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Counterfeit coins Silver American Eagles
Summary: pjustini shared concerns about receiving counterfeit American Eagle coins from sellers on eBay and discussed the challenges of returning such items, which could enable scammers to resell them. They emphasized the legal implications and questioned eBay's role in preventing these issues, suggesting that arbitration or a class action lawsuit might address broader accountability. gosimus advised purchasing from reputable sellers and suggested eBay’s refund process, while comics-scifi-collectibles recommended contacting eBay customer service or filing a police report to secure a refund without returning counterfeit goods. mam98031 questioned eBay's responsibility since they don’t handle the items.
I’ve purchased several coins advertised as .999 pure silver American Eagle $1 coins from three different sellers on eBay and each coin was fake. Each coin tested positive as being made of copper when I got them appraised a jeweler who buys and sells gold and silver. Testing included - Density testing, size, weight and metal content. One of my purchases was immediately refunded by eBay with no return necessary. But the other ones required a return for a refund. The problem I see is returning counterfeit coins to a scammer to simply resell. It is federal crime to deal in counterfeit coins. 18 USC §485 prohibits falsely making, forging or counterfeiting a coin that resembles a US coin and also prohibits selling, passing, possessing a counterfeit coin with the intent to defraud. And American Silver Eagles fall with the statute. Also, violations can result in a fine and/or imprisonment for up to 15 years. I’m positive I am not the only one who fell victim to these scams. My question is what should I do? Contact secret service and open an investigation into the sellers and eBay’s vetting process for allowing this scam to continue, particularly since it’s been widely reported that it is happening on their platform. Or return the fake coins to the seller, get my refund and let everyone get away with this nonsense? Curious to know if this happened to others and what you did to resolve and learn what eBay is doing to help curb this activity.
comics-scifi-collectibles
Mentor2 weeks ago@pjustini You can try contacting customer service directly to see if they will force a refund from the seller without requiring a refund. I have heard from others that filing a police report prior to contacting eBay can help to get this approved.
The eBay Money Back Guarantee does state that you may not be required to return a counterfeit item.
The path of least resistance is to send back a note with a photo or other documentation that shows the coin is counterfeit.
Sellers pay return shipping for not as described items however coin returns MUST be filed within THREE days of the date of the delivery.
I recommend contacting customer service on social media for assistance.
Here's how to contact a general customer service agent:
https://www.ebay.com/help/contact?type=ContactUs&topicId=4000
2. Select a category that best matches your problem.
3. Answer the chat bots question by stating what you need help with. Be brief, don't go into details.
4.Type AGENT ( you may have repeat steps 3 and 4)
5. Request a call back or live chat. (Note that the contact options vary depending on the topic and staffing availability)
Monday to Sunday 5:00 am to 09:30 pm PST
OR Contact customer service on social media using a PRIVATE message>
https://www.instagram.com/ebay/
6-6 Pacific Time M-F
pjustini
OP1 week agoThank you for your helpful response.
gosimus
Mentor2 weeks ago@pjustini
< I’ve purchased several coins advertised as .999 pure silver American Eagle $1 coins from three different sellers on eBay and each coin was fake >
They say "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Could those sellers have happened to be in China? No matter, there are thieves everywhere.
I buy precious metal too, and I recommend that you do the same thing I do: Buy from reputable, established sellers, such as Apmex or JMBullion. Both have a presence here on eBay. Of the two, I prefer Apmex, their selection is larger.
pjustini
OP2 weeks agoHere is my supposition - eBay knew, or should have known, that substantial numbers of counterfeit coins were being sold on their platform, venue or marketplace and nevertheless failed to take reasonable measures to prevent or stop the conduct, resulting in consumer losses. Generally, issues on eBay go to arbitration rather than court per user agreement but there are always exceptions. The Number of counterfeit coins sold, number of harmed victims, pattern and history of consumer complaints, same repeat sellers or same network of fraudulent sellers continuing to violate eBay agreements and continue to operate on eBay, pattern of eBay taking inadequate action despite repeated complaints and notice. So while a class action lawsuit may be stymied by a user agreement that calls for binding arbitration, thousands of individual arbitration hearings will get noticed. And just maybe, Federal crimes involving substantial numbers of US victims that involve large sums of money and exposes counterfeit operations and their distribution network may be what it takes to get a class action lawsuit started. So if there are folks out there that have thoughts on this or who have been victims, or made complaints or who can document gaps / discrepancies in what eBay’s stated anti-counterfeit policies are and what is actually done. Please join the conversation.
gosimus
Mentor2 weeks ago@pjustini
< issues on eBay go to arbitration rather than court >
Your situation hardly requires arbitration. When you got those fake coins, your recourse was the Not As Described process to get your money back. Did you do that?
pjustini
OP2 weeks agoYou missed the point. Arbitration is not to resolve a dispute against a seller. It’s to resolve damages done to consumers that could have or should have been prevented by the venue. Arbitration is for claims against eBay which the company prefers to keep them out of court.
Regarding the seller - the first tip off something was wrong was the tracking information. Shipping times and locations made no sense. A US seller of a US minted coins but shipping / tracking information was bogus. Things like the package being marked as “delivered” by DHL when it was not. Shipping origin China, to Hawaii to NY in less than 10 hours. Package being delivered 4 days after it was marked as delivered by a random person - not a DHL, FedEx, or UPS driver. This all made no sense so the coins were tested, determined to be fake and complaints made, and refunds given. Except one seller wants his fake coins returned. So do we as a community want them returned to be resold or do we demand a bit more accountability?
gosimus
Mentor2 weeks ago · Edited< one seller wants his fake coins returned >
I don't think the seller wants the fake coins. He wants to add to your difficulty, in the hope that you'll drop the whole thing. Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.
mam98031
Mentor2 weeks agoSince Ebay never sees or handles these coins, how is it that they should know there is a problem with them?