (if the price is right) this early bird will catch a nice worm.

During the last week, the total worth of the offerings on Vcoins has
been slowly but surely approaching $9 million. This A.M. it's just a
shade under $8,900,000 with 87 dealers advertising on the website and
15 soon to be on board.

~Anka


Anka;

I blame you for my vcoins addiction. A couple of Greek cities get searched
every morn.

"Joe Winnett" wrote in message
...
VCoins is a great concept....I visit every day even though I rarely buy
coins there. Bill Peutz is a fine gentleman who has helped our hobby in
many
ways, but like any concept...VCoins has it's weaknesses. If you shop
VCoins,
be prepared to pay prices that are on the higher end of the market. This
is
not the dealers fault...they must recoup the fees they are charged for
listing on VCoins.

Joe,

Dealers on VCoins pay a single, low annual fee for their store privileges.
It is a great bargain really and almost any "small dealer" can easily afford
that fee. That's why there are so many small dealers on VCoins. There are no
individual item listing charges. For anyone who sells a significant number
of coins, it actually costs less to sell on VCoins than on eBay.

The costs involved in seriously dealing in ancient coins are not limited to
listing fees:
- numismatic library (I've lost track of what I have invested in this but it
is well over $50,000)
- imaging equipment (a good setup is not cheap, and considerable expertise
is needed)
- High quality microscope, precision weighing apparatus and many other kinds
of specialized equipment
- Huge amounts of time invested in researching and attributing coins
- Overhead of operating the business

These are the costs that go into what coins sell for. Yes, there are dealers
on VCoins who sell high end coins at high end prices. There are also
dealers like me who offer coins suitable for beginning and intermediate
collectors at reasonable prices that compare favorably with what similar
coins sell for on eBay. Pricing on VCoins varies greatly from dealer to
dealer.

You get what you pay for. If you are content to buy on eBay, do so. However,
let me observe that very few eBay buyers have authentication expertise
comparable to mine, and I have been burned by forgeries sold on eBay, as
have other dealers who are also experts. Forgeries are all-pervasive, there
is no policing of any kind and I'm quite certain that almost any collector
who builds a collection via eBay will have acquired a number of deceptive
forgeries in the process.

Perhaps even worse than the outright fakes are the altered coins. Those who
know what to look for can see clear evidence of tooling, smoothing,
repatination and other unethical practices pursued to make coins look better
than they really are, in many eBay listings.

Years ago I naively invested considerable time in an effort to get eBay to
do something about this rampant deception and fraud. I eventually came to
realize that eBay really only cares about avoiding liability and legal
costs. eBay has done and will do nothing effective to prevent coin buyers
from being defrauded, and as a result I have stopped buying coins on eBay. I
get better material without the risks and aggravation through other venues.
I believe that similar deceptive practices regarding authenticity and
misrepresentation are also rampant in many other types of collectibles sold
on eBay.

I am not out to knock eBay. I buy a lot of things on eBay - but I don't buy
coins and other collectibles for which authenticity and condition are
important.

I do not think that there is or ever will be a "a marketplace that takes the
best concepts of VCoins, Ebay, etc. and provides a safe, searchable and
economical way for all sellers (large & small) to put their coins before
the collecting community." The reason that VCoins is a very safe venue for
collectors is that it is very well policed. Dealers are checked out before
they are allowed to set up stores, are required to sign a code of ethics,
and their operations are monitored to prevent fraud and also what is much
more prevalent, forgeries and altered coins being sold by small dealers who
are not yet experts. Any venue that allows "all sellers" will, by
definition, be unsafe.

Unfortunately, there are sellers on eBay who have impressive feedback who
knowingly sell altered and forged coins. I can't go into details because of
legal liability issues, but the feedback system is not a reliable assurance
that a seller is ethical. These unethical sellers are not fly by night scam
artists who don't deliver coins. They often even give refunds to the small
percentage of buyers who are sophisticated enough to realize that all is not
right with the coin they have just purchased. Meanwhile a great many
"newbies" who buy ancient coins on eBay are acquiring significant numbers of
forgeries, altered coins, and coins with significant undisclosed defects
from these unscrupulous vendors.

