Tag Archives: eBay Counterfeits

eBay Counterfeit Scams

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By Jack D. Young

Come on eBay! You can do better than this!

Several friends notified me of an obvious scam on eBay recently involving a PCGS certified 1882-CC image used by multiple sellers (showing the same origin location) listed for sale at a bargain price.

Past auction listing- I added seller’s reverse image to this

I have written previous articles on these “bait and switch” tactics by MANY eBay sellers using genuine coin images (to help fool artificial intelligence, which needs little help to do currently) to sell counterfeit coins. I have actually purchased a couple in the past just to see what a buyer would get and reported them and received my purchase price back.

So, a couple of bad signs with this listing:

Image of a genuine PCGGS certed example; PCGS shows a value of $450.00.

Listed price $39.99 with 2 sold and more than 10 available.

And the seller’s feedback notes:

Well, at least they show eBay “Verified purchases”!

And while I was reviewing this one 5 other listings with the same stock images but different sellers popped up; I started saving images and organizing my files:

From this I put a note together and sent a message to eBay alerting them about this scam and reported the subject listing.

Note to eBay

I reported them all through the feeble AI reporting process with all coming back as no policy violations including the subject example.

And so I decided to buy this one and see what I would receive.

And I received a typical CN counterfeit CC Morgan with the slashed eagle reverse!

I emailed the seller with no response; looks like he packed up his “shop,” and nothing now listed.

And going back to check the listing and follow-up I find eBay now removed the listing! It did allow me to request a return and leave appropriate feedback for the seller.

Now 3 negative feedbacks for the counterfeit bait and switch!

So we’ll see where this goes from here, as eBay stated they will step in if requested May 1. Pretty sure I won’t hear back from the seller by then.

And he apparently sold MANY of these through several different seller IDs right under eBay’s nose.

And continued reviewing turned up the genuine example and seller the scammers used for their listings:

So, come on eBay! You can do better than this.

We can do better, too, as hobbyists by learning how to identify fakes.

If you like posts like this, please go to our counterfeit archive with reports from Jack Riley, Jack D. Young, John Lorenzo and Michael Bugeja. Also, please subscribe so you can be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.

eBay Seller’s comments to “Your Baby’s Ugly”

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By Jack D. Young

Proxiblog asked me to consider doing an article on “how eBay sellers react when we report their coins as fake? I know some take down the lots. Others don’t.” I was intrigued by the thought and decided to write the following!

When I explain a Bay listing is counterfeit sellers can react a number of ways–in disbelieve, argumentatively (Grandpa owned it), accepting and thankful, combative (I’ll meet you in a parking lot dude…) or just “crickets.”. In my experience the larger the seller the higher the probability of crickets.

So, moving on I will not lower our standards here and report the combative ones but several of recent experiences I have had of the other types of reactions.

Let’s start with an interesting Trade dollar. This example just caught my eye, and the images led me to believe the coin was not genuine. The images in the listing were not definitive, and I asked the seller for better ones. He agreed and that was all it took! The common reverse used for a family of fakes I nicknamed the “notched R.” I wrote an article on these published in a recent LSCC Gobrecht Journal. I actually own one returned to a seller by NGC as counterfeit, so well versed on these:

eBay recent listing

So, I asked the seller about the coin and that I had concerns about its authenticity. He responded that he looked up the cert and the “PCGS verification”.

I responded there were no images on the on-line cert, so no help there. I included images from my coin and article and that I was sure it was counterfeit.

And he responded with a thank you and that he would remove the listing immediately, which he did!

So, a win, except who knows were the coin ends up, as he responded he is taking it back to the previous seller… And then another listing and another message:

Seller actually had two bad Morgans in fake PCGS slabs listed:

As he stated in his message, he ended both!

So, two with likely the best results we could hope for. And then this one:

Another counterfeit coin in a counterfeit slab, this one gets a little complicated if you really evaluate this one properly.

First, the obverse barcode scans as a 1989 $10 gold eagle. Then, the images of the genuine example for the cert# on the PCGS site are a completely different coin. And third, the interesting twist for this one is fakes of this type typically have a reverse QR code that scans to the genuine PCGS cert site in CHINA (cnpcgs), BUT this one scans to pcgseurope! A separate article on this one in the works.

So, I notified the owner, but he is in denial, and his response and then silence:

Silent until this😎:

So, good luck to all eBayer’s with that one!

And now the crickets; my friend Jack Riley posted the next example in our Face Book group:

Pretty bad counterfeit in a counterfeit slab again, the surprise was it is a large well respected Bay coin seller. Several of us sent messages to the seller with no response, so I took a risk and purchased it with the intention of asking for a return for it being a counterfeit.

