Thank you for the great advice. I rarely go against my better judgement and buy a high dollar coin on ebay, but this is sound information everyone should follow. Keep up the great work!
The stolen photos appear to be a gang of crooks using the same photos. Here are the sellers that have the same coins for sale: http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/liaotian141 http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/guanchixie0345354 http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/huibuchen01505 http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/huaikongmi256056 If you look in their stores, you'll think you are in the same store. Now to bring them down! This has turned out to be much larger than we first thought. Ribbit
Unfortunatly I also know of someone who is useing stock photos to sell on a new site they are working on. This person is close to me and in her 70's and did not know that this was'nt kosher. So I informed her and she is in the process of having her daughter photograph all her wares and changing the photos. Thanks for keeping an eye out for us my friend. You are appreciaited.
The original seller has been over-reported and shouldn't even be alive and I called in the newest ones, so now it's a wait-see. It will be interesting to see how long it takes Ebay to NARU the jerks and when they do, we won't be able to find out if any buyers got a refund or not, since Ebay removes all traces of the fraud. We are starting to think we need to report the fraud to the Justice Department, so as to get them involved, since Ebay is doing everything wrong to stop the fraud. But all of this is interesting, in that it proves crime is now organized on Ebay, so beware! Ribbit
Yea I got ripped from some scumbag on Ebay , he in return writes me a nasty childish letter telling me Ebay doesn't like people like me messin with their power sellers , then when I tried to write him back he blocked my e-mail from going thru . Ebay did nothing but I did win my money back with paypal . rzage:thumb:
Another seller has been found: http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/yuechoushao03453 I don't know when/where this is going to end? :goofer: Ribbit
I don't know which coin to focus on but his Trade dollars sure look likey should have , made in China on them , Toad is it better to report the different coins or to report the seller ? Rusty
Just to show you how easy/well crime pays on Ebay, here's one of the coins that was sold then resold & resold & . . . Original listing: http://cgi.ebay.com/1859-O-Seated-Dollar-AU-Sharp-Details_W0QQitemZ130291200673 Resellers (already sold): http://cgi.ebay.com/1859-O-Seated-Dollar-AU-Sharp-Details_W0QQitemZ280322093655 http://cgi.ebay.com/1859-O-Seated-Dollar-AU-Sharp-Details_W0QQitemZ280322323712 http://cgi.ebay.com/1859-O-Seated-Dollar-AU-Sharp-Details_W0QQitemZ170310827534 This coin is still for sale, if anyone is interested: http://cgi.ebay.com/1859-O-Seated-Dollar-AU-Sharp-Details_W0QQitemZ320349974139 http://cgi.ebay.com/1859-O-Seated-Dollar-AU-Sharp-Details_W0QQitemZ270358655455 http://cgi.ebay.com/1859-O-Seated-Dollar-AU-Sharp-Details_W0QQitemZ270358664006 Don't let it get away! Ribbit
So, what's wrong with the idea of sending a letter to eBay and also cc'ing your local federal prosecutor and/or BBB or state commissioner or something? (Not, totally analogous, but last time I felt like I was getting ripped off by my insurance company, I send a polite but firm letter, explaining the facts clearly, with a cc to my state commissioner of insurance. Wow -- that got resolved, 100% in my favor, very quickly!) If these guys are committing federal interstate fraud, banning them from eBay isn't enough, they should be arrested.
It would cut out all the beginners that want to start their collection slowly and/or who don't have a whole lot of disposable income. E.g., I picked up a few pre-64 Wash. quarters for about $3 each, to fill some holes in my album. So long as the coin matches the picture and there's a return policy (and I'm purchasing relatively cheap stuff), I'm comfortable enough. Obviously, requiring PCGS, etc., cuts out the entire trade of coins that are not worth enough to pay to get rated.
I like to think back when eBay first started and realizing just how many people we are able to reach out to and conduct our business with. Fee-bay has as much a right to profit from their services as we do. I'm sure we all agree that selling counterfeit coins and stolen photos of coins you dont own are not good for our business, but lets not burn down eBay's house just yet. We should focus on the bad guys and keep reporting them. I tell ya, if i was doing all this detective work i would be sending eBay a bill for my services. I think toad is doing a commendable job, I wonder if eBay appreciates him looking out for their reputation. Sounds like there's a job there somewhere!
Fraudulent sales make money for Ebay so by removing the fraudulent auctions, it takes away revenue. Then, tack on the money PayPal makes, and it gets worse. However, the real question is why doesn't Ebay react faster to the reports, prior to the auctions ending? The only answer I can come up with is PayPal will hold the monies paid for several weeks, then refund the buyer, which gives them interest free money to play with. I think Ebay & PayPal have a scam running and legislation needs to be written to stop what they are doing. :thumb: That's my take on it. Ribbit
I can't think of one single system in the world that is perfect. Do you really think eBay would put such a huge company on the line for the few bucks they do make on these illicit sales? I think they just need more prodding with a hot iron. Just my opinion.
How much would you say the interest would be on a 3 week loan of 10 to 25 million dollars? :whistle: Figure that out and that's what PayPal is "borrowing" from it's users, with no interest, that end up filing a dispute for a fraudulent sale, since it takes about 3 weeks for the dispute to finalize and monies to be transferred. They've got a nice racket going on! :goof: Ribbit
The problem is Ebay doesn't listen , sure they take down an auction whhen enough people write in , but like Toad says they are making too much money off of these thieves or they would have done something about it already . rzage:hatch::hammer: