What to do if I suspect a fake?

[femtolady]

Hi Folks,

I was using n.s.sherlock's ebay article "Coin Fake Detection - Valid Trade Dollar Types" to check some trade dollars currently listed.  I found one that is very obviously a fake according to that document.  Obviously I will not bid on the item, but is it usual to then report the listing?  I'm pretty new to ebay, and am not a professional coin collector by any means, so I don't want to do the wrong thing here.

-femtolady

[n.s.sherlock]

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@fforce wrote:

YES THEY ARE LOSING SALES ON THE BAD ITEMS AND E-BAY PEOPLE NEEDED TO WORK ON THESE PROBLEMS AND THAT ALSO COST .ITS NOW OPEN SEASON ON BUYERS WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE BUYING

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Amen.

[fin-fang-foom]

I'm trying to fill in some of the holes in my Lincoln cent collection and have recently been looking on Ebay for a 1914D. I'd heard that this coin was often counterfeited, so I did some research before I started bidding.

One of the more common forgeries is the altered 1944D. Whenever I see someone listing one of these, I contact them and try to explain the situation in a non-threatening manner. Most of those that I've contacted have been receptive and, more often than not, will remove the listing or add a disclaimer. Others are defiant and, with apparently little or no knowledge of the subject, they remain convinced that the coin is NOT a fake because "We don't sell fakes!". With people like this I simply recommend that they should not take my word for it but instead do a bit of research on their own and see what they find. I've never contacted Ebay because I don't believe it's a very high priority for them, and I don't like wasting my time.

My most recent experience was with item 141456210601, which had about 10 different bidders and ended up selling for $152. Wow! 

[davidx256]

Hello Fin-Fang-Foom,

Thank you for pointing this item out. For sure this is a modified 1944 D that has been altered to look like a 1914D. eBay does take this seriously and I know that the buyer of this coin would receive a full refund and the seller would receive a repremand for selling this obvious altered coin.

Even if the seller were not a numismatist they should take the coin back and upon even a tiny amount of research realize that they presented an altered coin.

Thanks for sharing this with the group.

Regards,
David McConaghy/Davidx256

Numismatist

New England Coin Exchange

[animater9]

I'm sorry but I have been sold counterfeit coins and even the wrong coins. EBay has no clue and doesn't care. They use to but now days if you get ripped off its all yours.
Sorry to say it but eBay cares about making money not if someone sells you a fake or sells you one thing but sends you something else. Oh yes they ?MAY? Give you your money back but if you are a big seller you get off with murder. I had a store and had 73,items listed me and 3 friends looked for all of them as if we were buying. Only 6 were there. I called the tech supervisor thought I was crazy. She searched for 2 and found nothing. It was fixed but it still happens all the time. They don't care if your items are being seen or not! Just like counterfeit coins. You buy them your stuck with them. Sorry but that's the truth.

[animater9]

I bought a 32 d from a lady here also. Got it for a steal. But it looked good on line. When I got it I notified her and she reashured me it wasn't as you I collect errors and counterfeits also I told her I would send it in she asked me to send it back for a full refund. I felt good about it as well. After is WS sent back in a body bag. I got to thinking she had another one on there and I bought it also. It was fake also she knows what she is doing. I told her if I saw her on eBay with more 32d quarters I'd press charges. It sounds just like her. Watch out. Some are dealing in counterfeit coins. I called eBay and explained what happened, they didn't care.

[johnandceil]

Here's a common type of misrepresentation with a new twist. The seller cuts the banknote impression from a souvenir card and calls it a "proof".

This person has sold close to $4,000 worth of these with an investment of maybe $400 (43 cards at $5 to $10 per souvenir card) since Oct. 8th. I've seen this done before but never on this scale. I've reported the guy several times, but eBay doesn't care. This is really getting disgusting. I've stopped buying coins because of all the counterfeits for sale.

[fin-fang-foom]

Hi David,

Thank you for the encouraging words. I did some searches on Ebay, but was unable to find any documentation about how to report a counterfeit coin. Are you familiar with Ebay's preferred method for reporting a coin such as the 1914D that I mentioned earlier?