Refund granted, never heard from the seller…

And eBay removed the listing:

Shortly thereafter my eBay account was permanently suspended.

If you like posts like this, you can read more articles on counterfeit coins by Jack D. Young, Jack Riley and Michael Bugeja at this URL. Also, please subscribe so you can be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has thousands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and other venues. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.

eBay Counterfeits Abound

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By Jack D. Young

Is it me, or has eBay gotten worse recently with bad listings and counterfeits? Their “reporting” feature seems to just be a façade.

I use the Bay as a counterfeit research tool and post about fakes in several Face Book Groups. Recently I posted an obvious bad fake in a fake “PCGS” slab and asked folk to report it as such to eBay through their standard process.

I had a huge response, with NO ONE getting a favorable return; it seems no matter what, the resulting response was … ”We looked into your report and didn’t find the listing to be in violation of our policy.” These are noted as either by their “AI,” which I call the “BayBots,” or the unknown “customer service agent.” A real shame, as eBay did have a method for a select group to direct report bad listings, and I can confirm MANY listings were removed daily, but that channel has apparently dried up.

To illustrate the current state of the Bay, view the following image of listings found via a standard search for “1881-CC Morgan Dollars,” chosen due to proliferation of counterfeits with that date and mintmark:

A brief description of what is shown here:

#1 is a bad CN counterfeit in a fake PCGS holder; it clearly doesn’t match the genuine example shown on the PCGS site and uses the latest scam, a GreatCollections sticker from an actual auction. I reported this, but a second listing for the same fake showed up from a different seller. This, too, was reported as fake.

I previously wrote an article on this latest scam for Proxiblog and the same coin, different seller (now-counterfeit-greatcollections-labels); the counterfeit’s QR code takes one to the PCGS CN site for the cert, the GC QR takes one to their auction for the genuine example. Comparison image as follows:

Chinese counterfeit, left, and genuine “GC sold” example, right

And #’s 2 and 3, again examples shown shipping from China, these use stock images of genuine coins to sell their fakes.

I have direct experience with these type listings, having purchased a large cent with images of a genuine example in the listing only to receive a common current CN counterfeit. The seller offered a return with shipping costing more than I paid for the “coin.”

#4 is another of the bad CN counterfeit Morgans in a fake PCGS holder. I have written articles as well as participated in an on-line podcast discussing these as they proliferate eBay and other sites currently.

This particular example and listing was reported several times and repeatedly eBay responded it was OK; listing finally ended only to have the seller relist it unchecked for another round.

Relisted/ current Bay listing

The genuine PCGS coin is shown on their cert site with an image that this one isn’t even close to, but it was still active for sale on the Bay.

#’s 5 and 6 are more of a CN seller’s listings using genuine stock images of someone else’s coin and listing. I personally would pick #6 to purchase because it is 4 cents cheaper.

And #7! This seller has a whole boatload of fakes labeled as “Commemorative Coins”; give me a break eBay!

Multiple bad listings from the same Bay CN seller

And his description of his “1885-CC”:

Seller’s listing description

I reported the listing and the seller multiple times and apparently the Bay approves of both.

And so, #8, the real “star” of this group! Another of the “Morgan” Morgan fakes in a counterfeit PCGS holder. This one is currently posted on my personal Face Book page and is also being mass reported by my friends:

Current eBay listed bad “Morgan” Morgan

We have been notified that the listing is A-OK, evidenced by this response to my report:

This all does lead one to wonder if eBay has changed its “Coin Policy” without actually formally stating it, as ALL of these types of listings were previously considered violations? Good for the sellers, bad for the buyers? And what affect does it have on the Hobby at this time? I suppose one can only speculate.

One thing that is not speculation–at one time listings could be reported and REMOVED. And the following are images of fake coins identified in one day’s effort:

Is this a sign of the times for eBay or did someone just fall asleep at the wheel? We’ll continue to watch and report “more fun with fakes” for Proxiblog as we see them!

If you like posts like this, please go to Jack Young’s page on Proxiblog. Also, please subscribe so you can get our weekly newsletter and be informed whenever there is a new article or column.

Proxiblog also has th0usands of followers on Facebook Coin Groups, YouTube and other social media. To get the latest discussion and commentary, be sure to friend us by clicking here.

You can find more information about errors and varieties as well as buying and bidding on coins in Coin News Updated: The Essential Guide to Online Bidding. Please consider purchasing the work for yourself or a friend, as it underwrites this hobbyist website. Thank you.