What is going on with bidding on 1965 RSA coins? Is there some scam going on?

[Pierre_Henri 97]

I don't know if it is a Nigerian scam, but the prices of 1965 RSA coins are being driven up by bidders who have mostly African sounding names ...

With a few exceptions, they don't pay after winning items, and when blocked, it's probably the same person or group that pop up again after re-registering under new names (false aliases)

Here are a few of them ...

SbuDum1236(no ratings)

Chisawo12

Tobslove-1

dinana-2

monmas3478-1

 

[testrarossa 10]

Hi Pierre, yes there’s something up too me thinks. Sold a 1965 Proof set on eBay last week. While it was active a member who said he was in SA (had zero feedback) asked if I was willing to send to SA. I had Africa under a exclusion zone. 

I said I am willing to post to SA but won’t use the PO as they declined too much so courier would be the only option and prices start at £35. 

I said to him/her they would be better buying on BOB due to the expensive postage and relative cheap coins (it sold for £20). It didn’t put him off  and was very keen paying whatever the postage cost would be. 

Now if it was something you can’t easily source in SA I would have believed him but unfortunately not on a 1965 set. Now you also mention something shady. If it sounds to good to be true...

 

[GROOVIE COINS 19]

Whenever I have put up listings in the past and I've received bids from poor or no ratings, I immediately removed their bids. I'd rather set my auction back down to credible bid and be assured the sale, than have nosebleeds drive up the auction and waste time and money.

[CapeCurrencyCoin 11]

Yes, very interesting, i noticed it as well ,I sold a 1965 English Silver rand (R1 auction) to a gentleman with an African sounding name, fortunately he did pay, one of the users on your list ,Chisawo12, did win an 1893 2 Shillings ZAR but hasn't paid, not yet anyway.

Perhaps some of these buyers are going to try sell these coins as the "rare 1965 version" to less knowledgeable collectors (ie speculators, probably)since its a bit of a "celebrity' year when it comes to RSA coins and everyone is familiar with 1965 as an important date, but probably less familiar with the nuances ,ie English or Afrikaans ...or perhaps they are genuinely interested, I guess we will see what transpires, or maybe we wont! 

[Pierre_Henri 97]

I am busy deleting this gentleman's bids on my 1965 coins - see his shocking ratings - 100% negative

SekMot7624-9

 

[Pierre_Henri 97]

Sorry - here it is - again an African sounding name

https://www.bidorbuy.co.za/user/3894852/SekMot7624

[Pierre_Henri 97]

And again ...

R790.00   6 Sep 15:53   SbuDum1236(no ratings)

 

[Pierre_Henri 97]

Andries,

Is daar nie 'n manier om hierdie scam op BidorBuy te stop nie? 

Dit is mos baie duidelik wat hier aangaan?

Julle by BidorBuy moet ons beskerm teen hierdie nonsens - dit tel teen julle  en almal kry seer

Groete

Pierre

 

[admin 10]

Hi Pierre,

Unfortunately they are not linked on the system. I have disabled 2 for high negative ratings and/or not concluding deals.

Groetnis van huis tot huis.

Andries

[Pierre_Henri 97]

You are a star Andries

Thank you for rooting these trouble makes out...

[Pierre_Henri 97]

The 1965 coin nightmare continues

1965 Afrikaans 1 Cent NGC Graded MS64

R6,500.00   10 Oct 00:20   MduMab5035-3

[Pierre_Henri 97]

I have been deleting bids on suspects (bidders) continually ... 

a 1965 1c and the same people (probably) are zooming in - what on earth are going on?

Deleted	KatMan9076(no ratings)	0 of 1	4,395.00 each	1 Nov 18 17:22:46	No Reserve
Deleted	LehThe5997(no ratings)	0 of 1	4,395.00 each	1 Nov 18 00:12:43	No Reserve
Deleted	Schallavh-1	0 of 1	4,395.00 each	31 Oct 18 17:55:33	No Reserve

[Pierre_Henri 97]

I have listed a 1965 50c that closes tomorrow night - Please look at the three top bidders' names ... African sounding?

Must I delete all of them or hold thumbs?

R260.00   7 Nov 17:11   BokMoh9680(no ratings)

R250.00   6 Nov 11:56   JosNko70138

R120.00   5 Nov 19:49   ThaMar57291

Here is the actual listing

Republic of South Africa : Fifty Cent (Afrikaans) of 1965 (Brilliant Uncirculated)

[Mike Klee 15]

At least one of the sellers (JosNko7013) has previously bought a coin from you? It was an RSA Proof Set of 1965 and you gave him a rating on the 29th June 2018 of "Full Marks and Five Stars ***** Your Courier made the pick up; Skynet 019911159442"

[Pierre_Henri 97]

13 hours ago, Mike Klee said:

At least one of the sellers (JosNko7013) has previously bought a coin from you? It was an RSA Proof Set of 1965 and you gave him a rating on the 29th June 2018 of "Full Marks and Five Stars ***** Your Courier made the pick up; Skynet 019911159442"

Well, strange names - some good - some bad

Never heard of the Skynet though ...

