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

[stormynurse]

Report it.

BTW, Welcome! 

[davidx256]

Hello,

The appropriate action would be to contact the seller and present your concerns. In the past I have had coin auctions pulled down because someone thought they were counterfiet. You can imagine the stress this causes to someone like myself who deals in millions of dollars worth of rare coins each month. My 20+ years as a professional numismatist is no match for the way that eBay allows items to be taken down.

If you feel strongly that this is a counterfiet and the seller is unresponsive then you should go ahead and report the item. The link to report the item is right above the description to the right.

I am glad that you posted your question here before taking action.

Regards,

New England Coin Exchange

[n.s.sherlock]

A seller selling a fake that does not know it is a fake usually appreciates being contacted, but some do not.  They will let you know.

A seller selling a fake that knows it is a fake does not want to be contacted.  They may or may not let you know.

The prolem is, many times you don't know if you are dealing with a crook or an uninformed seller.

Using my guide, http://www.ebay.com/gds/Coin-Fake-Detection-Valid-Trade-Dollar-Types-/10000000016003602/g.html , is just one way to spot a fake trade dollar.  It is a very obvious when the coin has an obvers and reverse type never minted on genuine coins. 

[davidx256]

Hi Norm,

However your information is received by the seller the right thing to do is to let him/her know what you think about the coin in question. What he/she does next will govern what you do next. I think that most people selling on eBay will be glad to get your information and those that are up to no good will not feel welcome and will eventually go away.

The difficulty we have is that eBay has given a voice to everyone, qualified or not. Competitors can call a coin into question with legtiamate or illegitimate intentions. Once a complaint is logged the seller gets punished regardless of what the truth is.

I am a proponent on making things right and looking out for everyone else once you see something is fake but I use my 30+ years of experience and I fully understand the weight of my allegations before I launch them.

I have found that good and not so good sellers respond exactly as I had hoped they would and they pull the items down or they print my concerns. I don't need some empiric power to take down any auction that I suspect is not 100% legit. If you pull back from that temptation and let the seller respond you will find that you get the result that you are after almost 100% of the time.

I think this is why we still have trials in the US before we take people off to jail...at least for now anyway.

Cheers,
David Mc

New England Coin Exchange

ANA PCGS NGC

[soder47erik]

I believe The only way that you could do the wrong thing here is by not doing anything at all. If you don't want to report that Coin listing and maybe you should contact the seller and tell him what you found out about his coin. I think that it's rather admirable of you to search through the eBay site and see if you noticed a seller dealing counterfeit coins. Do you still have the link of the of Coin site if so could you copy it and send it to me I'd like to take a look at the Coin and give you my opinion on it. And if indeed the seller is knowledgeably selling counterfeit coins then there's no question about it Ithen someone has to put a stop to it immediately. Also if the seller is selling counterfeit coins then there rating would show that the coins are not quite up to par of what they should be I don't think that con artist will last too long but I think there should be strong strict consequences for anyone caught doing something some morally horrendous. Also please keep me up-to-date on your findings I think it is so important so that people feel safe purchasing coins on eBay good luck and God bless.

[animater9]

I suggest the same as everyone else. This is what I did when I purchased a counterfeit.
I purchased a 1932 D here on eBay I got it at a very good price ( that happens sometimes by mistake) it wasnt what I wanted but I could turn it. When it came I opened and started looking at it. I told my girlfriend this is fake. We both looked at it up to a 60 power and I felt I was right. (I collect counterfeits also) I contacted the seller very nice person she told me she was sure it wasn't but I could return for a full refund. She was what appeared to me very sincere so I told her I had only been collecting for 6 years so to be sure I would send it to NGC and see. If it wasn't and I was wrong it was graded and and I would put it in my collection anyway. She contacted me 3 times to check. It turned out to be counterfeit but she made me feel better by continueing to contact me. I feel better and she knows.

[oz_in_ohio]

ring ebay and tell them personally.....

[johnandceil]

I've reported paper money fakes many times; eBay has pulled about half of them. Sometimes I notify the seller; sometimes they pull them others become indignant and say they took the item to a coin store and had it authenticated.

[davidx256]

Hi John,

Good job spotting and reporting these coins. For sure these are counterfeits and not very good ones. They do take some time to remedy these situations but I assure you the second one will be pulled down. Some times these sellers will sell to themselves or a friend to establish positive feedback for their counterfeit wares.

David Mc

[johnandceil]

Hi David-

This person has been selling fake NPG California gold tokens since last April and has sold 26 with prices from $50 to $142. NPG itself appears to be a bogus grading service. I reported this guy to eBay a while back but to no avail. It's incredible how people can spend $50+  without doing any research at all, then leave positive feedback.

I had one of these back about 50 years ago that I probably bought for next to nothing. So they've been around for a long time, like me.

John

[johnandceil]

Since June 18th, this person from the Russian Federation has sold 299 counterfeits. Why is this stuff still for sale? These are about the best fakes I've seen on eBay. If the buyers relist them, someone is going to get screwed!

[davidx256]

Wow this is crazy!

He even showed on the scale that they were well under weight.

[johnandceil]

He has now sold 321 counterfeits and eBay still has 35 listings current. I'm beginning to seriously consider stopping buying coins on eBay if they make no effort to curtain the selling of counterfeits. I've reported 3 of this guys listings. I don't know what else to do aside from calling eBay.

[fforce]

their was a 1916 d dime up with a ? mark .so i e-mail the seller and told him it was a 1918 d  or 1919 d. .the 1916d .the last number is above the 1 and the 1918d and  1919d  are about  even with the one .its easy to tell .he wrote me back and left it up on e-bay .he said that this coin has a better chance to be a 1916d then what is in the roll sellers have .then he goes on to say he needs to get rid of it .so he left it up and it sold for 37.50  and the coin is only worth 1.50 in silver .i turn it in to e-bay 4 days before it went off but e-bay never pulled it. so the crooks kept doing their thing and their is nobuddy to stop them in stamps or coins anymore. i just got in my Linns stamp news and e-bay has decided to stop programs the helped identify and remove problematic stamp listing .E-BAY cited cost and other issues in its decision .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