Is it legal to sell replicas of Johnson Matthey 1 Ounce silver bars? If anyone has a chance, take a trip over to Listia.com and type "silver coins" into the search bar. I cannot copy the photos as they are copy protected. Scroll a bit for them but there are many of these listed. They say these are replicas in the title and description. I'm not seeing anything on these bars that say copy or replica. They all look like the real deal. Incredibly deceiving. Let me know what you think and thanks. Tom
That's to my knowledge that would be a definite NO. I'm sure copyright laws protecting the name would be in forced.
I would assume so also, but some people have no shame. These not being marked as replicas look good enough to fool anyone and I pity the poor soul who pawns some of these off as the real thing after they get them from this seller.
I would think if one purchased these bars ,and then decide to sell them...one could be charged with fraud . The same goes for knock offs of any name brand item being fake.
I just wrote a letter to Johnson Matthey Bullion. We will see what happens. I wasn't so much worried about us honest folks here as I am about these somehow ending up in someone's collection years down the road, only to find out they have fakes that are worthless. There are a lot of younger folks over there who see the word "silver" and have no clue as to what they are ordering. Thanks for your feedback Paddy.
@tommyc03 I linked the pictures directly for you. I'd think that JM would be interested in protecting their brand, but these likely Chinese fakes have become common. At least this seller lists replica but I'm sure some unscrupulous buyers would use them to scam others.
This reminds me of a situation that happened to me. A guy asked me if I like to buy a Rolex watch or a Louis Vuitton bag for my wife. He said that he had come into hard times and needed to sell them to pay for car repairs. So I said can I see them? I looked at the watch and smiled as the difference as some may know is that a Rolex has a second hand that doesn't sweep it ticks on each second. Next I looked at his ladies hand bag.....well you see a real Louis Vuitton all the LV initials all face the same way which is up right . Not one side LV up right ,and the other side of the bag LV inverted . I just smiled and said no thanks.... besides I sold my real Rolex years ago ,and purchased a better time piece a "Tag" . Rolex never kept time.....my Tag is spot on since the day I purchased it.
That is deceptive. One pic I think is actually a real bar. Or at least it has a serial number. The other pics show no serial number. Have to wonder if it is really silver?
Do you buy or sell on listia? JUST WONDERING ...it looks alot like those lame auction sites you see on TV commercials on low end channels that you have to pay a penny each time you bid, or some thing to that affect.
Johnson Matthey bars have SERIAL numbers. The Johnson Matthey 1 oz Silver Bar dimensions are approximately 28 mm x 50 mm or 1 1/8 inches x 2 inches. The site you linked to selling REPLICAS The Replica is 40mm in diameter, MAYBE that makes a difference?? The first picture is probably copy and pasted from JM's site with a serial number, the other 3 pictures show NO Serial number. I Still hold a dim view of these copies, the smaller size may make them a novelty/replica item...still troubling.
While it is not the same thing that Tommy is talking about, it is certainly topic related. And there are probably many of you who have never heard of this. But if you have an interest in such things, you might enjoy reading it. How the West Was Faked - http://www.cawa.fr/IMG/pdf/how.pdf
Well, I made a mistake. I contacted JM Bullion who sells Johnson Matthey bars and rounds. John Matthey was bought out by Asahi, so now I need to contact them directly. JM Bullion was nice enough to write back giving me this info. They are aware of the fakes.
I do some "trading" there. Basically it boils down to giving stuff away for credits in return. You then use those credits to get things you want in return. So many credits, which change on a regular basis = so many U.S. $. There are many good, solid sellers but an awful lot of kids there also who do not know anything, post terrible photos, ignorant language capabilities, etc. Takes awhile to figure things out, how many credits to charge to come out ahead of the game, etc. Like ebay, items tend to move faster with free shipping, auctions can leave you holding the bag and losing money. Unlike ebay, no cash is involved except for shipping, if you charge it and that goes to your Pay Pal account. I don't charge shipping so, therefore, at the end of the year, I do not have to worry about a 1099 being generated. For me it's a good way to get rid of stuff that will not move on ebay.
I use it to turn copper into silver. I have many BU Wheat rolls and trade them as singles, then buy silver coins with the credits.
