How to handle Counterfeit US Silver Eagle purchased on eBay

Question

I bought 3 Counterfeit US Silver Eagles on eNay. Shipped from US address but later discovered the seller is in China (red flag). If it was a US Seller, I would be inclined to contact the FBI since these are counterfeit US currency. Since the seler is in China, I suppose my best outcome is a return and refund. But it would b NICE if we could get the seller kicked off eBay. Numerous others have now filed negative feedback about counterfeit silver eagles that have come in since I bought mine. (I ha...

eburtonlab · Answer

@stantillotson

Now that you have received a counterfeit item, starting a return for a refund is the best way to get the seller's account shut down and get yourself a refund.

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.

If you have waited too long to ask for help from eBay, you may still have some recourse through your payment method; many credit cards offer some protection for purchases for up to six months from the date of purchase.