ilikecoins FAQs
How do I become a member of ilikecoins?
Becoming a member is easy! Simply click the ‘Register’ link at the top of any page.
After reviewing the user agreement, enter your information in
the blanks on the registration page.
Shortly after registering, you will receive an e-mail containing
your unique paddle number, which you will need to log in to the
site. Once you have your paddle number, you’re done! You can begin bidding on,
purchasing and selling coins, as well as create blogs, list local
coin shows, and leave and receive feedback for/from other members.
Best of all, registering is FREE!
How do I look for coins?
Simply click the ‘Coin Search' link at the top of any
page. This will take you to the search page. Choose the criteria for the
coin you are looking for by selecting them in the drop-down boxes. For example, to find all wheat cents, set the denomination drop-down to
‘Small Cent’, the type drop-down to ‘Lincoln Wheat’ and leave the others
set to ‘Any.’ The search will return all active Lincoln Wheat Cent lots and bourse items.
If you want to find all Lincoln Wheat Cents graded by PCGS, set the boxes as above,
but choose ‘PCGS’ in the grading drop-down. Setting all of the drop-downs to ‘Any’
will return all active lots and bourse items.
How do I sell a coin?
Selling a coin is quick and easy! Once you have logged in, click on the 'Sell A
Coin' button on the left hand side of the home page. Then indicate if you would like to sell your coin at auction or for a fixed price on the bourse. You can also click on the 'Sell (Auction)' or 'Sell (Bourse)' links at the top of any page. You will be taken through a series of pages in which you enter information about your coin. Once the information entry process is completed, you will be able to preview what your lot or item will look like to prospective bidders. At this time, you can either make corrections to the listing or list the coin.
How much does it cost to list a coin?
There are no listing fees at ilikecoins. At auction, the seller will be charged a fee at the end of the auction based on the final selling, or ‘hammer’ price of the lot.
On the bourse, the seller will be charged a fee based on the selling price of
the item. These fees are defined on the 'About Us' page. If your item receives no bids and has a hammer price of $0.00, you pay no fees.
What is a reserve and how much does it cost?
A reserve is the minimum hammer price a seller will accept for a lot. If the auction
ends, and the winning bid is less than the reserve, the seller does not have to
sell the coin. You can set a reserve price as a form of protection for yourself;
for example, if you require at least $500.00 for a coin you are selling, set a
reserve of $500.00. If the auction ends with a high bid less than that, the
auction is null and void and you don’t have to sell. If a lot
has a reserve, it will be disclosed on the auction page. There is NO FEE for setting
a reserve.
Ilikecoins also offers the unique ability to remove a reserve. If the high bid in an auction is less than the reserve, the seller can opt to remove the reserve allowing the lot to sell to the highest bidder. This can be done only within the last 24 hours of the auction. Sellers who choose to remove the reserve from an active auction will receive a 20% fee reduction for the lot.
How do I bid on coins being auctioned?
If you wish to bid on a lot, simply click the ‘Bid Now!’ button. If you have not logged in
to the site, you will be taken to the login page to do so. Next, you will be asked to enter the amount of your maximum bid. This number represents the highest amount you are willing to pay. If you become the high bidder, ilikecoins will automatically bid for you up to your maximum amount. This is called 'proxy bidding'. If another member places a maximum bid higher than yours, they will become the new high bidder. Your winning bid may be less than your maximum bid. You may bid on a lot as many times as you like and can raise your maximum bid if you are the high bidder
What is a 'paddle number'?
Borrowed from traditional auction terminology, a paddle number is a unique number
assigned to identify a specific bidder. At ilikecoins, your paddle number
is an added security measure. In essence, this is your PIN number. You
must have your paddle number (in addition to your user name and password) each
time you log in to ilikecoins.
What does 'hammer price' mean?
Also borrowed from traditional auction terminology, the hammer price is the final price of an
auction.
What does 'bourse' mean?
Bourse is a term used at coin shows to identify coin dealers' tables. At
ilikecoins, our bourse section is for dealers who wish to sell their items
at a fixed price. No bidding is conducted. The price is indicated on
the listing and will be sold to any member wishing to pay the posted amount.
What if I make a mistake and need to cancel my bid on an auction?
You have 10 minutes from the time you placed the bid to cancel it if you need to because of a mistake.
How does the next bid amount increment with each auction bid?
