samanthaandruss2 Using Copied Sovereign Images on eBay
eBay seller samanthaandruss2 of "croydon, Surrey, United Kingdom", not only stole our 1928 George V Gold Sovereign image without permission, but failed to inform buyers that the coin pictured was not the same as he was selling. He also described his coin as in excellent condition, which it may or may not be.
Many coin owners and eBay sellers appear to delude themselves. We wonder who he is trying to fool?

Sample Listing

1928 SA Full 22ct gold Sovereign George V graded Au xx
1928 SA FULL SOVEREIGN 22CT GOLD.
king george v with george and the dragon reverse.
Graded AU - Almost uncirculated
Weight - 7.98 grams
Diameter - 22.5 mm
Mint - SA Pretoria
Please look at my other items including some more coins i have for sale.
Thanks for looking
Sam xx

Seller ID	Item Number	Date	Description	Price
samanthaandruss2	320414284921	20th Aug 2009	1928 SA Full 22ct gold Sovereign George V graded Au xx	£80
samanthaandruss2	320414289005	20th Aug 2009	1982 Queen Elizabeth ll half sovereign 22ct Gold!	£40

What's Wrong?
First it is dishonest to steal images. We select the best coins from thousands of sovereigns, then take high quality photographs of them, followed by extensive post production work (airbrushing) to make them look even better. This draws on our wealth of experience, education, training, trial and error. Our two graduate photographers work very hard to produce our high quality pictures. We have invested thousands of pounds in equipment and software. When some dishonest eBay vendor thinks it is acceptable to use them without our permission, we get more than a little annoyed. If we were a family business from Sicily, we would send one of the boys round to talk to them. If we were in Northern Ireland, we could set the Intellectual Rights Association onto them. As things stand, we simply report them to eBay, who usually get round to removing the copyright infringements. We also request full contact details of the eBay member so that we can take legal action against them, or send them a warning.

Deception
Not only does it infringe our rights, it is an attempt to deceive any and all potential buyers. This is fraud, which is a criminal offence.
We thoroughly recommend any potential eBay buyers to avoid dealing with this crooked member.

Price
The seller was asking a starting price of £80 for his coin, which is a strange price. Either start low at �0.99 to save listing fees, or start at a realistic minimum price. �80 is neither one nor the other.
Similarly, �40 was a strange choice of starting price for their half sovereign.

Long Distance Theft
Not content at stealing four images of two of our coins, this member also stole a pair of 1880 Victoria young head sovereign images from an Australian dealer. We contacted the dealer at sterlingcurrency.com.au; he thanked us for our trouble, and reported the listing number 320414281554, which we see has been removed.
They (Sam and Russ) relisted the 1880 with an appalling photo, so probably their own, with the following amusing description

1880 Full sovereign 22ct gold young head victoria
Mint - Melbourne
Date - 1880
Graded Very fine
Young head victora (sic), George and the dragon reverse.
Thanks for looking, please view my other items :0)
Thanks Sam

High eBay Feedback is No Guarantee of Integrity or Honesty
When we wrote this page, this eBay member's feedback was 46; with 97.9% positive according to eBay, which all goes to show that you cannot rely on the eBay feedback system as any indication of the honesty or integrity of the member.

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

Copyright Notice
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