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Fake Sterling Silver items on Ebay.
In the last year I bought 14 vintage 925 Sterling Silver Bangle bracelets (mostly marked TAXCO MEXICO or just MEXICO) on ebay. Because Silver went way up in value (over $100 an ounce) I decided to sell them for scrap at a local recycling place. They tested them and guess how many were fake? Not one or two or five, ALL 14 WERE FAKE. I bought them from 8 different sellers and paid almost $200 total for them and NONE were actually Sterling Silver, even though all of them were stamped "925" or "STERLING". I also always checked them with a magnet, and none of these were magnetic.
Now the best part, when I contacted Ebay about their Buyer Protection policy, they said since 13 were purchase more than 30 days ago they wouldn't do anything for me, no refunds or even gift cards. The other one I could still return.
Then when I asked what was I supposed to do with them all? the supervisor I had on the phone told me I could resell them.
Has anyone else been testing their sterling silver jewelry and finding fake items? Has any one found a way to get refunds from ebay on fake items?
gosimus
Mentor8 months ago@jkma2z
< Shouldn't ebay require this since these sellers are ruining ebay's reputation? >
eBay expects the description of the item to be accurate, but eBay can't watch over the shoulders of every seller. But what eBay can require, and does require, is that the seller will give your money back when their description is inaccurate, whether accidentally or intentionally. When you file for the refund within the eligible timeframe.
tenbigdogs
Mentor8 months agoHi @jkma2z I'm sorry this happened to you. eBay provides the best customer protection online with it's Money Back Guarantee. But it must be utilized timely. The Guarantee is good for roughly 30 days from the date of purchase. Apparently one of your items is still within the time limit. If an Item Not Described return claim is filed within the time limit, eBay stands behind its buyers 100%. The problem here is you waited too long for most of your items. Please familiarize yourself with the details of eBay's Money Back Guarantee at the eBay Help page linked below.
If you are going to continue to buy this type of item on eBay or anywhere else, you might want to invest in a gold/precious metals authenticator. They are available in every size and price point right here on eBay. That way you could test items for authenticity as soon as you receive them. Good luck!
eBay Help Page on Returns: https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/returns-items-not-received-refunds-buyers/returns-items-not-received-refunds-buyers?id=4008&st=3&pos=1&query=Returns%2C%20items%20not%20received%2C%20and%20refunds%20for%20buyers&intent=Money%20Back%20Guarantee&lucenceai=lucenceai&docId=HELP1146
jkma2z
OP8 months agoSo you're saying that it's the responsibility of all the buyers of gold and silver jewelry to buy a tester for hundreds or thousands of dollars because there is a very good chance it is going to be fake? That would mean 10's of millions of buyers on ebay would need to do this. Shouldn't it be the responsibility of the sellers to test their items since they are the ones saying it is Sterling silver? Shouldn't ebay require this since these sellers are ruining ebay's reputation?
Thank you.
tenbigdogs
Mentor8 months agoHi @jkma2z A simple gold/precious metals testing kit is like $20. Tens of millions of eBay buyers who buy precious metals have them, yes they do, so they can test the item themselves as soon as they receive. You can act in your own best interests, or you can expect others to act in your best interests instead of their own. eBay would have helped you with a complete refund if you had acted in your own best interests even to the extent of learning how the site works before you spent money on it. You missed the deadline to get refunded. Again, good luck!
eburtonlab
Mentor8 months ago@jkma2z
Counterfeit items are not allowed to be listed on eBay at all. No one is authorized to sell counterfeit items. That fact alone does not stop some people from trying to sell them, however.
The problem is that unscrupulous or uninformed sellers can list genuine items and then deliver counterfeit items.
It is not always possible to look at a listing and know in advance exactly what, if anything, the seller intends to deliver. For one thing, a scammer can simply copy a listing from a genuine seller, using a genuine photo of a genuine item.
Except for a few specific categories of items that go through authentication, eBay never sees what the seller ships or the what the buyer receives, so there is nothing for eBay to check unless someone complains about what was received by invoking eBay's money back guarantee.
Sellers are responsible for the descriptions they provide, and buyers should not assume that eBay screens the listings in advance.
As long as counterfeits exist and there are folks trying to sell them, buyers will still have to be on the lookout for them, and avoid deals that are obviously too-good-to-be-true, whether they are being sold by accounts registered overseas or by domestic sellers wittingly or unwittingly buying counterfeits from overseas to sell here.
Buyers that doubt their ability to distinguish a genuine article from a counterfeit one should only consider purchasing from trustworthy sellers that have an established reputation for delivering exactly what was described, and should avoid deals that are too-good-to-be-true, or deals that are offered by inexperienced sellers that might disappear soon after the transaction is made, or else be prepared to get items authenticated by trusted sources within thirty days to be able to take advantage of eBay's money back guarantee.
jkma2z
OP8 months agoI just went back to the purchases and all of the sellers except one are still selling on ebay and they all are trusted sellers with 98-100% feedback with high feedback numbers and all are from the United States.
I'm sure some of them may have not even known they were selling fake items.
Also, these were one of a kind vintage bracelets with the correct pictures and none were great deals that were to-good-to-be-true and I unfortunately paid a fair price for them all.
I was expecting that a couple of them might be fake, but was blown away when he said ALL of them were fake.
It's an expensive lesson, but at least I know where not to buy any more sterling from.
Also, getting bracelets checked to be authentic within 30 days is not easy, Jewelry stores won't do it for free anymore (you need to pay for an appraisal which costs more than the bracelets do) and the recycling/scrap places will only do it if your selling to them.
Actually the worst part is that I thought Ebay had this buyer protection thing and would help me get my money back or something, but instead wouldn't do anything except to tell me to resell them which I won't do to someone else.
gosimus
Mentor8 months ago@jkma2z
< They tested them and . . . I was . . . blown away when he said ALL of them were fake >
How did they test them? Is there another place where you could get another test? After they told you they weren't silver, did they make you an offer for them anyway?
jkma2z
OP8 months agoThey have an expensive machine that scans them and tells the percent of each metal in them (he showed me the read out). Most were made up of mostly brass with thin silver plate, an one was nickel and something else. They didn't want them because they weren't worth more than a couple cents each. I also had other silver items that they paid me for.