Every time a new bid is placed, the next bid required is the current bid plus .5%.
What do I do if I win an auction or purchase a coin?
The seller will invoice you with the final price (including postage and tax) and
payment address, if applicable. Once you receive this information, log
into your ilikecoins account. Locate the item under 'Lots I've Won' for
auctions, or 'Items I've Purchased' for bourse items. Click the 'Pay Now' icon, and you will be
taken to a page where you can verify the shipping address and select the method you
will use to pay for the item. If the seller accepts PayPal, a PayPal button will
appear. Clicking it will take you securely
to the PayPal site where you can log into your account and complete the payment
process. If paying by mail, click the 'Pay By Mail' button. The
seller will be sent your confirmed shipping address and you will receive an
e-mail with the seller's payment address.
What happens if I don't like the item or don't receive it after paying?
You can return the item to the seller if a) a return policy is listed by the seller for the lot/item, and b) you comply with that policy. Generally, the seller must be contacted if a return is desired and they will provide you with the information needed to complete the return. If there are any issues with the transaction, you and the seller are urged to work things out via e-mail. If you are unable to resolve the situation, the issue can be referred to the ilikecoins Committee.
Can I use auction listing software?
Basic HTML listings created by many popular listing programs may work with ilikecoins. Simply paste the program-generated HTML code in the ‘Item Description’ blank during the listing process. If the code contains image links to outside sources, you should still upload a picture or provide a URL in the ‘Image 1 URL’ blank, so that your item has a thumbnail image.
How do I add pictures to my listing and how much does this cost?
There are no charges for images. You can either provide links to the images if they are located
with an outside source, such as PhotoBucket or your own personal web space, or
you can upload them directly to ilikecoins from your computer. If you are
uploading pictures, the maximum size is 1 MB. You can have up to four images per listing. For outside source pictures, simply enter the link in the ‘Image URL’ blank for each picture. If you are uploading pictures, click the browse button and locate the image on your computer. Once you have found it and the filename appears in the box next to the ‘Browse’ button, click the upload button and the picture will be transmitted to ilikecoins.
Can I cancel an auction?
Yes, you can. Just go to your 'My Account' page and hit the cancel auction icon
next to the appropriate auction. You will not be charged a fee.
How long can my auction run?
Auctions can run from 3 to 14 days. You select the auction duration during the listing process. You can also specify the time of day the auction will start. Choosing ‘Now’ will start the auction immediately. If you choose a later start time, the auction will begin within 5 minutes of that time.
As a seller, what do I do when the auction ends or a bourse item is purchased?
You should invoice the buyer by clicking the 'Send Bill' icon from the 'Lots I've Sold' or 'Items I've Sold' section on your 'My Account' page. If you accept PayPal, and the buyer pays in that manner, you will receive an e-mail from PayPal with confirmation of the payment.
What if the buyer or winning bidder doesn't pay?
You and the buyer or high bidder are urged to work disputes out via e-mail. If the buyer still doesn’t pay, notify the webmaster (webmaster@ilikecoins.com) for credit of the auction fees. The webmaster may choose to cancel or suspend the non-paying member’s account. You can also refer the
issue to the ilikecoins Committee.
What is the SSR?
SSR stands for ‘Seller Satisfaction Rating’. The SSR consists of 2 numbers. The first number is the average survey score for the seller and the second number is the number of surveys on file. If you are the winning bidder of a lot
or buyer of a bourse item, you are invited to complete a SSR survey for the seller. The seller is rated on a 1-10 scale in several areas pertaining to how they conducted business and how happy you are with them. You will also be able to enter a comment about the transaction.
What is the colored badge that appears next to a buyer or seller's name on a lot or item viewing?
This is the rating badge for the buyer or seller. If a member is involved in a Committee dispute, the Resolution Group may decide to place a negative mark against their buyer badge or seller badge depending on their role in the transaction. The color of the
badge indicates the number of negative marks the member has accumulated. The badge color changes with the number of negative marks as follows:
0-2 Marks – Dark Green
3-4 Marks – Light Green
5-6 Marks – Yellow
7-9 Marks – Orange
10 or more marks – Red (the seller’s membership may also be cancelled at this point, or sooner)
What is the BSR?
