BUYER NEWARE!
Somewhat conflicted on the review rating here, between 3 & 4 stars.
THE GOOD
GSA is a legit company. But also has some major issues.
I assume they’re a wholesaler & estate liquidator. Their inventory is staggering. They often auction off 8-900 lots per day, for 2-3-4-5 days in a row. Many lots are 2-5-10 or 20 or 100 items (like a roll of silver dollars, or $50 face 90%. Or a mixed lot i won that contained 421 items! mostly silver coins). So figure over 2,500+ items per day on avg, or a million items a year.
I can only imagine how many man hours it takes to keep things moving.
I have had a couple small issues. But I’ve been able to reach sum1 and get it addressed in most cases.
I even requested combined shipping from 3 different auctions, and got a partial shipping refund ($7 reimbursed. Paid $17 instead of 8 like i wanted, or 24 had they done nothing)
I was offered a random $50 credit via txt, just to return and purchase something, which was automatically applied to my next purchase.
THE BAD
But the issue, is with their listing practices. If you see a legit holder, it’s probably fine. But they apparently have an in-house grading service? Or a partner – PGA? The cheap white and yellow slabs, that are taped closed with a lot sticker (or sometimes 4 or 5 stacked on top of each other?? Idk y). These coins seem to me to be optimistic grade ESTIMATES that are about 2 numbers higher than NGC/CAC/PCGS etc. There’s a reason only the big grading companies are allowed on ebay. Prices vary wildly. Many coins can cost double 2 grades apart.
On top of that, they regularly post raw coins with grade numbers next to them and no warning that they’re not actually graded at all. They also post tons of suggested prices that are 2-3 times the actual value.
Most people know better, and bid up to a quarter or a third of the suggested price. But i also see TONS of drastic overpayment.
Some wind up on ebay for absurd asking prices.
GSA is regularly featured on hibids. So they probably get more bids than any other seller.
You might have to bid on 50 items before winning one at a decent price. I wouldn’t even bother with weekends anymore. Too much competition.
Many bidders are likely very happy after winning/paying. But will be extremely disappointed, once they try to sell their items, or get them graded.
GSA uses a wierd condition tier. Unc, closely unc, nearly unc, lightly circ, nicely circ, choice au, and gem bu. No point in trying to rank them. Some lightly circulated look better than some nearly Uncirculated. Sum lightly are AU, while others are not even xf. And there are TONS of obvious problem coins with misleading titles that dont mention damage/corrosion/repairs/restamped dates/dents/bends etc.
I know better, and have gotten good deals and turned a decent profit multiple times. I’ve also gotten really good customer service, so i have to give 4 stars. But i do not approve of their listing practices at all. They seem to be designed to take advantage of newcomers, unwitting collectors, and auction addicts.
Bid carefully. Study ebay completed listings. Factor in the 15% buyer premium, and the 15-20% it hut cost you to sell an item. Dont just bid $300 cuz u saw one in a shop for 400 (shop and show prices are often book value, but only become the asking price if u dont haggle and choose to pay retail)
Pics are my own originals of a couple gsa items I’ve profited from
Hopefully this helps future customers who don’t mind reading my book here
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