Sharing my story, buying a fake american gold eagle with royal mail losing my return parcel along any chance of getting my money back

[pillowcat2012]

The link should take you to his profile but I've taken a photo here:

[jackflash123]

3 minutes ago, jackflash123 said:

Great to see you posting this. I didn't spot the sellers name, is it shown but I missed it? It does say "A seller you've bought from'. 

If I've missed the sellers name please let me know where it is.

Maybe take a screenshot of their seller profile too.

👍

I have added a screenshot of the seller profile showing their name from the link you posted. His listing may go dead but at least it will stay on here for all to see 👍

1 minute ago, pillowcat2012 said:

The link should take you to his profile but I've taken a photo here:

We both added that scumbag, nice one 👍 

[TheShinyStuff]

Nice calm and considered reply. Win some, lose some...

[Ukbullionfan]

I did some detective work but just seen I was beaten to it. They are listing the same bar with same picture as OP posted again .

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265763887847?hash=item3de0c31ae7:g:~tUAAOSwirpitu4F

[Ukbullionfan]

His feedback rating is scary 😦 

[Ukbullionfan]

On the listing the last pic of the four looks like he took the pic naked with his ball hanging out in the reflection of the gold lol.

[jultorsk]

6 minutes ago, Ukbullionfan said:

On the listing the last pic of the four looks like he took the pic naked with his ball hanging out in the reflection of the gold lol.

 

[pillowcat2012]

12 minutes ago, Ukbullionfan said:

On the listing the last pic of the four looks like he took the pic naked with his ball hanging out in the reflection of the gold lol.

I see what you mean...

[Ukbullionfan]

When I saw it I spat out laughing in the train everyone looked at me like a weirdo lol. Classic moment.

[Augustus1]

probbaly wrong of me to say, but why dont you but another fake at minimum cost and post that back to him ? he admits it was a fake he gets a fake back , you advise pay pal of delivery and get majority of your money back , win win ???? or two wrongs dont make  a right ? i know which i would do  fight fire with fire !

dean.m

Edited July 6, 2022 by Augustus1

[sixgun]

The image of the coin is not very good but when you look you can see it is a fake.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-Oz-50-Dollars-Fine-Gold-/265716920491?nma=true&si=MG0nNnsodezQh1QA%2BeSzD7UryxY%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

Compare the position of the top of the torch - what is going on in the bottom right hand aspect - i am sure a better quality image would show the whole replica is trash.

Edited July 6, 2022 by sixgun

[sixgun]

Is this you? - this is the only negative feedback - the replica sold for £230 and it says here that it was resolved automatically without the seller.

[jackflash123]

11 minutes ago, Augustus1 said:

probbaly wrong of me to say, but why dont you but another fake at minimum cost and post that back to him ? he admits it was a fake he gets a fake back , you advise pay pal of delivery and get majority of your money back , win win ???? or two wrongs dont make  a right ? i know which i would do  fight fire with fire !

dean.m

That could actually work and he already thinks he's gotten away with this. There's a chance ebay or paypal haven't released the money to him yet. And if you bought another fake and then sent it back to him as @Augustus1 is suggesting then you could make up any story about where the item has been last couple of weeks.

Not morally the correct thing to do, as has already been stated, but this seller has no morals and it would be karma balancing things out.

If you don't want to go down this route then as many have said it has to be taken as a lesson learnt.

Let us know how the story ends!

[James32]

I don't think an attempt at redelivery will work.

I assume you have already logged first tracking number with PayPal? Doubtful they will acknowledge a new one.

[jackflash123]

Just now, James32 said:

I don't think an attempt at redelivery will work.

I assume you have already logged first tracking number with PayPal? Doubtful they will acknowledge a new one.

@James32 could be correct. I'm not clued up to these kind of things.

You learn something new everyday!

[Augustus1]

2 minutes ago, James32 said:

I don't think an attempt at redelivery will work.

I assume you have already logged first tracking number with PayPal? Doubtful they will acknowledge a new one.

you could say item was returned to sender ??

[sixgun]

6 minutes ago, Augustus1 said:

you could say item was returned to sender ??

This crossed my mind - that it was somehow returned to you by the post office. If the tracking had gone off the screen then who could know?

[James32]

3 minutes ago, Augustus1 said:

you could say item was returned to sender ??

Yeah that's worth a try in fairness 👍

I just know that PayPal is like talking to a brick wall at times..I genuinely believe both them and ebay have systems in place to frustrate the life out of the customer, in the hope that they eventually F off 😂 which probably 90% do in the end.

 

[Gordy]

2 hours ago, pillowcat2012 said:

Thanks for all your comments, please realise I'm fully aware of what I was getting into with both myself and the seller thinking we've each got a great deal.

I agree with all the points and I'm feeling sorry for myself (but you don't have to). I've posted here as a warning to others not to be as foolish as me!

I think I am highlighting the fact that I foolishly though I was bulletproof via PayPal/eBay. I was the weakest link in the chain and I bungled the return but surprised that eBay/PayPal would not go above and beyond to protect me.

I didn't even want an AGE I just thought why not try and see what happens. I've seen sovereigns just listed as "old gold coin" due to uninformed sellers and I was looking to take advantage of this. Yes, yes, not very nice.

I blame myself for being naïve/greedy. I thought I had zero risk due to PayPal/eBay and if it wasn't genuine (which it likely was at that price and... going by the poor quality photos...) then I just get a return and no problem. The lynchpin I was hoping to get out of it all was that the seller had listed it clearly as gold. Which is against eBay/PayPal trading policy. I am just astounded that RM bloody lost the parcel which foiled my plan.

