The Internet is perhaps the greatest achievement in communication of the 20th Century. It allows people to interact with each other instantly at the touch of a button or few keystrokes. It has also made a huge impact in the way coin collectors buy and sel1 coins from other collectors and dealers. Online auctions particularly eBay) are one of the most popular ways to buy and sell coins. However, there are some people who are intimidated by the Internet and by the thought of not knowing who they are dealing with. This is understandable but most people are basically good, trustworthy individuals. Indeed, the benefits of On-line auctions far outweigh the risks. 

Because the Internet is world-wide and is available to nearly everyone, there is a reasonable cause for concern. People do not know who they are dealing with because they do not know anything about the person. There is really no way of knowing if the person is who they say they are. There are many good, honest people who participate in On-Line auctions; however, there are also some dishonest people who will try to take advantage of the honest people. These people may place high bids on items and not pay the seller, take the money for an item that they do not have or do not intend to sell, commit Postal Insurance fraud, etc. Indeed, these people are thought of as the "scum" of the auction community but there are ways that the "good guys" are protected (I will use eBay for this since it is so well known and widely used). eBay requires that all users give their name, mailing address, valid e-mail address and telephone number when they register to use eBay's services. Also, eBay has a feedback system in which users can leave positive, negative, or neutral comments about each often If a person obtains enough negative feedback, they are barred from using eBay. This helps keep dishonest people from taking advantage of the honest ones. Actually, this method of business is not much different from mail order business in numismatic periodicals such as Coin World. There are well-established dealers who have made a good name for themselves and there are the "little guys" who are just casual sellers. Both ways involve some trust and it is this trust that helps bring collectors together and give them an enjoyable experience.

eBay (and other On-line auctions) have also helped bring more collectors together and, unfortunately, have hurt many reputable coin dealer's business. It is unfortunate, but many coin dealers are heavily scorned by many people. The people who have collected all of their lives and spent so much money on their collections may one day have to (or choose to) sell their collections. Their first instinct is to sell them to a coin dealer. However, when they find out that they can only get back about half of what they paid for their collection, they either sell to the dealer and give up coin collecting forever or keep their collection but warn others about how dishonest the coin dealers are. This is not at all true though because the dealers are in the business of making money. They have to make a profit in order to stay in business. But again, eBay seems to be giving dealers a run for their money because many collectors are now turning into dealers by selling their coins to other collectors. This way, they get close to what they paid for their coins if not much more. However, many nationally known dealers are also turning to On-line auctions in order to expand their business. When rare items are offered (such as a $5000 bill) there is heavy demand created and the seller may actually get much more than the "trends value^t1 of the item. Even the things that some people call junk turns out to be a great treasure to another collector. Indeed, this proves for a pleasurable experience for both buyer and seller. 

The power of the Internet is still in its infancy. however, it has made a deep impact on the way we as people communicate and do business. Coin collectors and dealers have also been able to benefit with Online auctions. Collectors and dealers are now able to deal with each other in a much faster and efficient way. In fact dealing with people via On-line auctions is not much different from dealing with people in the numismatic periodicals, just much faster. As an eBay seller and buyer I must say that the good aspects of On-line auctions far outweigh any negative aspects. I have found out that most people are basically good and only want to be given a fair chance to prove themselves.