clark0908 Using Copied Sovereign Images on eBay
eBay seller clark0908 of Blackburn, United Kingdom, not only stole our 1921 George V Perth Mint sovereign images without permission, but tried to tell buyers his 1911 coin was in excellent condition.

High eBay Feedback is No Guarantee of Integrity or Honesty
When we wrote this page, this eBay member's feedback was 71; with 98.6% positive according to eBay.
It also demonstrates that high eBay feedback is no indicator of intelligence, reading ability or honesty.

Sample Listing

1911 George v 22ct gold Sovereign
George v (sic) 1911 (sic) Gold Sovereigns (sic)
Mint mark P - Perth mint
22 ct gold
excellent condition
Will Switch to Buy It Now
for a
REASONABLE OFFER

Relisting

1911 GEORGE V FULL GOLD SOVEREIGN
1911 GEORGE V FULL GOLD SOVEREIGN
Will Switch to Buy It Now
for a
REASONABLE OFFER
Double Check Postage Cost before Bidding
Recorded Delivery Only
Note 5 Day Desptach (sic) Time.
I'm disabled and only get to post office twice a week.

What's Wrong?
We invest a great deal of time, effort, and cost into creating some of the best photographic coin images on the internet. We strongly object when lazy and dishonest people decide to use them without a by your leave or thanks, doing so in competition with us.
Copyright theft is dishonest. We recommend you avoid doing business with dishonest dealers.
This particular eBay seller not only stole our high quality images of a 1921 Perth Mint sovereign, he used them to try to sell his own sovereign without saying it was not the same coin. Anyone viewing the photographs would expect it to be the same, near perfect condition coin, "airbrushed" it to make it look like a supermodel.
This particular crook must be blind as well as stupid, as he states his coin is 1911, whereas our photo he used is of a 1921 sovereign.

It is always possible, even likely, that sellers who steal photographs do not own a similar coin, and have the intention to totally defraud potential buyers.
The vendor is not only cheating us by stealing our copyright images, he is fraudulently or ignorantly misleading and deceiving all potential buyers. Gaining pecuniary advantage by deception is the definition of fraud.

Seller ID	Item Number	Date	Description	Price
clark0908	290428959646	25th Apr 2010	1911 George v 22ct gold Sovereign	�199
clark0908	290429665436	27th Apr 2010	1911 GEORGE V FULL GOLD SOVEREIGN	�199.99
clark0908	290429656199	27th Apr 2010	1899 Victorian Crown Showing Victoria using Old Head	�29.99
clark0908	290429662231	27th Apr 2010	1935 George V Crown - Silver Jubilee of George V	�39.99

Price
The seller was asking a starting price of �199 for this listing.
Whatever the items "sell" for, after eBay's greedy 10% selling fees, and possible PayPal charges, the crook may have been much better off selling the coins to us, instead of stealing our photographs.

Relisted & Metamorphosed
Before we could report this infringement to eBay, it was removed, presumably for other reasons, we have now reported it for two reasons, a matter of record for ourselves and eBay, and also for eBay's information about their member.
The day after his first listing was removed, he has relisted the item, but we note he has now stolen our 1911 London Mint sovereign reverse photograph, and there is no longer any mention of his sovereign being from the Perth Mint. We wonder if he knows, cares, and even owns a sovereign at all. Even if he does, how does any buyer know its condition, or whether it is genuine or a fake like its owner.

eBay Guilty of Negligence or Complicity
We will be reporting this example of copyright abuse using our standard Statutory Declaration via the eBay VeRO programme, and wait to see if they chose to action or ignore our report. We look forward to taking legal action against eBay for their negligence and / or complicity if they fail to take down the offending material promptly.

Selling Gold Sovereigns & Other Coins on eBay
We point out that sellers may often get more money, for less effort, by selling to a specialised dealer, such as us, rather than via eBay.

Copyright Notice
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