Collectors Internet review: Unauthorized billing 22

CollectorsInternet does not accept credit cards, except through Google Checkout, which is 100% guaranteed. The only "scam" here seems to be the post from this guy, who is either a competitor or has a something against one or more of the owners, I've dealt with them for over 12 years, spending over $500, 000 for gold and silver coins that are now easily worth more than $900, 000, wholesale. CollectorsInternet has been online for over 12 years, and I don't think they or any other coin firm would go through so many years and so much work over an alleged "$200 rip-off."

I personally have purchased several coin orders from collectors internet without incident, then one of the orders. I did went wrong. I sent through the mail a check and they cashed it and I never received coins from that transaction. I called and discussed this with them and they said to provide proof of the canceled check which I did and still was never sent the coins, this was for around $100.00.

had a simular problem with collectors internet lost $250.00

Getting a refund from collectors internet is a joke. They will offer a nicer selection oppose to a refund. You return the coins, then you wait and wait. I guess spending a couple thousand dollars isn't enough for them to think you're important. Guess you need to spend $500.000 for it to matter.

JM

This company is totally a scam, san should be reported to the US Postal Service for FRAUD. THey sell poilshed coins as Brilliant Uncirculated coins, do not honor their return policy, sell graded coins from an obscure grading company that is notorisuly noted for over-grading. BEWARE!

Fleetwood, that "obsuree grading company" you're publicly slandering is ACCGS owned and operated on a non-profit basis by the Beverly Hills Coin Club. The reason they are "obscure" is unlike the other grading companies, all caught overgrazed cleaned coins in an independent Coin World investigation, is that ACCGS does not SPEND MILLIONS to advertise they're propaganda. Members of BHCC trust that most people know how to grade coins, and only amateurs and inexperienced collectors need a grading service.

By the way, PCGS and NGC slabs are also the most counterfeited, which is bad enough, but they have also passed many counterfeit coins as "real". I've seen ACCGS coins, and there are several posted on their homepage, clearly pictured, which brought better prices at auction than PCGS coins. So clearly, some collectors look at the coin more than the commercialized and advertised slab. If you care to put your money where your mouth is, and publish some pictures of your alleged "over graded" ACCGS coins, the world would be happy to look at them instead of go by your heresy that provides no proof.

I was introduced to Jim Sears of Collectors Internet back in the 1990s at the Beverly Hills Coin Club's quarterly meeting room that usually coincides with the Long Beach Coin Show. Every one at the Beverly Hills Coin Club was giving their wholesale bulk lots rave reviews as well as their Silver Dollars and gold coins. I gave them a try and I'm glad I did. They've been online long than most dealers without interruption so they must be doing something right. For the record, I recommended a friend to them. He bought $400, 000 worth of silver dollars from CollectorsInternet in 2001 that are now worth almost $2 million. If you don't believe that, check the price of silver from 2001 to 2010...it's gone up by a factor of five in less than a decade.

Steve, In 2001 Silver was at a 20 yr low under $5.00 per ounce. Your reasoning is foolish. Just because your "friend" purchased the silver dollars from collectors internet and silver went up has nothing to do with their credibility. I made a small purchase and what they sent was worth about what I paid for it. I then made a much larger purchase of one of their coin offerings and received tokens, altered and fake coins. They also sent plenty of culls and other worthless low grade items. I attempted to contact them via phone and email and they refuse to respond. I simply want higher grade coins.

Mark, I had a similar problem with CollectorsInternet.com. I agree with the complaints posted here. Stay aware from this company.

I recently ordered two Morgan CC silver dollars in Fine (F12) condition and when I got them, one would only grade "About Good" (AG#) and had been abrasively cleaned at one time and the other, while w/o damage, would only grade Very Good (VG8). I returned the coins the very next day asking for an exchange because, after reading the comments above, I felt that I probably would not get a refund. Well, it's close to a month now, and I have to receive my exchange coins from Collectors Internet.

Gary Mann PNG aka Steve Miller see: http://www.galaxy.com/rvw46991-2078/Collectors_Internet.htm
After searching the internet and reading the negative experiences of others I will not be buying coins from collectors internet. G. Anton M. do you have anything new to report? Did collectors internet send you a refund or exchange?

Tried contacting CI by phone. They have a recording, which you can't understand. Left msg, no response. Watch out for these guys. They play the old BAIT & SWITCH SCAM!

Purchased one of the special sales offers. Took coins to local dealer and they are not worth what I paid. Several coins had been cleaned. Other are so worn they aren't worth much. Over graded by ACCGS.org.