Thanks,

Louis

[z28zoooom]

thanks for posting that listing; it is indeed very convoluted and misleading.
have learned from many years on eBay that In every category on eBay there are some misrepresentations,mishandling, and mistakes in identification; most are unintentional.
have also tried to right the wrongs of some really awful dishonest eBay sellers.
at the end of the day, eBay is just a trading site, they allow us opportunities we never had 20 years ago ,and do try to address the sellers' issues.they also, at one time, were willing to pursue the "wrongs", if an "expert in the field" was presenting the complaint/report.
on ebay , due diligence is a must for buyers and sellers.
If someone cheats you, your other recourse is to report them to the local authorities or file a civil suit. have seen more than a few court cases on tv that involve eBay transactions.
JMHO 🙂

[davidx256]

Hello fin,

It is very easy to report a counterfeit. Here's how:

1. Go to the listing and look right above the item details to the far right

2. You will see the options for Print | Report Item

3. Click on Report item and follow the choices

At the end you will need to point out the specifics of the counterfeit. This will be reviewed by eBay and by a group of "experts" that they lean on for help on very specific concerns like counterfeit coins.

From my experience eBay does take this seriously and they do investigate. Like any organization they might not always get it 100% correct but I do think that they get it right most of the time.

Good luck and thanks for looking out for all of us.

David McConaghy

Numismatist

New England Coin Exchange

Davidx256

[animater9]

I have went and reported items from people using the report item button (now how hard is it to find what you are trying to say in this area?LOL). I THINK IT IS THERE TO MAKE PEOPLE FEEL BETTER? I have called eBay many times and they do nothing! So the one person that said the wrong thing to do is to not do anything is right. Although I have tried everything I can think of and eBay doesn't care. They use to have a group of people that did go and check out reports but they bisbanned them.
As for knowing what it is you are suppose to be buying, that is the real deal. I was always told Buy the Book then buy the coin. Most don't care to learn. I have found that most are just looking for scrap and they won't pay anything for a collector coin. Most have no clue as to what they are selling and don't care. Their are a lot of people that knowingly sell counterfeit its. When reported eBay doe nothing because they are paying them (eBay) a lot of money. You will find that if your feedback is around 500 they don't care what you do. I had a person that eBay told I was an unregistered seller and that is what they said in feed back, when in fact they didn't want to pay for there item. I was dropped to 93%. I called eBay and they removed the persons remarks but said there was nothing they could do about the rating. I asked what can I do? There response was sell more. Lol sell more that was it. As you van see in the rules if you don't sell or have a lot of items listed with feedback your items go to the bottom. If there are 300 items yours won't probably be seen. That is why when you are looking for something people that have high feedback are always on top. No matter what. EBay has been selling coins for a long time now so they don't care. I buy or sale very seldom on eBay anymore. You pay your fees to list and sell but no one ever sees them because you don't have a high enough feedback.
Try this list something in coins. After your done and it has been listed start at the top and find your listing. The chances are very good you won't find it. Don't use your sales menus, look for it as if you were looking for an item but not sure what it is. Say you list a nickel go look for a nickel don't look for the year or mm look for it as you would if you were just browsing. Good luck. As for counterfeit reporting? Well I can tell you that if they have a high enough feedback it will get lost in the shuffle. Just like grading raw coins. Not suppose to grade them yourself. Everyone does it and the ones with high feedback will never get kicked. Good luck if you don't know what you are buying don't buy it. Don't take the chance unless you just have to.

[fin-fang-foom]

Well I just made my first "report" on another 1944D altered to look like a 1914D, item 371191219044. There are currently 10 bids on it and the price is up to $69. I'll keep you all informed about whether or not anything is done about the listing.

[fin-fang-foom]

As of around noon today (Nov 20), the listing has been ended. The reason given was "an error in the listing", so it's hard for me to say definitively whether it was the result of my report or for some other reason. Still, it's good to see one less counterfeit coin being sold as genuine.