Ebay refusing to remove counterfeit gold listing (federal crime: 18 U.S. Code § 485)
I reported this listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/317840983160?itmmeta=01KHF1TP8SW6WKF4T15XEXR4GG&hash=item4a00cc8478:g:oGUAAeSwSahpeRad
the seller is offering gold bullion for well under melt value. a previous buyer noted the same item received was fake. the seller has -1 feedback. 8 U.S. Code § 485 prohibits the counterfeiting, passing, or possessing of false gold or silver coins and bars intended for use as current money in the United States, whether domestic or foreign. Violations can result in fines and up to 15 years in prison.
Ebay responded that the listing did not violate their guidelines.
Ebay's guidelines should include not enabling federal crimes.
15 comments
nh_sales_lv
·6 months agoIf I had gold bars they wouldn't be sold at ebay. You can literally sell them back to the bullion exchanges for 50 bucks less than what they sell them for. Mind you this is so much cheaper and with Ebays cut nobody would be selling a bar for a loss. This is most likely a scam attempt from Children. Some 13 year old thinks he will Bernie Madeoff
tobaccocardyahoo
·6 months agoLong time Ebay sellers are extremely aware of how many false and malicious claims are made by Ebay sellers, as is Ebay.
You as an Ebay seller or equally as unlikely to be trusted as the seller you report.
It is claims by buyers for Ebay MBG coverage which are viewed for patterns of deception.
inhawaii
·6 months agoI'm so glad that when someone has a "hunch" you're selling counterfeits that is NOT a federal crime.
12345jamesstamps
·6 months agoThe sad thing is someone actually bought one in the past.
Kinda tells us how some buyers are rather clueless about anything or everything.
greencheekvintage
OP6 months agoWith today's automated tools, it would be trivial for ebay to highlight likely scams; offering gold for $600 below market value by a seller with only one, negative feedback. It's clear the platform is willfully turning a blind eye, which I personally don't appreciate. If they refuse de-platform such listings especially when explicitly alerted to them, and instead state there is "no violation of ebay policies" I think they're exposing themselves to liability...just my opinion. They're certainly not proactively looking out for buyers.
onefootflipper
·6 months agoThe way ebay is set up current laws pretty much hold them immune to most any responsibility for listings. (Protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act).
Also, any attempts at AI delisting will absolutely sweep up innocent sellers.
Finally, you can't fix stupid, in more ways than one. That seller is trying a scam that doesn't work. Ebay is going to hold the funds, and the buyers are going to put in claims. You also can't fix stupid customers either. If you can't sell gold on ebay then the attempted scammers will just switch to something else too good to be true, and once again likely get shut down before they ever get their money.
Really, probably the only successful scam sellers on ebay are normal traditional high volume sellers who do almost all legitimate business but mix in a scam sale from time to time and hope that they get a buyer who doesn't notice or know how to complain. Like they only ship the rock in place of the $500 item to someone with a brand new ebay account.
short_circuit.lineman61
·6 months agofor very good reasons ebay does not take reports like yours seriously, if they did there would be a lot of false claims from competitors. If it is a scammer they will not last long.
Personally I would absolutely not sell or buy precious metals on ebay
onefootflipper
·6 months agoThe seller committed the crime, not ebay.
Report the seller to law enforcement, ebay is not law enforcement.
And technically you have no way of knowing if a crime was committed or not. It is possible (although not likely) that the "customer" used ebay to steal the gold from the seller.
reallynicestamps
·6 months agoEBay will not respond to one report, because the reporter has no proof.
The reporter might be mistaken.
Or a competitor.
The buyer who left a negative, left an opinion.
The buyer did not open a Claim which would have given them a full refund.
It is possible that the buyer was mistaken.
It is possible that the buyer was a malicious competitor.
There are a lot of counterfeit (and "replica" ) coins offered on eBay.
And online generally.
EBay can act to get refunds for buyers who think they have been mislead, but it is not a court of law.
ten_o_nine
·6 months agoBut the seller sold 2 bars with the same certificate/serial number.
stainlessenginecovers
·6 months ago@ten_o_nine "sold" does NOT mean 'paid for and completed'. I've seen many sellers 'sold' items over and over again (1 of so not a dup).
ten_o_nine
·6 months agoI know, but red flags exist. and they are there with seller rating of -1.
stainlessenginecovers
·6 months ago@ten_o_nine and that's a whole other Oprah....
marnotom!
·6 months agoRed flags are signs of something suspicious, but they’re not iron-clad evidence of wrongdoing.
reallynicestamps
·6 months agoBut the seller sold 2 bars with the same certificate/serial number.
Do you mean the seller used the same picture for multiple listings?
A stupid thing to do, but not proof that the bars are counterfeit.
What did they ship?
Did the buyer return the two identical bars as part of their Claim?