I really resent that. Eventually, most "newbies" who continue to collect are
going to learn enough to realize what has happened, and then what are they
going to think about coin dealers? How many will come to realize that the
great majority of dealers are honest and ethical people who despise those
who prey upon the uninformed? How many will give up collecting ancient coins
in disgust as a result of their experience?

Dave Welsh
Classical Coins
www.classicalcoins.com



I suspect that many VCoins visitors are doing attribution
searches (a great feature) for coins they already have or plan to buy
elsewhere. Nevertheless, VCoins is a fine site for what it is.

I know it has become fashionable to bash Ebay as a buying/selling venue,
but
I don't agree that VCoins should be promoted by trying to tear down others
(Ebay, etc.). Ebay, like VCoins, is what it is. The Ebay advantage is that
small collector/dealers who can't afford significant fees can nevertheless
offer their few coins to a vast community of collectors. Because the cost
of
listing is relatively low they can also list their perfectly genuine coins
at a fraction of the average VCoins price and simply let market forces
determine the value of their item. Are there dishonest & ignorant sellers
on
Ebay? Yes! Can you still buy and sell on Ebay safely? Of course! Don't let
greed overrule your brain & do your homework. If someone has hundreds of
feedbacks with a 100% (or close) rating, you can be reasonably sure they
are
not a fly-by-night scam artist. After hundreds of transactions on Ebay I
have never had one go wrong. Call me a dreamer, but I still believe that
basically most people are honest if you give them a chance.

As stated before, VCoins is a fine idea...but in the future I believe it
will be seen as a starting point. Someone, somewhere is going to launch a
marketplace that takes the best concepts of VCoins, Ebay, etc. and
provides
a safe, searchable and economical way for all sellers (large & small) to
put
their coins before the collecting community. Sheer volume would drive the
revenue stream and more competitive pricing would attract a larger base of
buyers.

Joe Winnett



"Dave Welsh" wrote in message
news:lBAse.896$gt5.523@fed1read02...
"Anka" wrote in message
oups.com...
As some of you know, I'm a Vcoins addict. Every morning during
breakfast I check out the items added within the last 24 hours hoping
that (if the price is right) this early bird will catch a nice worm.

During the last week, the total worth of the offerings on Vcoins has
been slowly but surely approaching $9 million. This A.M. it's just a
shade under $8,900,000 with 87 dealers advertising on the website and
15 soon to be on board.

~Anka

I have a store on VCoins, in addition to the main Classical Coins
website,
and in my opinion it is a far superior venue to eBay for collectors.
eBay
at
one time was a good place to buy ancient coins, but today I don't think
it
is. There are many shady sellers (and no small number of outright
crooks)
selling fakes and altered coins on eBay. There are also fraudsters who
post
images of coins that they don't really have.

Bill Peutz, whose brainchild VCoins is, has singlehandedly
revolutionized
the Internet coin business. He has created a very well organized and
convenient cybermall that is one of the safest and most reliable online
shopping experiences.

The best feature of VCoins, in my opinion, is that it is so well
policed.
If
a dealer looks like he might possibly be involved in anything that is
even
slightly suspect, Bill immediately finds out what is going on and takes
appropriate action. If a dealer offers a coin that might be a forgery,
that
gets noticed and the coin is immediately challenged. The incidence of
questionable coins offered on VCoins is extremely low.

There is an online discussion group about coin forgeries in which a lot
of
sensational claims about fake coins have been and are being made. Quite
some time ago, I posted a challenge to the self proclaimed experts in
that
group to post examples of coins offered on VCoins that they thought were
forgeries. I then stated that I did not think anyone could propose 10
questionable coins.

So far, only two coins were ever proposed as questionable, and one of
those
was later shown to be OK. There are presently 44,816 ancient coins and
antiquites and coin books offered for sale on VCoins, and I think that
your
likelihood of encountering a fake coin on VCoins is lower than if you
buy
from major auction houses.

As a result, collectors can count on VCoins. Dealers are honest and
ethical,
and if a coin is ordered, it will be shipped. If a coin is
disappointing
in
the hand, which is not at all likely, you can return it. If a coin is
ever
shown to be a forgery, which is extremely unlikely, you can return it.
Shill
bidding and other shady practices are not tolerated in VAuctions.

VCoins is a place where the good guys, ethical and reliable dealers and
collectors, come together for the benefit of all. I recommend it highly.

Dave Welsh
Classical Coins
www.classicalcoins.com