Beware Buying Gold Sovereigns on eBay Using Stolen Images
Every day, we see eBay auctions using our own high quality photographs. A mint sovereign is worth more than a worn one.
Please excuse our slightly ungrammatical title, we should have said "Beware buying from eBay auctions where the vendors are using stolen images". There are numerous reasons why.
This page lists just 8 of the eBay copyright infringements we noticed and recorded during 2008. We are sure there were many more that we missed.
Real or Fake?
One good reason for an eBay vendor supplying photographs of their coins, is so the buyer can judge the grade, and also try to assess whether the coin is genuine, and indeed whether the seller is genuine.
If vendors steal or borrow other peoples' images without permission, it is dishonest and illegal, infringing the rights of the images' owners. It also deceives buyers into thinking that they are bidding on the coin in the photograph, which is usually genuine and in excellent condition, whereas the actual coin may well be fake, damaged, worn, or scratched, and therefore worth less.
Name & Shame
Copyright owners can get offending listings removed, but this does little to deter the same or other eBay vendors from stealing the same images the next day. eBay know this, but try to pretend it does not happen (it helps eBay to make huge profits), so we believe they are even more guilty than their members.
With these factors in mind, and to help our customers, and other collectors and investors, to avoid being conned by phony eBay vendors, we have started to feature and list selected eBay infringements. We advise anybody to avoid doing business with these dishonest people.
eBay Copyright Thieves & Crooks Named and Shamed
Seller ID | Item Number | Date | Description | Price
|
walt130 | 130203504402 | 12th Mar 2008 | 2004 QE11 UNC. FULL GOLD SOVEREIGN (STILL IN PLASTIC) | £80
|
baytrader23 | 220210986940 | 12th Mar 2008 | TWO (2) 1908 Gold British Sovereign Gold Coins | £449.99
|
deedandon1j | 370031155187 | 12th Mar 2008 | Gold Sovereign 1899 Uncirculated Victoria Veil Head | £0.99
|
gardengamesandleisure | 280192672025 | 18th Jan 2008 | 1958 Full British Sovereign, 22 Carat Gold Coin, Cased | £121
|
stuff565 | 190225153667 | 2nd Jun 2008 | 1979 Elizabeth 22ct Gold Full Sovereign. NEAR PERFECT | £145
|
bymoney | 160294396991 | 25th Oct 2008 | GOLD UK Sovereign 1893 Coin .235421 oz of Gold | $501.55
|
amexhui | 280275643420 | 25th Oct 2008 | 1987 UK ROYAL MINT * PROOF GOLD SOVEREIGN * 4 COIN SET | $1,199
|
2009 eBay Copyright Sovereign Photograph Abusers
2010 eBay Copyright Sovereign Photograph Abusers
More Copyright Abuse & Image Theft
The dealers and websites named and shamed on this page are limited to those who have stolen our photographs of gold coins such as Krugerrands.
On our other websites we also name and shame those who steal our photographs of:
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