Classical Numismatics Discussion
  Welcome Guest. Please login or register. 10% Off Store-Wide Sale Until 2 April!!! Explore Our Website And Find Joy In The History, Numismatics, Art, Mythology, And Geography Of Coins!!! Expert Authentication - Accurate Descriptions - Reasonable Prices - Coins From Under $10 To Museum Quality Rarities Welcome Guest. Please login or register. 10% Off Store-Wide Sale Until 2 April!!! Explore Our Website And Find Joy In The History, Numismatics, Art, Mythology, And Geography Of Coins!!! Support Our Efforts To Serve The Classical Numismatics Community - Shop At Forum Ancient Coins

New & Reduced


Author Topic: I just purchased coins from a fake ebay seller?  (Read 2131 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

John A

  • Guest
I just purchased coins from a fake ebay seller?
« on: March 16, 2018, 03:04:16 pm »
I am new to both these forums and collecting ancient coins in general.

I purchased a few coins from an ebay seller the other day, but I have not paid for them yet.

This seller has been on ebay since 2009, they have several thousand transactions, a 99.2% positive feedback, and they are not on any of the fake seller lists that I have consulted.

They appear to have separate Ebay Canada and Ebay US accounts, under different names... I just noticed that they sold a coin on the US account about a month ago that is virtually identical to a coin that is currently up for auction on their Canada account.

(I have attached picture of the coins in question, 1 and 2 are the coin that was sold on Ebay US, 3 and 4 are the coin that is currently up for auction on Ebay Canada)

I looked up the business address that they provide, and it appears to belong to an Italian restaurant in Germany...
The business phone number that they provided does not exist.

My limited research tells me that the coin in question is not particularity valuable.
This person is also selling several hundred other coins, which all appear to be fairly low quality at fairly reasonable prices... they can't all be fake?
(this was essentially my first time purchasing ancient coins, so low quality and low price seemed like a fine place to start)

I must be naive, but it seems odd that they would sell a bunch of lower quality genuine coins, and then risk the reputation that they've been building since 2009 in order to sell a few slightly higher quality fake coins that are not even worth that much money.

That being said, the evidence seems rather overwhelming...

I am inclined to send them a message saying that I believe they are selling a fake coin, that I want them to cancel all of my bids, and that I will not be paying for the auctions that I have won.

I would be happy to name both the Canada and the US accounts and nominate them for the fake seller list.

Hopefully this post complies with the rules of the forum.

Could I be interpreting this information incorrectly?
I'd like to hear some feedback.

Offline curtislclay

  • Tribunus Plebis Perpetuus
  • Procurator Monetae
  • Caesar
  • *****
  • Posts: 11155
Re: I just purchased coins from a fake ebay seller?
« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2018, 03:59:53 pm »
Looks to me like just two pictures of the same coin.

Maybe the high bidder a month ago didn't pay, so the dealer is re-offering the coin on his other site.
Curtis Clay

John A

  • Guest
Re: I just purchased coins from a fake ebay seller?
« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2018, 05:35:25 pm »
Looks to me like just two pictures of the same coin.

Thanks for the response.

They are so similar that this seems likely.
Looking closely I noticed a few very minor differences. For example, there is a small "bubble" on the birds neck in one of the pictures... maybe these differences are just the result of the coin being handled or something?

Anyway, the discovery of this other coin prompted me to do a little digging.

I found that this person seems to have different accounts (using a couple different first names, but the same last name and same business address) on various Ebay websites (Canada, US, Ireland).

One of their accounts lists a VAT number from Germany (where they are purportedly based), another account lists the same address in Germany but a VAT number from Bulgaria (this seems like bad news).

Furthermore, their purported business address is located in a small town in Germany... after doing a few minutes of research I have found like 5 other ebay sellers (most of whom no longer have any items listed for sale) who use this same little town as their business address, they have archived "sold" listings for things from cellphone cases to audio equipment to small gold bars.

There is some shady activity going on here, I'm sure of it.

Offline Jay GT4

  • Tribunus Plebis 2021
  • Procurator Caesaris
  • Caesar
  • ****
  • Posts: 6987
  • Leave the gun, take the Canoli!
Re: I just purchased coins from a fake ebay seller?
« Reply #3 on: March 16, 2018, 06:33:48 pm »
Welcome to Forum John.  The slight differences are probably due to lighting.  I would stay away from ebay until you gain some experience.  Forum''s own shop has many lower priced late Roman bronzes and offer a lifetime warranty.  That would be a good place to start.  Also check out the Forum auctions.


John A

  • Guest
Re: I just purchased coins from a fake ebay seller?
« Reply #4 on: March 16, 2018, 07:40:33 pm »
I would stay away from ebay until you gain some experience. 



Thanks - I was a little quick with the bidding finger and a lesson was learned, all part of the process I suppose.

John A

  • Guest
Re: I just purchased coins from a fake ebay seller?
« Reply #5 on: March 16, 2018, 08:01:36 pm »
I am quite confident that the seller is not doing good business, but my reasons for thinking this are rather convoluted and I do not have a fake coin to point to directly... so I suppose I should refrain from naming them.

I have now come to realize that their Ebay US account is on a fake seller list from another website.
I was bidding on coins from their separate Ebay Canada account so I did not make this connection right away.

More careful next time.

Offline Jay GT4

  • Tribunus Plebis 2021
  • Procurator Caesaris
  • Caesar
  • ****
  • Posts: 6987
  • Leave the gun, take the Canoli!
Re: I just purchased coins from a fake ebay seller?
« Reply #6 on: March 16, 2018, 08:14:18 pm »
It happens John.  One of the things you will hear a lot on this site is almost like a mantra "Know the coin or know the dealer".  While learning you'll have to rely on trusted dealers but the knowledge comes quickly if you look at and handle lots of real coins.  Take a look at the member gallery too, great coins from all over the ancient world.

Offline Nikola K

  • Praetorian
  • **
  • Posts: 92
Re: I just purchased coins from a fake ebay seller?
« Reply #7 on: March 17, 2018, 01:23:46 pm »
One of the things you will hear a lot on this site is almost like a mantra "Know the coin or know the dealer". 

Good one, I have written it down :)

 

All coins are guaranteed for eternity