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Should Replicas be stopped on eBay ?


Pete

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There are more listings appearing daily for replica silver coins on eBay.

Some sellers will identify them as plated but some are somewhat cheeky in their descriptions.

My concern is the unwary buyer seeing the pictures and thinking they have won a genuine 1 ounce fine silver Eagle. What if down the line the buyer flips it not knowing it is not the real thing ? Could we tell it is a fake ?

Maybe if sufficient stackers annoy eBay by reporting this junk they might take notice.

If I photocopied a £20 note and listed it, would I not be committing a serious crime - so how do they get away with coins that are also considered legal tender ?

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I think YES they should be stopped.

 

but as long as they do not "contravene" any eBay rules then they will allow them to be listed.

 

I think even if they do they will still allow them on.

 

As you say to the the adverts on some are tagged so as to appear to be .999 silver to the unwary buyer they can be easily misled.

 

Keith

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They don't seem to care. 

 

At one point I got a reply from the ebay fraud department and they told me to just keep reporting the listings.

 

Maybe for example if you saw fake gold Brits you could email the royal mint and maybe they'd contact ebay.

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It's illegal, technically it's selling counterfeit currency.

But eBay won't really care unless the mint themselves talks to eBay.

My posts are my personal opinions, they do not constitute advice or financial advice.

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Absolutely it should be stopped ,but as I have said on here and SS its no good moaning about it. report to ebay every instance you see of this s--t and one day they will get the message.

 

I reported an incidence to Perth mint re fake kooks,this was their response.

 

 

Dear Mr ------------,

 

Thankyou for your email and your interest in Perth Mint products.  Thankyou also for drawing our attention to these listed products.  We are aware of companies in China making cheap copies of our coins and your email has prompted us to address this issue to our wider audience via our blog.  I hope this answers your queries.

 

http://www.perthmintbullion.com/au/blog/blog/14-03-11/Buyer_Beware_Counterfeit_Coins.aspx

 

Thanks and Best Regards

 

Tracey Cobby

Coin Development Supervisor

The Perth Mint

The problem with common sense is, its not that common.

 

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I once saw an eBayer selling coins that were fake but the way they were described was misleading. Only in the small print was there a tiny hint so I guess keeping eBay sweet. I was so tempted to buy these coins then not pay and report to the fraud squad but then I thought in doing the stacker community a big service, I would end up being the looser with all sorts of negative feedback about not paying on feeBay .. There was a list of at least 10 items and I reported every one and contacted eBay about the seller but as everyone else has commented they apparently didn't give a s*hit so I stopped reporting items as a waste of effort. Might be worth adding to an eBay blog somewhere of name and shame though.

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IThere was a list of at least 10 items and I reported every one and contacted eBay about the seller but as everyone else has commented they apparently didn't give a s*hit so I stopped reporting items as a waste of effort. Might be worth adding to an eBay blog somewhere of name and shame though.

 

Well done for reporting those items Pete,I still report every fake coin I see,if everyone did that ebay may take some notice.

The problem with common sense is, its not that common.

 

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Do you report all items, or just those not appropriately described?

If it is a fake or described as 1 ounce .9999 silver with a picture of an Eagle for example, but plated then it gets reported with the item number. As said earlier this does seem a waste of time though. Selling dodgy coins with a face value is selling counterfeit. Selling rounds etc is okay provided they are not replicas of the genuine item stamped with weight and purity. Not sure who you can report this crime to. Some people may not take any notice but how would you feel if you received one of these fakes and would you be able to tell ?

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I would let this carry on INFACT I PURCHASE THEM. Need to buy plated or clad silver and gold for anti theft measures that I have in place. 

As long as they CLEARLY state it in the title AND description I do not see anything wrong

Wow !

You buy this junk !

Okay - the seller states on his listing that the coin is fake so you can tell what you are buying.

I have never seen one of these but you say you have some.

I look at the photographs and they show a replica stamped 999 one ounce fine silver.

Where on the coin does is state that it is not solid fine silver ?

