eBay's new policy - FINALLY!

I just got this note from eBay.

 

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Bravo!

 

Its great, but still won't stop people listing fakes as genuine. Already about 90% of chinese coins on Ebay are fakes listed as good coins. I get up the energy about once a month and report a few hundred but no one has the time to report them all.

 

I hope you EBAYER's have your swimmies on and a can of shark repellant.

 

Unfortunately, I believe that you are correct.

 

True, but no policy by eBay, law by the government or anyone else can or will control that. These peoples intent is to break the law, not obey it.

 

A win for for the good guys, but there's still a long way to go to truly safeguard collectors.

 

Well, before they had a "replica" category, the fakes were just thrown in with the regular listings. That's where the umarked copies will end up. Apparently eBay felt they had to incorporate a change of some sort, but I have my doubts to the effectiveness. Maybe the CFe group will step up with their policing of all coin related auctions to "insure our protection".

 

well said but what a re they doing about Chinese fakes

 

There's not much they can do. Without an experienced eye on the "eBay Seller's Team", counterfeits will continue to be sold, and eBay will continue to rely on the community (majority from online forums) for authentication and the proper needs that must be carried out to remove said auctions- mass reporting.

-Brian

 

I kinda like it when iam in control. If you cant tell the differents between the two then you shouldnt be upset when you buy one of the fakes.People today dont want to except they made the mistake and want others to bail them out when in fact it was their poor judgement that got them in trouble in the first place.I like the american way free markets not the my way or the highway thing.Its funny ebay takes this stand as selling of fake coins gives them the same money as normal coins.People that buy anything from coins to cars should do their homework before spending money.

 

This policy change is an abomination and I hope it is challenged in court. Replica coins are made to enhance people's collections, eBay will suffer from this policy both economically due to a massive loss in revenue from Replica listings and legally once they are challenged by some skilled lawyers from the sellers in China. Furthermore, all this will do is push Replica coins to the underground market and cause Replica sellers to make their own independent websites hosted in areas of the world where no policies or laws can touch them.

 

Well I would think that, as a business,they have every right to decide what can or can't be sold on their site. If they decide that they won't allow toothbrushes to be sold they have the right to do that too.

It sounds from their email that they decided that they would no longer facilitate sellers listing replicas with a copy stamp on them and then delivering the coins without a copy stamp. I applaude ebay wholeheartedly for doing this. Replicas without a copy stamp are illegal.
If dealers wish to set up web site to sell replicas, have at it, there's nothing to stop them from doing so. It'll make it easier to tell who's actually legitimately delivering marked copy coins and who's trying to skirt the laws.

 

well its a start anyway

 

eBay already has restrictions on items which can be listed on their site.
You can't sell firearms or ammunition, among other things.
Nazi memorabilia (other than stamps and coins) is likewise banned.
eBay is free to set any restrictions they choose.
Nobody is forced to use eBay, so if you don't like it, you just have to lump it, I suppose.
BTW: eBay.ca (Canada) already banned replica Canadian coins due to action taken by the RCMP

 

Of course, "The American Way" still allows enough freedom for eBay to make decisions like this. And we're all free to take our business elsewhere, although I suppose that decision in itself could be interpreted as a "my way or the highway" approach.

Yes, eBay gets fees from fakes, the same as from real coins. But they're probably also worried about liability if the whole "all our copies are stamped, oops, we apparently missed stamping this one and this one and this one and this one" thing blows up. They're also incurring expenses from people who get ill-described replicas and then invoke Buyer Protection.

I don't know how much money they'll lose from the traffic in counterfeits, but I have to imagine they've analyzed the situation pretty carefully. It does, after all, involve money.

 

Do tell. I can't wait to see what American legal precedent these "skilled lawyers" use to compel an American corporation to facilitate criminal activity. (Yes, selling unmarked replicas into the American market is a criminal activity.)

Behold the true power of eBay -- not only does it have the influence to do this, it has actually been able to exert this influence BACKWARD IN TIME, causing the scammers to move to the underground market and make their own independent websites years before the eBay policy change was even announced!

I tremble in awe. Or maybe I'm just giggling uncontrollably.

 

I personally believe that they made this decision under duress. I am sure that the decision was made for financial reasons. Partially, I am sure it is intended to increase their coin sales (by becoming more trustworthy). However, with the obvious disregard for HPA, I suspect that the government might well have assisted their decision. Defense lawyers do not come cheap!

 

Woody, you are a bit out of touch. While some of the fakes are easily spotted, the top quality fakes are so good, it is difficult for an expert to tell the difference in hand. When you are talking about looking at a picture, it may very well be impossible. The dies that these coins are made from are laser cut and scanned from genuine US coins, so all the die markers and minor variations are on the copy coin. The best ones are also 90% silver and come in at the correct weight. While due diligence is always highly recommended, I am not buying the bit that all you need to do is your homework.

Now selling replica coins in the US without a copy stamp on them is ILLEGAL. When you purchase these replicas from Ebay, the picture shows the coin with the copy stamp on it, but the coins you recieve do no have the stamp, so that transaction was ILLEGAL. As a US buisness, EBAY has the responsibility to make sure that ILLEGAL activities are not facilitated by their corporation. So I am not seeing your logic on how EBAY should be a participent in ILLEGAL activies just because it is the buyers own fault if he is the victim of said ILLEGAL activity.

Mike

 

Hip hip hooray