Here's the seller, he's selling some jewellery and Umicore gold bars. I'd avoid this person, who knows if his other items are genuine or not.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265763887847?hash=item3de0c31ae7:g:~tUAAOSwirpitu4F

All in all, a very valuable lesson and I've got a story to share with the community. Alarm bells ringing all over the place but doubling down is not a good plan.

I've attached some photos to complete this sad debacle.

Absolutely shocking photos and you could have used his photos against photos of the real coins on dealer sites which could have alerted you too, as said above loads of times, (and I know it doesnt help you) the price is a mahooosive red flag... no-one selling genuine gold would risk taking a hit like that.. its a learning curve... always best to learn something new everyday and in the long run, anything sent worth over £50.00 should be SD..  

ALSO ... the description.... 'Little crack in the safety plastic container' he doent even know its called a capsule, one to keep an eye on me thinks... 

[Ukbullionfan]

Put his address up in all phone boxes requesting that he is looking for a good time  and sells cheap gold.

[flyingveepixie]

Paypal are scumbags. Paypal have always been scumbags.  A real rogue organisation, although to be fair they have upped their game considerably since the very early days. Back in the early days (early 2000s) they locked my account not once but twice for absolutely no reason whatsoever and were completely uncontactable. Coincidentally this happened on both occasions when my ebay accounts of the time were hacked and I was permanently locked out of them. On both occasions I lost the balance in the account.  I am currently on my third Paypal account as a result and as much as I dislike using it, what choice do we have so much of the time and on so many occasions in this crappy modern age with the endless and constant creep of globalisation..

Ebay are scumbags.  Ebay have not always been on the same level of scumbagism ala Paypal, but they were never exactly what you might call a bastion of honourable trade.   Back in the early days it was probably a good bit safer to trade on ebay than it is now when it was mostly just joe bloggs from down the road selling his unwanted second hand tat.  When all these businesses started using it as a selling platform rather than an auction site as it had been around 10-15 years ago, it became so much more global in it's nature and so big that it could and can do apparently what it likes, that's when it really started to go downhill.

Royal Mail : well their reputation precedes them but provided you jump through the correct hoops you will usually always get most of your money back.  In this instance you didn't jump through the correct hoops and should have sent the coin by Special Delivery.  Did you not know you wouldn't be insured sending it via bog standard signed for?  They do explain that fact clearly enough on their website and give specific mention to items such as coins, currency, and other valuables.

I do sympathise with you and I'm sorry this has happened to you as I've had a few hair raising moments of my own on ebay over the years, and as with many others on here I am furious on your behalf, but against these faceless global entities we are all virtually powerless. 

The bottom line is that you'll probably lose out this time but hopefully learn the hard lesson and stay away from ebay unless you're looking for some trivial item like a hairbrush or a cheap screwdriver as it's infested with dishonest hustlers and crooks these days, especially in respect of trading rare and valuable items. In my own line of speciality on ebay I've seen many fake guitars pop up over the years bearing the names of Gibson and Fender and really looking the part,  and sometimes they can be very difficult to spot until after the event as you only have photographs to look at and a description from the seller. 

As stated in another thread just a few days ago I'm sick to death of ebay and what it has become and I'm almost completely done with it, with it's dodgy dealings and bloated fees, scripted customer service read by automatons, and the whole thing designed to protect and serve the interests of ebay itself rather than the customer.

As already suggested above - you have his address. You could always go and pay him a visit to get your refund...

Edited July 6, 2022 by flyingveepixie

[chasetyre]

45 minutes ago, James32 said:

I don't think an attempt at redelivery will work.

I assume you have already logged first tracking number with PayPal? Doubtful they will acknowledge a new one.

I would have thought that this would work.

I know when I sold a coin on ebay and it went missing even thought it was tracked, I had to send a replacement and therefor, I updated the tracking number so the second one I sent would show up delivered, which it did

[Gordy]

3 minutes ago, chasetyre said:

I would have thought that this would work.

I know when I sold a coin on ebay and it went missing even thought it was tracked, I had to send a replacement and therefor, I updated the tracking number so the second one I sent would show up delivered, which it did

Yeah but you sent a replacement, its been suggested that he sends the SAME coin and claim its been returned to sender, thats why he cpould re-send it, then if the original does turn up there could be difficulties for him and accusations that he could do without

[SilverDrum]

1 hour ago, Augustus1 said:

probbaly wrong of me to say, but why dont you but another fake at minimum cost and post that back to him ? he admits it was a fake he gets a fake back , you advise pay pal of delivery and get majority of your money back , win win ???? or two wrongs dont make  a right ? i know which i would do  fight fire with fire !

dean.m

I'd make life cheaper. Put a rock in an envelope and special delivery that 😂 why spend anything extra?

[Orpster]

I am selling a pack of 8 gold bars if your interested, still in OMP:

I am sure we can work out a good deal

In all seriousness though everyone loves a bargain and I don't think there is anything wrong with taking a punt sometimes.  eBay can be a tricky place to trade - I have been stung as seller when my buyer claimed the item did not match the original description and wanted a partial refund or return, despite the fact I had cut and paste the description from the manufacturers website and it was a brand new unopened item.  The sneaky beggar put the requested refund amount just under the combined cost of sales and return postage and I suspect they made a habit of it knowing the seller would realise the smallest loss on the transaction was to issue a partial refund - one to watch out for.  Had another who requested a return then returned a fake of the coin I had sold him, clearly searched for the exact coin he had so he could do just that.  Was not even a good fake.