eBay obviously doesn't care about counterfeits!!!

I wrote this article to sum up my frustration with eBay and the inability of many to have obvious counterfeits removed from that venue.



https://proxiblog.org/2025/04/20/eb...kFMpLyOdFsnW7Rb4VD_aem_CSab0Z8GEEF3pZgTyy4_tQ

 

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Generally speaking, I wonder what percentage of the world economy is generated by scams. The amount of grift these days is astronomically higher than it was say 20-30 years ago. Ebay of course is complicit. My hunch is that the cheaper ones in your article are sold to scammers who then scam someone else with them on another platform (or relist there). Gullible people believe those AI generated "descriptions" as well. I don't bother with ebay anymore - let the scammers all scam each other.

 

Is it really, though? Or is it just easier to find, and easier to share?

 

The Nigerian prince scam came in the mail, and I only ever got one of them. Even with no caller ID I recall getting hardly any telemarketing or scam calls at all, and now it's multiple times a day. It feels like technology has evolved largely to bilk people. Can you really argue that there are not astronomically more counterfeit coins today than there were 30 years ago? It's not just that we're hearing about them more.

 

When I pointed to eBay that there was an obvious counterfeit of a 1794 silver dollar offered on their site, without “COPY” on it, their response was that the offering was “consistent with their policies.” “Nuff said” as the old baseball debaters used to say.

 

There are large numbers of such coins that hit the USA one way or another. They were found in the late 1990s readily from mainly China. Why? Because the US decided to send old production machines in the early 1900s such as used for our coinage. The idea was the Chinese would use their own dies or modify ours to their machines.....Many decades pass and practice does help. Go to the China websites and see fair/good copies of our old coins. I bought their copies to use as a fast comparative of ours at $1 or 2 each and use it often when offers come up. Of course if you have good money sources buy from the Superior coin grading companies for accuracy , but a lot of cash. Either way you have to be knowledgeable or have the money. IMO

Jim

 

There are more "allowed" on the Bay now; I use to have 10-15 listings removed every day but they no longer listen...

 

eBay as a going concern is circling the drain. Too much focus on selling and not enough on customer satisfaction.

 

If you gather enough information (which it seems you have), you could probably sue them for a number of things. I don't see them changing otherwise. Allowing the sale of counterfeit US money is a big no-no.
I am not a fan of most lawsuits, BTW, but I realize that loss of money is the only way some companies will take note of bad practices.

 

Not being a lawyer, I thought you could only sue someone if you yourself had a loss

 

Perhaps; I don't know either. eBay is quick to refund money with their guarantee in the event someone does buy a counterfeit.

 

I didn't get my latest one back. Seller used genuine images from a genuine listing and sent me a common CN counterfeit large cent. Submitted the evidence to eBay and they removed the listing and seller and told me to contact him for a return. Seller gave me an address in China and no label and it would have cost as much as it was worth. I can't even leave negative feedback as the seller is "no longer registered"...

 

I believe the only way to end their practices is for the feds to get involved and bust their asses. That would slow it down.

 

The elephant in the room is the long term damage this is and will continue to be causing to our venerated hobby. I am a seasoned collector and some of this stuff confounds me.... If I were a younger fellow trying to get in the hobby right now.... No way.

 

I honestly think the barriers to entry are much lower today than they were decades ago. So much malware and phone scams are available as plug-n-play software if you spend the money up front. Don't even have to know what you're doing.

 

I've been saying the same thing here and posting about it for months. Figured everyone was tired of hearing about it, so I gave up posting it, or complaining to eBay. The volume of fakes is insane. The best way to avoid even seeing them is to only peruse auctions. The Chinese fakes are all "buy it now" and priced below silver and gold bullion pricing. If that in itself doesn't scream fake, a buyer has to be a special kind of stupid, especially with a Chinese seller name and "shipped from China". My biggest concern are novice collectors buying and reselling unknowingly and making the fakes more mainstream and less noticiable.

 

Oops, I meant sue, not use

 

True, their buyer protection is pretty good all around. But that is still to their benefit. They charge a 13% vig to sellers so they price that in to cover themselves. I think it's a conscious business decision to look the other way on counterfeits because overall they still come out ahead even if the seller disappears overnight with eBay's money. It's almost if they hire actuaries to study the liability/benefit. I'd be willing to bet they've studied it.

 

The numerous fakes are why I stay away from gold for the most part. I have two gold coins ($1) and that is where I will stay for the time being. Slabbed is too expensive and raw is too risky (not to mention where gold has skyrocketed!). I am sticking to what I know.

 

If I had the money to invest in Gold, I'd hold off.
The whole economy is in turmoil.