Ask eBay.. about counterfeits.

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   Below is a conversation I came across on twitter. Maybe we should join in.
   
   https://twitter.com/AskeBay
   
   @AverageVoter
   Seems @eBay has decided to prohibit anything connected to the #ConfederateFlag Wish they felt that way about #Counterfeit Coins! #Apathetic
   
2. Ask eBay ‏@AskeBay 7h7 hours ago
   @AverageVoter We do not allow counterfeit items on the site: http://ebay.to/1v3v9P8 If you believe an item's counterfeit, report it to us!^B
   

1. 
   Zeek ‏@ZiaKhawaja 7h7 hours ago
   @AskeBay @AverageVoter really, but u let the sellers sell crossed out serial #s on DVD burners correct. So if u had sense would be the same
   
   
   
2. ‏@AverageVoter 16m16 minutes ago
   @AskeBay Listing of a policy doesn't make it so. The community believes that because its not in your financial interest to stop it, you dont
   
   
3. @AverageVoter 11m11 minutes ago
4. @AskeBay Members of our Numismatic club have regularly reported obvious counterfeit/fake coins from every country with no action from @eBay
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Waiting for a responsive tweet from eBay, but I expect the only short communication we'll hear is the chirping of crickets...

 

That is why they should change their name to SleazeBay!

Chris

 

I wonder what happens if you tweet them (publically) with a listing # and brief reason why. For EVERY counterfeit you see...

 

If eBay is not responding to "Report Item" auction activity for copy/duplicate/fake/counterfeit coins, maybe the solution is to set up a twitter feed with hasttag like #eBayCounterfeitCoins where we can notify each other.

My recent "Report Item" activity on a 1931-s cent did not get a reply back from eBay and the final auction price was $74.99. The cent had a reverse with left wheat die chip that was standard on some old Chinese copies.

 

They would do nothing if you report it. I've reported numerous counterfeits only to see them remain until sold. I believe they must have a specific group of people they trust and only the coins they report are removed. They may have so many reports they just can't handle the volume.

 

If they cannot handle them then Ebay should hire someone from the collecting community to verify it as real or fake.

 

Sorry that's silly and unworkable. There are 100#s of thousands if not millions for sale at anytime. Judging from photos is not always definitive. Especially if selers have shall we say an incentive to take poor quality photos.

 

I like that, public shaming.

 

In 2009, I think, I bought a few known counterfeit coins through eBay, from China, to use for educational purposes. The listing picture and description showed the word "copy". However, when they arrived they had NO word 'copy' stamped anywhere. Although they were easy to distinguish from authentic, I was distressed and tried to get eBay to correct it. They claimed they could do nothing because they had 'copy' on them. I said they did not. They never did anything.
Also, I wrote ANA thinking they would be interested in getting involved in stopping this. They were not.
So, we have all tried for years to no avail. And here we are. On the verge of taking the fun outta the hobby.

 

FYI - I am not interested in embarrassing eBay.

I am interested in seeing the "coin collecting community" maintaining a list/resource of eBay sellers who have sold copy/duplicate/fake coins in the past.

So for example, if I am looking at a nice 1931-s cent from eBay seller glinicastore, I could check the list and see that this seller has sold 1931-s cents twice in the past with know duplicate/copy reverse signature. I then could skip bidding on the coin.

 

I find, to my considerable surprise, that I kind of am interested in embarrassing eBay.

I spoke to a noted collector at a large show this weekend, and he said that, in his opinion, doing business through eBay amounts to supporting counterfeiters, because of eBay's willful refusal to do anything to stem the trade of modern fakes targeting collectors. He says he won't shop there any more.

I'm not there with him, at least not yet. But I'd much rather have eBay suffer some "embarrassment" now than have it continue to facilitate trade in counterfeits, or have it become known as a place that's too contaminated with fakes to be a worthwhile source of material.

 

Problem with that is it's hard to track that. People who sell a lot of fakes change accounts often due to the large amount of negative feedback.

 

I can't add much to this thread. We all already know there's a staggering amount of counterfeits coming to the usa from China via ebay. And we know that ebay is fully aware and does nothing but look the other way and collect their fees. I'm dumbstruck that the Secret Service hasn't gotten involved. If I was knowingly selling fakes in my shop it would just be a matter of time before they came a'knocking, and I'm having a hard time understanding why they don't pressure ebay to act.

 

How good are fakes? I confess I bought a copy of a silver Maple some years ago as I was interested in Canadian Mint coins and I am certain that if you had seen a real next to the fake there is no competition. I recently got a 'replica' 1561 silver sixpence as hammer coins are an area I am considering expanding to. It's not that it's bad, it just looks and feels wrong.

How good are fakes? How likely is a coin collector of type of coin be fooled by most fakes of that coin? Would a basic knowledge of a coin type be sufficient to avoid buying most?

 

A couple of years ago there was a security breach for a company that had all sensitive data stored together in the same file with no firewall at all. Thousands of people got their credit card numbers stolen. The company ignored everyone.

Someone then opened up a Facebook page (Company)RipOff or something. Everyone who'd been harmed posted their stories (which probably made them feel better) and # the main company site. Then everyone posted everywhere else leading them back to the Facebook page.

All of a sudden it became an "issue" for the company and they had to mend their ways.

So.....what if we had an eBay Counterfeit coins Facebook page? And linked to eBay's page or Twitter page every bad listing? By the sheer number of them wouldn't they decide it was a problem?

 

eBay is a publically traded company. Like all such they are driven by Wall Street's expectations of financial performance.

Most buyers don't know they've been defrauded and happily tuck their counterfeit away.

For most fraudulent purchases which are recognized as such, they claw back the funds from the seller's account.

Neither of those cost eBay more than running a trivial customer service operation.

And the sellers in those cases can remain members 'in good standing' for a long time.

It's only when the seller sells an expensive item, grabs the money out of their PayPal account and skates that eBay is left holding the bag. So it only matters if the total of those cases add up to a financially significant amount.

We have a long history of the credit card companies accepting a much higher level of fraud as just the cost of doing business. They pass the cost along to card holders and merchants in high fees & high interest rates.

Actions speak louder than words and right now all eBay's words are lip service and their actions are saying that we don't give a bleep.

 

There is no incentive for eBay to clean up their act. Follow the money and you'll find the reason why eBay is not only not interested in hiring anyone to help verify the authenticity of the coins for sale on eBay, but why they really don't want counterfeits on their site stopped. eBay and PayPal both get paid regardless, and for every single person who demands a refund because of counterfeits received from an eBay sale there are dozens of buyers of counterfeits who wouldn't know a counterfeit if it started jumping up and down, blinking like a railroad crossing light ... and eBay gets money from every counterfeit kept every time.