Why don't we do something about counterfeit's??

Canada recently passed legislation banning the production of what we know as "Replica" coins. This was accomplished by concerned collectors and dealers getting together and petitioning for the laws to be changed. Since it's apparent that EBay isn't going to do anything about regulating the influx counterfeits, why don't we?

We are a connected community across all of the collecting boards. Why don't we ban together and petition the powers that be to enforce laws regarding production of "replica" coins. I would like to propose that we organize a petition to enforce the laws regarding of exact replica US collector coins.

You know if they were making good counterfeit $100 bills and then promising to stamp "replica" on them... things would change in a hurry. We have to do the work here...

EDIT: after some research there was already legislation in place in Canada and the Canadian authorities were able to convince EBay Inc. to obey the laws. With the help of concerned collectors.

 

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I think now it's about getting the authorities to enforce the law. Why not petition the secret service to enforce the law? There has to be something as a community of concerned collectors and professionals that we can do... besides sit and watch.

 

You would have to make the authorities care. That is the real problem, I'm sure they know of the law and they know of the problem, ebay and paypal seem to be complicit with these chinese sellers and they do nothing while forgery goes on beneath their very noses and quite possibly with their consent. It is going to take money and possibly some very large lawsuits to wake these companies up. It is going to take the concerted effort of lawmakers to bring attention to this in a way that creates awareness.

 

There are hundreds of laws on the books, that I wish received more attention and enforcement but you can't police it all. Fake coinage is the least of my worries.

 

As long as eBay and Paypal continue to make money on this crap it will be for sale.

 

Call me naive...

All this to get the United States government to enforce a law that is on the books? That is meant to protect the interest of it's citizens?

I have a friend who works at the US district attorneys office. I might just have to buy him coffee sometime in the next couple of weeks and have a chat about this subject.

 

GDJMSP. I agree with you though I think buy enforcing these laws A. it will help the U.S enconomy by creating more jobs, B. Lower the unemployment rate, C. by going after the counterfeiters it may help us trying to reclaim/recoup the Trillions of dollars of the debt the U.S

..just a thought

 

I've reported 100's of obvious fakes over the years and not one auction was ever pulled. It's gotten so bad I don't even bother anymore.
As others have said, as long as fleabay/paypal can make a buck, they'll ignore them.

 

Ok, I understand that EBay and paypal are the bad guys... I'm not even recommending that someone or a group of plain folk even try to deal directly with them. I am recommending that we petition the people in charge of enforcing the laws that are being broken to do their job.

 

How is it that Canada cared enough to get eBay to stop hosting fake Canadian coins [and ebay did stop]. I read the Coin World article.
But United States coin fakes can continue?
What has to happen is for US officials to pay eBay a visit.
Can you see this as a possibility?

 

You cannot expect eBay to sort through each and every listing they have to pull the counterfeits. Likewise, eBay can do nothing if the seller lists legal fakes but sends unmarked counterfeits - unless they are reported. Part of the problem is mail. Even the entire secret service can do little to enforce many thousands of mails entering the country with one or two counterfeits each.

Unless your friend from the secret service has another idea, I believe the only ally you are going to have in this fight is going to be eBay. They will enforce what they are made aware of, but they cannot enforce what they do not know of.

Just as a for instance, I am presently in discussions with them about jinghuashei-multiple-shop-1 and his coins marked "REPLICA". I am convinced that they violate the law. Now I have to convince eBay. Other people reporting his coins would help. (Caution: A significant portion of his coins are marked "COPY" and are probably legal.)

I do not know how else to say it, but I believe your biggest ally is going to be eBay. In spite of most people's opinion, they are trying to please the consumer. If they see an upwelling against counterfeits, they will respond as best they can. And that will be far superior to what all of CT can do even together.

 

Class action lawsuit. Lawyers love 'em. Let the beatdown begin ! :hammer:

It seems the lawmakers have already done their job.

 

That's odd... we seem to have a pretty good track record on this site. We have reported many bogus auctions, and most have them have gone down in flames. :high5:

 

Everything and anything in America can and will be replicated ,faked and extorted because people in America have more money than common sense and seldom educate themselves before buying anything assuming the best is what they will get. This equals major profit and minimal cost to anyone willing to forge something. When was the last time you ate anyhing at a fastfood resturant that looked or tasted anything like advertised? Ever owned a truck you could drop a load of bricks from 20 feet high into? It truely is the land of dreams these days.:crying:

 

Perhaps we're comparing apples and oranges here.

The OP said Canada "passed legislation"... but the US has had legislation for years.

Canada "passed legislation" does not necessarily mean all fakes and replicas have stopped.

I'd like to know more about the details.

Personally, I don't like replicas, but I'm not sure clearly marked copies and replicas should be illegal.

 

To give you the other side, I have also reported 100's of fakes. To the best of my knowledge, at least 90% of them have been removed and sometimes the seller goes with them. If you do not believe me, ask Captainkirk. I am pretty sure he was one of them. And, yes, copper plated steel cents qualify as counterfeits.

 

I retracted that. They had existing legislation in place and were able to convince their authorities to do their jobs and enforce their legislation.


What about getting new legislation in place that is similar to currency?

You can replicate currency as long as it is not the same size. What about applying this to "Replica coins" making it that they can produce as many as they want as long as they are 30% different in size from the coin from the original? This would solve the problem.

 

Speak for yourself. Leave me out of that broad-brushing tar paint.