Why are there no coin sales on Numista?
Collectors often ask: “Numista has a big collector community. I want to list my coins for sale on the website.”
Friends with an entrepreneur mindset often suggest: “Numista should become a coin marketplace. It could make a lot of money!”
My reply is always “no”, and here are the 3 main reasons:
Numista’s core values focus on sharing and spreading numismatic knowledge. Members contribute voluntarily to the catalog with the only ambition to make it the best numismatic knowledge base; they help each other on the forum; they swap coins. I'm convinced that adding a commercial aspect would quickly outgrow and kill the sharing spirit.
Even if we occasionally have some issues, Numista is a pretty safe place to swap coins and banknotes. The concept of offering coins in exchange of other coins attracts coin collectors who are truly passionate about the hobby. I fear that authorizing sales might lead to more scams, and that's not something I like dealing with.
Selling platforms are heavily regulated in many countries. Each country has their own laws and processes for sales, consumer protection, tax collection, revenue reporting, etc. It's simply not possible for a structure of the size of Numista to build a compliant global marketplace. It would require to largely grow in a direction that is contradictory to the spirit of Numista.
Numista revenues are mainly coming from advertising, not directly acting in the sales process. I am thankful to our partners for allowing us to continue growing as a free knowledge base. I want Numista to be known for being the best resource for numismatic knowledge, not a cheap alternative to established marketplaces.
Collectors often ask: “Numista has a big collector community. I want to list my coins for sale on the website.”
Friends with an entrepreneur mindset often suggest: “Numista should become a coin marketplace. It could make a lot of money!”
My reply is always “no”, and here are the 3 main reasons:
Numista’s core values focus on sharing and spreading numismatic knowledge. Members contribute voluntarily to the catalog with the only ambition to make it the best numismatic knowledge base; they help each other on the forum; they swap coins. I'm convinced that adding a commercial aspect would quickly outgrow and kill the sharing spirit.
Even if we occasionally have some issues, Numista is a pretty safe place to swap coins and banknotes. The concept of offering coins in exchange of other coins attracts coin collectors who are truly passionate about the hobby. I fear that authorizing sales might lead to more scams, and that's not something I like dealing with.
Selling platforms are heavily regulated in many countries. Each country has their own laws and processes for sales, consumer protection, tax collection, revenue reporting, etc. It's simply not possible for a structure of the size of Numista to build a compliant global marketplace. It would require to largely grow in a direction that is contradictory to the spirit of Numista.
Numista revenues are mainly coming from advertising, not directly acting in the sales process. I am thankful to our partners for allowing us to continue growing as a free knowledge base. I want Numista to be known for being the best resource for numismatic knowledge, not a cheap alternative to established marketplaces.
Why are there no coin sales on Numista? 🤑
Collectors often ask: “Numista has a big collector community. I want to list my coins for sale on the website.”
Friends with an entrepreneur mindset often suggest: “Numista should become a coin marketplace. It could make a lot of money!”
My reply is always “no”, and here are the 3 main reasons:
1️⃣ Numista’s core values focus on sharing and spreading numismatic knowledge. Members contribute voluntarily to the catalog with the only ambition to make it the best numismatic knowledge base; they help each other on the forum; they swap coins. I'm convinced that adding a commercial aspect would quickly outgrow and kill the sharing spirit.
2️⃣ Even if we occasionally have some issues, Numista is a pretty safe place to swap coins and banknotes. The concept of offering coins in exchange of other coins attracts coin collectors who are truly passionate about the hobby. I fear that authorizing sales might lead to more scams, and that's not something I like dealing with.
3️⃣ Selling platforms are heavily regulated in many countries. Each country has their own laws and processes for sales, consumer protection, tax collection, revenue reporting, etc. It's simply not possible for a structure of the size of Numista to build a compliant global marketplace. It would require to largely grow in a direction that is contradictory to the spirit of Numista.
Numista revenues are mainly coming from advertising, not directly acting in the sales process. I am thankful to our partners for allowing us to continue growing as a free knowledge base. I want Numista to be known for being the best resource for numismatic knowledge, not a cheap alternative to established marketplaces.
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I can understand not allowing for sale/want to buy posts on forums, especially since you want to be compliant with the law everywhere, but I find it extremely ironic that a community dedicated to coins, the most important invention in the history of commerce, does not allow "commercial activity".
If someone posts a coin just showing off and someone else wants it they can always just private message the poster and the moderators would never know, in fact on reddit thats what they encourage. Is the same true on Numista?