Are they couriers?

Where did you get that name from?

[Mike Klee 15]

Skynet is a courier company. I just used the tracking number for the waybill in your rating of JosNko7013 to see the physical progress  of the purchase from you. It was delivered to an address in Pretoria.

BTW, one has to be suspicious of "buyers" out there, especially when they want to physically collect goods which have supposedly been paid for. A courier company provides a good firewall and makes it more difficult for crooks to get away with a scam.

[Pierre_Henri 97]

I am having major problems currently with bidders with African sounding names - maybe they are from Nigeria but some are local.

I recently sold this coin to a person with the name of Faith Nongqotho

Presidential Inauguration R5 of 1994 : NGC graded PF69 Ultra Cameo

She did not pay me so I send her a friendly reminding email to ask for payment

This was her e-mail replay .... (Hold your breath)

Hey, Are you selling or wanna buy my coin? I'm selling not buying. Regards

Maybe we can start a small fund with the OK of BidorBuy to educate people of what auctions are all about?

[GROOVIE COINS 19]

On 11/16/2018 at 6:15 PM, Pierre_Henri said:

I am having major problems currently with bidders with African sounding names - maybe they are from Nigeria but some are local.

I recently sold this coin to a person with the name of Faith Nongqotho

Presidential Inauguration R5 of 1994 : NGC graded PF69 Ultra Cameo

She did not pay me so I send her a friendly reminding email to ask for payment

This was her e-mail replay .... (Hold your breath)

Hey, Are you selling or wanna buy my coin? I'm selling not buying. Regards

Maybe we can start a small fund with the OK of BidorBuy to educate people of what auctions are all about?

I wouldn't risk such a high auction on somebody with no ratings. The person pushed the bid up all the way to R940 but as you can see now, your time and efforts have been wasted. Other bidders who would have gladly paid, but now focus their bidding elsewhere because they have conceded defeat in the auction.

The next bidder was pushing above R650 and by their ratings they're a proven customer. Yes R650 is a lot lower than R940 but if you consider the window period is closing for listings, and by next month people are focused on Christmas and not coins, not to mention your promotion fees, it would have made sense to take the R650 bid.

regards Robert

[GROOVIE COINS 19]

Also other bidders get frustrated when they see this happening. As a bidder myself I always check out my competition's ratings to see who I'm up against. I most certainly won't keep bidding if I see a sham profile out bidding me.

[Pierre_Henri 97]

The 1965 coin horror is continuing with African sounding names bidding and not paying.

I always thought that it was some Nigerian scam, but now think that it may have something to do with a religious sect or something. 

This is my 1965 Afrikaans cent currently on auction and I am deleting African sounding names as fast as they come in...

Republic of South Africa: One Cent of 1965 (The Rare Afrikaans issue)

Deleted	NdlBon2425-1	0 of 1	5,520.00 each	13 Aug 19 18:59:15	No Reserve
Deleted	LeoDla5461-4	0 of 1	5,520.00 each	12 Aug 19 13:04:18	No Reserve
Deleted	LeoDla5461-4	0 of 1	5,520.00 each	11 Aug 19 22:31:06	No Reserve

[Pierre_Henri 97]

 I am a member of the Pietermaritzburg Coin Society and my eyes nearly popped out when I read their latest (monthly) Newsletter this morning ...

... (Two members)  report that Sangomas have entered the coin market. They are advocating the magical properties of certain South African coins.The most popular numismatic muti is the Nelson
Mandela 5 Rand. The result has been an upsurge in scams....

Good grief, and the 1965 date must also be very high on the muti list , as the irrational bidding on this date by people of African sounding names are never ending.

The PMB society newsletter states "The Mint will be petitioned to publish a warning to black South Africans in their native languages which our members will sign".

I always suspected something very strange here, but could never put my finger on it.

Now we know the reason why.

[I N Collectables 20]

Pierre,

Thank you for sharing.

This is absolutely shocking to say the least. Off all the things our local coin market needs this is completely rock bottom.

It amazes and saddens me to what ends people are willing to go in order to manipulate and defraud others.

 

Edited February 20, 2020 by I N Collectables
Additional info

[GROOVIE COINS 19]

I've also noted that one of the videos (The value of Mandela coins) on my youtube coin channel has also skyrocketed with views lately. My Madiba coin videos always get many views, but this specific video only had a few thousand views. 

Currently it has over 16000 views and is closing the gap on my flagship video 2018 Madiba R5 which currently sitting on 19000 views. Normally the gap between the two videos were several thousands.

So it seems people are keen on finding out what the value of Mandela coins are and for those who watch any of my videos; they will always learn that these coins are worth face value if they have been collected from pocket change, and only seem scarce because they are hoarded. It's an obligation that I feel I need to clear the misconceptions in our hobby, and for the most part my channel is reaching many and the growth has been outstanding.

regards Robert

[GROOVIE COINS 19]

For those who would like to see it, it was published 7 months ago.