If you are new to sports card collecting, then it can take a while before you fully understand all the tricks that collectors use to avoid being scammed and to get a great deal on some rare sports cards.
One such trick is known as ‘coining’ a card – but what is it and how can you use this truck to your advantage?
Here, we are going to be explaining how you can coin a card and how this trick works towards helping trading card collectors stop themselves from falling for scams online. So, let’s jump in!
What Does ‘Coining’ A Card Mean?
‘Coining’ is a term used to describe a method many people use when buying all sorts of items online to ensure their legitimacy.
A lot of online sellers of trading cards will sometimes find and save images of rare cards that other collectors are selling.
Then, they make their own post on websites like eBay offering to sell a ‘rare sports trading card’ for an affordable price. However, they don’t actually own the card – they’re just reusing someone else’s images to make fake advertisements.
This means that collectors will unknowingly purchase the card, thinking that they are getting a great deal, only for the card to never arrive because it doesn’t belong to the vendor.
This scam takes cash from the collector’s hand and leaves them high and dry.
Scams like this are common online and not just in the sports trading card market – collectors items of all kinds are often falsely advertised and purchased, stealing collectors of their hard earned money.
So, how do some collectors get around this?
By coining their cards.
How To Coin A Card And Why It’s So Important?
Coining a card means to validate the legitimacy of your advertisement of the trading card you are selling online.
This way, people can clearly see that your card is legitimate and be more likely to purchase yoru card, knowing that they will definitely receive what they are buying.
To coin a card, you have to include some kind of note or other item in the photographs you are using to advertise your trading card.
These notes usually include the date you are uploading your advertisement online, along with your name or initials.
This helps prevent scammers from using your images because they are dated and your initials or name won’t match their accounts.
This method helps others spot other vendors who are copying your images – the date will be old and outdated, the name/initials in the note will not match the account name, and the scammer will have a range of different ‘names’ on their page because they are stealing other people’s images.
So, the more collectors that coin their trading card advertisements with notes, the less likely a scammer is able to find a suitable image that they can use to sell a fake card.
This leads to less scammers flooding the market and collectors are able to safely shop for legitimate trading cards, saving them precious time and money.
How You Can Coin Your Card?
So, if you are planning on advertising some of your sports trading cards to sell online, then it’s super important that you remember to coin your cards.
This will signal to other collectors that your cards are legitimate, resulting in more traffic and an increased likelihood that your trading card will be eventually sold.
Coining your trading cards is super easy. When you are taking photographs of them to show their condition, grab a small piece of paper and write down the date and your account’s name. Then, place it next to the card and take the picture.
It’s a very simple trick that can really help out the community, improve your reputation as a reputable seller of trading cards, and can also help you shift some of your collection very quickly – so, it’s definitely worth coining your cards before uploading the images to your advertisement!
Shopping For Coined Cards
Coined cards are also super helpful for when you are searching to buy a sports trading card instead of just selling them.
It’s a common hack in the market to never buy a trading card unless it is from a reputable source or it has been coined in the images.
If you find a trading card that has not been coined, then it’s very possible that this is a scammer using a re-used image from a previous advertisement to try and trick you into buying a trading card they don’t have.
If you come across a trading card that you are interested in but it isn’t coined, then you can always reach out to the seller and ask them to send you a picture of the card with a note or certain item next to it.
This is another common coining method collectors use – they will ask the seller to upload a picture with a unique but easy to find item (such as a fork, or a plate, or a TV remote, or a certain coin) alongside the card to prove that it is real.
This is where the term ‘coining’ comes from.
If a seller refuses to upload another picture of the card and meet your request, then it’s a sign that they are a scammer and that they don’t actually own the card – so it’s best to walk away and not take the risk of purchasing that ‘card’.
So, coining is clearly a method that benefits both buyers and sellers of sports trading cards and knowing what it is can help protect you from being scammed out of your money.
Conclusion
What is coining a card?
Coining a card means to upload an image of the trading card you want to sell alongside a particular item or note with the date and your account’s name.
This helps validate your advertisement so other collectors know that you are legitimately trying to sell a sports trading card and not trying to scam others out of their money using fake images.
So, try it out and keep an eye out for uncoined trading cards when you want to purchase one online!
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