BSR stands for ‘Buyer Satisfaction Rating’. The BSR consists of 2 numbers. The first number is the average survey score for the buyer and the second number is the number of surveys on file. The seller of a lot completes a BSR survey on the winning bidder
or buyer once the transaction has finished. The winner/buyer is rated on a 1-10 scale in areas pertaining to how they
conducted the transaction and how happy the seller is with them. The seller can also enter a comment about the transaction.
What is the Committee and what is the Resolution Group?
The Committee is a group of ilikecoins members who have either requested for or been invited to attain Committee status. Should an item be referred to the Committee, a random group of Committee members will be chosen to review the referral. Of those invitees, the first Committee members to form a majority decision are then considered to be the Resolution Group for the decision. The Resolution Group (which is made up of Committee members) will render all decisions.
Should the ballots result in a tie or time is a factor, the issue will be referred to the ilikecoins
webmaster for a tie breaking vote and final decision.
The webmaster makes the decision of who can be a Committee member by reviewing the BSR and SSR data and comments about the member, along with their buyer and seller ratings.
Below are the types of issues that can be referred to the Committee:
Fraudulent Listing - A member believes that a particular lot listing is fraudulent, or contains errors in the listing that cause the coin in the lot to be misrepresented. This type of issue is referred while the lot auction is active. The Committee can decide to cancel the auction, cancel the auction and place a negative mark against the seller, or allow the auction to continue without intervention.
Received item was misrepresented - There is a dispute between the buyer and seller that they have
not been able to work out themselves. This type of issue is referred by the
buyer after the auction has ended because they believe that the item was
misrepresented. The Committee can decide to recommend the seller accept a return and issue a refund, or
they may conclude that there was no return policy or the buyer didn’t comply with the posted one, so a refund isn’t due.
If a return is recommended, the Committee may decide to place a negative mark on
the seller's badge status.
Item not received - There is a dispute between the
buyer and seller that they have not been able to work out themselves. This type
of issue is referred by the buyer after the auction has ended
becuase the buyer has paid for, but not received the coin. This type of issue
may have several different outcomes depending on if insurance was offered and/or
purchased.
Payment not received - The seller may elect to refer a buyer to the Committee if he has not received payment or if a personal check has been returned by the bank.
The Committee can rule that the seller is able to relist the coin (after sufficient time has passed) and may elect to place a negative mark against the buyer's badge status.
Appeal - A member who was given a negative mark by the Committee
may wish to appeal. This type of issue is referred by the member after the
Committee has reached it’s decision on the original issue and is referred
directly to the webmaster for a decision.
Committee members’ IDs are kept confidential and will not be disclosed.
How do I refer an issue to the Committee?
You must be a registered member in order to refer an auction or bourse listing to Committee. To refer an item, select 'New Committee Item' from the Committee menu on your ‘My Account’ page. This will take you to the Committee referral page. You will then be asked to select the type of issue and enter a statement about why you are referring the issue. You can check the status of the issue by
selecting 'Committee Items' from the Committee menu.
What happens if I'm involved in an issue that is referred to the Committee?
If you are involved in an issue being referred to the Committee, you will receive
an e-mail request to provide a statement. After 24 hours of the first notification,
a reminder notice will be sent via e-mail if the seller’s statement has not been received.
If an additional 24 hours pass without your statement, the issue will be referred to the
Committee without your input. To issue a statement, go to your ‘My Account’ page,
select 'Committee Items' from the Committee menu and click on the 'Issue Statement' icon for the item. Remember to, please, focus on the facts
of the issue and maintain a professional demeanor. In several cases, the high bidder or
buyer may not be required to issue a statement, but can do so if they desire.
What is the Committee decision process?
Once all statements have been received, or the required amount of time for
statements has passed, the item is submitted to a pool of Committee members.
This pool is chosen by
a random number generator. Each selected Committee member receives an
e-mail with the issue number. Each logs into their ilikecoins account and
sumbits their decision. Once a majority decision is reached, the group’s decision will be enforced.
Those Committee members whose votes make the decision are considered the
Resolution Group. If a tie exists or time is a factor, the issue may be
referred to the webmaster for a final decision.
How do I become a member of the Committee and what are the benefits?
Periodically, the webmaster will invite members to join the Committee. Should a Committee member
be involved in the rendering of a decision (The Resolution Group), they will receive a fee reduction for auctions ending or bourse items sold
in the two week period following the decision.
What if my question is not addressed on this page?
Any questions can be sent to webmaster@ilikecoins.com. We will respond as promptly as possible.