I'd like to talk to JIm Sears, because I spent $750. on a 1843 Seated LIberty Dollar, that was supposed to be AU-choice. I stopped by our local coin shop to buy some supplies, & when I showed them the coin, they said it had been cleaned. I've been trying to contact Jim, with no luck. Does anyone have his phone number? If you do, PLEASE contact me @ davidallenferrell1963@gmail.com Thanks DAvid

You know, I'd like to talk to JIm, because he knows my situation. I'm a "Bi-latteral-amputee-paraplygic", after becoming paralyzed, I lost both legs due to infection, & also lost my eyesight in my left eye. Jim knows that my coins & my baseball cards are all I have, & they mean everything to me. I've been in this wheelchair for 11 yrs, & it hurts when I feel like I've been taken advantage of. If anyone knows how to get in touch with him I'd sure be grateful. I want to give him a chance to makle this right. He may not have known the coin had been cleaned. Although, I will admitt that the 1843 Seated LIberty was not Choice AU, I send all my coins into PCGS to have them graded, & if this coin has been cleaned I can't. If anyone has any ideas, Pleas let me know. I'd just like to talk to him. @ davidallenferrell1963@gmail.com Thanks David

I bought some coins from Collectores Internet. What I received was nothing like what was pictured. I sent them back, but never a refund no matter how many letters/ emails I sent. I was a regular customer before this but will never buy anything else from them.

I ordered 300 silver dollars from collectors internet that were supposedly ms63-ms65 grade. Recently I sent the coins to a coin dealer to sell and 146 of them were considered bu-60, and the rest of them were au with a few extra fine. These people have no conscience and know exactly what they are doing, unlike me at the time. Run from these ###.

Mark Elliot h. Apparently assumes he fot a dealer who is an angel who would buy coins at the same grade they sell them. I've been buying/selling coins for over 50 years and have yet to meet a dealer who doesn't downgrade other dealer's coins and buys below their true grade. So perhaps Mark, you should be looking more at the dealer who paid you for the coins, since by your own admission you have to rely on his "grading" as opposed to your expertise or lack thereof.
CollectorsInternet wouldn't have been on line for over 15 years if they weren't legitimate. I don't know of a single coin firm that doesn't have dozens of complaints against them for grading, since buyer's remorse runs rampant in the coin business and their repeat customers aren't going to take the time to gloat about the good deals they get. I emailed Jim Sears and he offered to show me repeat invoices from over 70, 000 sastisifed customers, many of them other dealers such as Littllton Coin, Stacks & Bowers, Heritage, etc. along with thousands of eBay re-sellers.
They must be doing something right, and some of their customers must be showing their coins to the wrong greedy dealers. I've made a lot of money from coins I buy from them, www.coinHappy.com and www.gfocoins.com to name a few. Everyone thinks they're the grading expert...money talks and self-serving ### walks.

As for PCGS verses the Beverly Hills Coin Club's ACCGS, I think the Coin World investigation pretty much sums it up. PCGS and NGC have a lot of "blind faith" in them due to multi-million dollar propaganda/advertising budgets, which the FTC sued them for.
Quoted from Wikipedia, with several legimimate citations and references:
In the May 26, 2003 edition of Coin World, the hobby newspaper had announced they had contracted investigators to conduct a year-long, comparative study of PCGS, ACCGS, NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Corporation) and several other grading services, each known as a Third Party Grader (TPG). In their investigation, several of the same coins were sent to each grading service over the course of a year, each graded by all Third Party Graders sent to. Their findings: In no case did the grading services agree on the grade of the many coins sent in, and in some cases the difference in grading was seven points off on the standard Sheldon coin grading scale of 1 to 70. The Coin World article cited several cases, such as a case where ACCGS had correctly noted that a coin had been cleaned while the other services had overlooked this aspect. ACCGS graded the coin several points lower than PCGS, while PCGS had not noted the same coin was cleaned although it clearly had been, evidenced by wire brushing. This was neither the first nor last time PCGS had failed to note when coins had been cleaned. In June 1998, PCGS had failed to note on their holders that thousands of shipwreck coins had been cleaned, although the coins slabbed by PCGS had been encrusted with sea debris and barnacles, and subsequently cleaned in acid baths prior to grading by PCGS.
It is standard for professional numismatic dealers to note when coins have been cleaned or treated in acid baths. Not doing is often considered unprofessional and unethical by most professional numismatists, according to Coin World's May, 2003 articles. Further, in U.S. Numismatics, it is standard to grade coins on a point-scale from 1 (poor) to 70 (perfect) and to note on the coin holder if a coin has been cleaned or poorly mishandled, or in many cases, to reject it for encapsulation or "slabbing" if the coins have been cleaned harshly.
In 1990 the Federal Trade Commission filed a civil action against PCGS alleging exaggerated advertising claims. PCGS came to a settlement with the SEC in which it did not admit wrongdoing but agreed to submit its advertising for review for five years and to include a statement in its advertising saying, "the rare coin market is a highly speculative, unregulated market and certification by P.C.G.S. does not guarantee protection against the normal risks associated with volatile markets."[2]
In September 2004, members of the American Numismatic Association reported seeing counterfeit PCGS slabs at the Long Beach Coin Show. More were reported on eBay in the years following, [3] but PCGS did not address the issue until March 27, 2008 with the following acknowledgments on the PCGS website:
"The counterfeit PCGS holders are well-executed, but with minor differences from a genuine holder. PCGS anticipates that authentic coins will eventually be placed into counterfeit PCGS holders in the future, perhaps with elevated grades and/or inappropriate designators.