If you got one of these fakes mixed in with your genuine coins could you identify it ?

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I would let this carry on INFACT I PURCHASE THEM. Need to buy plated or clad silver and gold for anti theft measures that I have in place. 

As long as they CLEARLY state it in the title AND description I do not see anything wrong

 

Wouldn't you mind if you purchased a load of coins from someone and then in the future you come to sell them and the dealer tells you that all your coins are fake silver? I am sure some of these coins slip there way into the market and are not noticed even by the person reselling them.

If these coins are readily available on eBay, then it makes it easier for people to cheat you.

If its ok to sell fake coins on eBay, why not make it ok to sell fake notes?

My posts are my personal opinions, they do not constitute advice or financial advice.

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I do not purchase from ebay, Unless it is a Verified and reputable dealer, ALSO the person selling has verified its authenticity CLEARLY. So If anything happens I can return said Item due to ebay protection. 

Most of my bullion is purchased infact 99.999 percent of my silver is from a private dealer, who also happens to sell on ebay. 

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I would let this carry on INFACT I PURCHASE THEM. Need to buy plated or clad silver and gold for anti theft measures that I have in place. 

As long as they CLEARLY state it in the title AND description I do not see anything wrong

 

Basically by buying this c--p you are supporting counterfitters who are breaking patent and design laws in Australia,see what Perth mint has to say about this c--p.

 

If no one bought this stuff it would not be made, by buying it for what ever purpose you are putting money in their pockets and this s--t will and does get onto ebay for some unsuspecting buyer to purchase.

The problem with common sense is, its not that common.

 

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I do not purchase from ebay, Unless it is a Verified and reputable dealer, ALSO the person selling has verified its authenticity CLEARLY. So If anything happens I can return said Item due to ebay protection. 

Most of my bullion is purchased infact 99.999 percent of my silver is from a private dealer, who also happens to sell on ebay.

Did I understand you right ?

You buy fakes & replicas from trusted sources ?

If you get a chance could you respond to earlier comments regarding how to tell if a replica is junk metal since it doesn't appear to have fine silver 9999 etc struck off the face. Only asking because you admitted to having some and I have necer seen one so unable to compare - thanks.

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I received 2x 1oz bars today from ebay sold as real, neither are magnetic, the sunshine mint is 31.23 (over weight) and the buffalo 30.87 (under weight). I'm waiting for a caliper to check the dimensions but they're looking like fakes to me, they don't sound right when pinged either.

Also bought a couple of ounces of silver in some pre 20s coins from same seller who made the weight up with a 5p and a couple post 47 shillings, not as described so asked for the extra 10gramish of silver missing.

It's a PITA because now I have that amount of money in these 2 bars and if I can't tell with a caliper I'll have to acid test them and mark them, then have to wait ages for a refund, then they expect you to spend your time and money posting them back.

If a seller sells me something on ebay and it's not as described or fake then this is how I deal with it.

If they sound genuine and have been ripped off themselves, apologetic and offer a refund straight away unaware they'd sold a fake then I can live with that.

If the items just completely not as described and the seller has clearly tried to pull the wool over my eyes like I think this guy has today, then I'll claim a refund through paypal and ignore the guys messages when he asks for me to return them, or maybe pour some acid over the bars so the silver comes off and send them back while keeping the coins.

There's no need to scam people and the people out there doing it need to face some consequences and repercussions.

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A replica should have a clear indication of being a replica though, like the word "copy", maybe other things like different artwork or other things obvious to the eye. I don't see anything wrong with that as long as they're priced for what they are. It could be a novelty item, used as a sample test if real gold plate, collected or enjoyed by people who can't afford a small fortune for the real thing or a real set.

If it clearly and obviously doesn't indicate it's a replica and is basically an exact copy of the real thing then I'd class that as a forgery, if it's priced like the real thing then that's just plain ripping people off.

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I agree and unfortunately they're the ones that are being made in masses with the full intent of being counterfeit and such a large variety of refineries. They fetch near on the same prices as the real things but are worth nothing unlike the real thing.

Where's trading standards ay.

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