Just an idea, but can Numista have a page that lists all the eBay sellers of fake coins and banknotes etc. so that newbies to the hobby (like me) can see who to buy and who not to buy from? Maybe members could nominate the sellers and others see if they should get added to the list? I would find that very helpful, and am sure others would to. I am loving Numista by the way!
While it is a useful idea, the list would be a very ephemeral and quickly out of date (with in hours it would be out irrelevant). Sellers who deal exclusively in fakes are taken down rather quickly. They just come back with a different name, different account, etc. They also have puppet accounts so they can buy their own fakes and leave their own feedback. When people think about this happening they imagine a lot of people manually doing these actions. Maybe it was like that in the past, but now bots do all the work, and they can work 24/7.
A better way might be to ask for input if you are looking at buying a coin. You want to get to the point where you can identify a fake on your own, and having other coin people walk you through the process is probably the most valuable thing for you. It will also show you that there are differing opinions on a coin. Some people may buy it, others will figure it is too risky. I have seem members I respect come to very different conclusions on a coin. That is part of the education process, too.
