This is the fourth-part in the series on Proxibid vs. eBay. Our first post covered our initial bidding experience. The second post compared shipping between the two portals. The third installment covered IT functions and payment options. This post discusses consignments and lot descriptions.

There is no question that eBay outshines Proxibid by multiples of hundreds when it comes to quality coin consignments. It is not unusual for some rare coins to sell for more than $50,000 on eBay. And you can find, theoretically at least, almost anything you are looking for on eBay when it comes to holdered and raw US, World, Tokens and other numismatic items.

However, as we discussed in our last post, it is one thing having an item available on eBay and another thing finding it. If you are looking for toned silver eagles, for example, or ones in PCI holders, good luck finding your item on eBay without investing hours. Because of eBay’s strict listing regulations for quality control, users are forced to wade through hundreds of coins in large collector categories. While Proxibid has much smaller coin consignments, the experience with better search options is not as tedious.

Lot descriptions on eBay, however, typically outshine that on Proxibid. Items are hyped on occasion, but those are rare. In three weeks on eBay, we only found a handful of items that we would have included on our “Boos and Booyahs” pages. One sold replica California gold as real. Another misled about artificially toned coins.

Because bidders evaluate sellers–coupled with eBay eliminating spurious lots when complaints are made–sellers cater to users in a manner we wish to see more of on Proxibid.

In general, you get what you see on eBay with quality photos and largely accurate lot descriptions. On Proxibid, it’s hit and miss, which is why we called for a badge for photography in a past post.

Tomorrow we will tally the results of our eBay experience and declare Proxibid or eBay the best portal for coin acquisitions.

Proxiblog is an independent entity with no connection to the auction portal Proxibid. Our intent is to uphold basic numismatic standards as established by the American Numismatic Association and the National Auctioneer Association and to ensure a pleasurable bidding experience not only on Proxibid but also on similar portals such as iCollector and AuctionZip.