In reference to ACCGS, the following Wikipedia article is filled with citations and references regarding and investigation by Coin World. If anyone was overgrading, it was PCGS and NGC, not the other way around. As with any form of political propaganda, millions of gullible people will believe almost anything that is advertised the loudest and the longest, and that is what PCGS and NGC do with their million dollar budgets that are ultimately paid for with collector's money. Collectors who should learn to grade for themselves simply by looking at millions of pictures online, instead of being dependent on slabbers who put coins in unreliable tombstones.
"In the May 26, 2003 edition of Coin World, the hobby newspaper had announced they had contracted investigators to conduct a year-long, comparative study of PCGS, ACCGS, NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Corporation) and several other grading services, each known as a Third Party Grader (TPG). In their investigation, several of the same coins were sent to each grading service over the course of a year, each graded by all Third Party Graders sent to. Their findings: In no case did the grading services agree on the grade of the many coins sent in, and in some cases the difference in grading was seven points off on the standard Sheldon coin grading scale of 1 to 70. The Coin World article cited several cases, such as a case where ACCGS had correctly noted that a coin had been cleaned while the other services had overlooked this aspect. ACCGS graded the coin several points lower than PCGS, while PCGS had not noted the same coin was cleaned although it clearly had been, evidenced by wire brushing. This was neither the first nor last time PCGS had failed to note when coins had been cleaned. In June 1998, PCGS had failed to note on their holders that thousands of shipwreck coins had been cleaned, although the coins slabbed by PCGS had been encrusted with sea debris and barnacles, and subsequently cleaned in acid baths prior to grading by PCGS.
It is standard for professional numismatic dealers to note when coins have been cleaned or treated in acid baths. Not doing is often considered unprofessional and unethical by most professional numismatists, according to Coin World's May, 2003 articles. Further, in U.S. Numismatics, it is standard to grade coins on a point-scale from 1 (poor) to 70 (perfect) and to note on the coin holder if a coin has been cleaned or poorly mishandled, or in many cases, to reject it for encapsulation or "slabbing" if the coins have been cleaned harshly.
In 1990 the Federal Trade Commission filed a civil action against PCGS alleging exaggerated advertising claims. PCGS came to a settlement with the SEC in which it did not admit wrongdoing but agreed to submit its advertising for review for five years and to include a statement in its advertising saying, "the rare coin market is a highly speculative, unregulated market and certification by P.C.G.S. does not guarantee protection against the normal risks associated with volatile markets."[2]
In September 2004, members of the American Numismatic Association reported seeing counterfeit PCGS slabs at the Long Beach Coin Show. More were reported on eBay in the years following, [3] but PCGS did not address the issue until March 27, 2008 with the following acknowledgments on the PCGS website:
"The counterfeit PCGS holders are well-executed, but with minor differences from a genuine holder. PCGS anticipates that authentic coins will eventually be placed into counterfeit PCGS holders in the future, perhaps with elevated grades and/or inappropriate designators."
The real scam is the billions of dollars that the so called "Third Party Graders" collect from gullible, blind-faith believers.

I did not slander ACCGS, as a matter of fact, they are on E-bay's do-not-buy list. Also, 2 coin companies in business for over 20 years in San Diego, only 120 miles distance, had never heard of this grading company indicates to me that it is obscure. If you think Collector's Internet is so great, how come you did not comment about the rest of my post? Anyone who sells whizzed circulated coins as BU should be prosecuted. Or the Choice BU coin with a large nick in the face of the coin. OR any of the other JUNK I was sold. I wish I was aware of postal regulations and what constitutes postal FRAUD at the time. There is another web site that claims a dealer knows them and recommends them, but provides a link that the dealer in question just happens to have the same address as Collector's Internet. Are you one of their hacks? I'm posting because I am angry that I was SCAMMED. Go protect these ### at your own financial risk. See Rip Off Repot, Galexy.com and web sites for numerous other complaints and false names being used to support this company.

There are at least a dozen grading services that are not "accepted" by eBay, in no way does that indicate your dishonest assertion that they are a "do not buy" service. In fact, the Coin World study, which took about a year, proved they were more honest than PCGS and NGC based on the same coins submitted. PCGS is notorious for slabbing cleaned coins and for over-grading coins submitted for auctions by Stacks & Bowers, Heritage and others that David Hall has a big stake in as a major stock holder. PCGS, eBay and PayPal have had several class-action lawsuits against them for monopolistic practices, with PayPal having to pay out to thousands of customers. The others, not so much, but hey why pick on the big guys with their huge team of lawyers and multi-million dollar promotional budgets verses ACCGS which doesn't promote because they're a non-profit run by volunteers of the Beverly Hills Coin Club? I would trust their grading over David Hall's and his paid minions any day, and in fact, have with great financial success.

I paid for coins form Jim Sears @ Collector's Internet well over 3 months ago and never saw them. He kept changing info and giving me false tracking numbers. Told me he was going to show in Long Beach, I said I wanted to meet him and then he said he wasn't going. I asked for a refund and now they wont respond to me. Definitely a company to stay away from.