Ebay: WARNING - Fakes ending in 6 hours

Ebay Listings by seller, Slavbos, (an alleged American seller out of Illinois) will be ending in 6 hours. This individual has placed coins in PCCB displays. From the middle down, PCCB displays have the appearance of NGC slabs. It appears he is taking pictures of the bottom half, only, in a deceiving manner. PCCB slabs can be purchased privately. The coins are obvious Eastern European fakes, but can be deceiving with the poorly lit pictures. The unfortunate part is that the coins are being bid on by several legitimate individuals.

Unfortunately, I believe this example will fetch the most.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

This sort of thing used to make me very angry at counterfeiters and sellers of fakes, but these fakes are so egregiously bad that only someone who hasn't bothered to study ANYTHING about ancient coins would even think of bidding on them. I don't feel sorry for any of the buyers here - these fools deserve to be parted from their money.

 

I guess I do not think the fools DESERVE to lose here. They are probably collectors who bought into the US slab industry BS that buying a slabbed coin will ensure safety in your purchase. This is BS in their own slabs, let alone others slabs like these. So to me the US slab industry should bear part of the blame as well.

 

I'm still angry at the counterfeiters and deliberate fake sellers, but that one is pretty terrible. Like @John Anthony said, even I can tell it's bad -- there's not a single thing right about it -- and I don't even collect these types. His others are no better.

 

The slabs aren't to blame in my opinion. Collectors of moderns know the difference between good slabs and garage slabs. On THAT basis alone, nobody in their right mind would touch those lots with a ten foot pole, even if they knew nothing of the coins themselves.

 

Then why are slabs so popular on Heritage when they do not even guarantee authenticity for ancient coins? I don't think the slabbers can have it both ways. They cannot spend money assuring those who know nothing about ancients coins that is safe to buy ancients if they are slabbed, but then say crappy coins in fake slabs are not their concern. THEY are spending money to convince people who do not know ancients to buy slabbed ancients, so THEY are partly responsible.

My opinion anyway. If NGC was not putting money in their pocket to actively encourage collectors with no knowledge to trust slabs, then I would have no basis for saying they are partly culpable.

 

You would be surprised.

 

@Paul M. + 1

Steve

 

Since EBay is being party to, abetting, supporting criminal behavior, counterfeiting, money laundering etc. What is their liability? Why are they allowed to be a vehicle for criminals to prosper? Isn't that illegal? They are taking a commission on these illegal sales which makes them a fence.

 

No, they are not a fence. A fence knowingly buys illegal property to resell. Ebay only acts as a marketplace for buyers and sellers to gather. Ebay would be more akin to the owner of the shopping center where the pawn store rents space.

Not saying I like Ebay, but they are not legally equivalent to a fence.

 

Is there a responsibility on behalf of the buyer to do their research before bidding? Yes I believe there is. However, I also believe that the majority of the fault lies with the seller who is deliberately and maliciously trying to deceive and profit from that deception. Sure, those who bid are foolish, but they are innocent fools as opposed to the pernicious actions of the seller.

 

There is some truth to this statement. People should honestly do a little homework when they begin dealing with things they dont know anything about. But then again, if they are comfortable with the loss or likely will never know, that will be their problem.

 

Pretty disgusting!

 

But it's slabbed and guaranteed by PCCB! What could go wrong? Just like opening your beer with a shotgun.

 

I think we the knowing should be doing our best to help the unknowing. They are not necessarily fools but there is some ignorance going on. The only way to thwart the sellers is to contact some of the bidders before these auctions close so they can retract or cancel their bids and explain to them in short why they should not buy these. These could be newbies who have not read up and are getting caught up in the frenzy. What better way to turn new collectors away from a great hobby than letting them get burned. JMHO.

 

Alibaba is the largest supplier of these slabs, but there are several "Collectibles, stamps, coin suppliers" in the US that offer them also.

 

you wont be able to contact them as I imagine the seller has set up the auction to hide bidder ID from others??

 

Too bad. It would be a good idea if it were possible.

 

You can't contact bidders anymore. Everyone is private by default. Contacting other bidders was a thing of the early, Wild Wild West days of eBay. And eBay does nothing whatsoever if you report fakes, so they really are sort of a fence, at least sometimes.

 

I am with Tommy, here. Not all of us collectors have the same level of expertise (ability) with ALL of the coins out there, for a number of reasons. Some of us haven't been in the 'game' long enough, or have 'specialized' in other areas and are branching out. Sometimes it is the wife and/or children buying a Christmas (or birthday) present. I am yet to see the ardent coin collector that learnt all there is to know about coins BEFORE he (she) bought his (her) FIRST one. To simply say that "these fools deserve to be parted from their money", is very unfair on those of us who need help, and to those who help us in our past-time. Thank-you to those who do offer help. Not everyone knows everything about ALL coins, and not knowing something makes you 'ignorant' not a 'fool'.