Why some people hate Scambay

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by satootoko, Jan 25, 2007.

  1. satootoko

    satootoko Retired

    This kind of [​IMG] for one example.

    Compare the title with the description! This is an example of EBay's refusal to enforce its own rules, which require that copies be identified in the title. Reports of this kind of abuse rarely have any effect. :(
     
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  3. Aidan Work

    Aidan Work New Member

    Roy,'Scambay' is understating it.It should be renamed as either 'FraudBay','ThiefBay',or 'FlogBay'.It sounds like you're better off looking on www.coinbay.biz or on www.teletrade.com .

    Do you agree with me on this?

    Aidan.
     
  4. satootoko

    satootoko Retired

    That's actually two questions, because of the incredibly vast difference between your two suggested alternatives.

    Teletrade is a place to look for high grade and/or rare coins. Use it along with Heritage, the Steinbergs, Clark Smith, etc. It's more of a supplement than an alternative to EBay shopping.

    Coinbay and the dozens (hundreds?) of other EBay wannabies are a different matter altogether, and I absolutely do not agree with you that they are a good alternative to EBay..

    The fact of the matter is that EBay has a huge bidder base, while the wannabies don't. A few years ago as an experiment I listed some duplicates on half a dozen sites. The EBay listing got several times as many hits as the other five combined and the coin listed there sold for a reasonable price. Only one of the others got any bids, and the high one was below what a dealer would have paid.

    There is an extremely simple way to avoid getting "taken" on EBay - education. If you know what you are buying, and understand how to use the feedback system, you can pretty much avoid both the scam artists and the totally ignorant accidental scammers. Of my 400+/- EBay purchases - mostly coins - the only counterfeits I have bought were the ones I bought as counterfeits; and the only instance in which I felt that I was taken advantage of was a non-coin purchase where I really didn't know what I was doing.
     
  5. Aidan Work

    Aidan Work New Member

    Roy,it is a pity that non-Americans & non-Canadians are not allowed to register on Teletrade.Some alternative to ScumBay has to be found & promoted.

    Aidan.
     
  6. satootoko

    satootoko Retired

    If that's true, contact Teletrade and ask them to change the rule.

    It's called "Education", and that's one of the reasons this forum exists. :thumb:
     
  7. CoinOKC

    CoinOKC Don't Drink The Kool-Aid

    And there hangs a tale...

    The problem lies in the fact that many people are educated in certain fields, but are clueless in others. There are people out there who could tell you exactly how many beans are in each Beanie Baby, but wouldn't know the difference between a 1921 Walking Liberty Half Dollar and that "tribute proof" you referenced. The scam artists depend on these people for their income.

    Whether people invest in coins, Beanie Babies, comic books or whatever, there are 3 things they need before doing so: Education, education and education.

    Sometimes, however, I've found that collectors get "giddy" about a particular thing and they rush in (and usually buy it) before thinking it through.
     
  8. Troodon

    Troodon Coin Collector

    The picture very clearly shows the word "COPY" on the reverse and anybody with an even rudimentary knowledge of coins knows a real one would be .900 silver, not .999 silver. I don't see how this listing is the least bit fradulent, you have a very clear picture of what you'll get and are bidding on. Even if it's not spelled out in huge letters this is a replica, it's pretty obvious after a few seconds of looking at the listing is. I'm sure there's many good examples of fraud on eBay, but this isn't one of them imo. You'd have to be more than just merely ignorant about coins to be fooled into thinking this was real; you'd have to pretty much be blind. Not having "COPY" or "REPLICA" may technically be against eBay rules but I still don't see it as a blatant example of intentional fraud.
     
  9. USS656

    USS656 Here to Learn Supporter

    IMO - I think it is a good rule and it should always be followed w/o exception. Glad they pulled it. There are certian rules that should not be broken - this site does it and it works good in my opinion. Keeps everyone honest even if they did not intend to break or bend a rule. No harm done to the seller as he can re-list following the rules. More importantly - no harm done to any buyers.
     
  10. NPCoin

    NPCoin Resident Imbecile

    I completely agree with you on the fact of the listing not being fraudulent. However, eBay has a listing rule regarding any coin that is not in fact, or believed to be by the seller, authentic. If the coin is not authentic, and a copy or replica, then the listing itself must state that fact. This is the point that Satootoko was making, I believe. eBay, by ignoring or refusing to remove many of these listing violations, has acted unethically. If eBay is going to have a rule, they should enforce it. If I'm not mistaken, it is the ethical values of eBay that he was making a point of, not the legal issues of fraud.
     
  11. stevethebull

    stevethebull New Member

    .....and.....if it looks too good to be true.....it is.
     
  12. smullen

    smullen Coin Hoarder

    While copies of actual coins (unless an oversized Generic Trade Round) disgust me and I do wish E-bay and other sites would do more to discurage these when used in effort to scam people...

    I'm not dumping on e-bay for this, I think its Buyer beware everwhere... It'd be nice if it was in the title too, but it clearly said ""COPY"" in the description and it also showed it stamped across the coin...

    Actually, I think ebay should make a section just for Copys and the like...

    You know here you pick,
    Cents,
    Nickels,
    Dimes,
    Halfs,
    Dollars,
    Bullion,
    Proof Sets,
    Mint Sets,
    Lots,
    Etc... Add one called Copys, replicas or whatever the correct term would be.... I wonder if there is a way to suggest this to E-bay?



    Anyway, Where ever you buys something you can get ripped off...

    Example:

    I'm into Home Theaters... Several years ago, I was a lot less educated on what worked with what and what I was buying...

    I went to the local HIFI store and bought a Sony STR-D1015 Stereo Reciever...

    Before purchasing it, I asked the sales guy if it had Pre-Outs on the back so I could later upgrade and add external amps for Subwoofers, and amps for addional power for the Surrounds and other channels... He assured me that it had pre-outs for all channels....


    Fast forward a year and a half later... I finally saved up enough cash to buy a nice amp and a nice Sub, I got all the stuff, built a nice enclosure was wiring everythng up and HOLY CRAP, this receiver, does not in fact have the PRE outs that I was led to think it had when I purchased it...

    So, now I'm stuck...

    I did not think to pull the Demo unit off the Shelf to amke note of what inputs and outputs it had on the back rear...

    Now I make it a point to know more about the item I'm buying than the guy selling it to me...
     
  13. satootoko

    satootoko Retired

    Exactly!

    This particular rule violation may be relatively minor, although there are far too many people who don't read the full descriptions and could be mislead by this listing. BUT, and it is a BIG but, it is symptomatic of EBay's philosophy of having rules that make them look like they really have the bidders' interests at heart, but regularly and consistently failing to enforce them if enforcement might diminish their fee income. :(
     
  14. samjimmy

    samjimmy New Member

    My biggest problem with ebay is that they need to have a simple link on each auction page like posts do here on the forum. Click link, it generates a report, with a comment area for you to give a short explanation. Now, they do have a "report this item" link at the very bottom (shoudl be at the top), and if you click on it you can report the item for a variety of reasons, choose a subject, and include the item number, but there's no where to explain the exact problem, and the closest you could get (after clicking a redundant "contact us" link which I'm sure people miss) is "Intentionally misleading or deceptive titles." It's entirely possible that the title isn't intentionally misleading or deceptive, just that it isn't accurate.
     
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