tilgeartools Using Copied Sovereign Images on eBay
eBay seller tilgeartools of Cuffley, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, not only stole our 1913 Solid Gold Sovereign image without permission, but inferred that our coin or photograph was inferior. He also called his coin a sovereign, which it clearly is not. We wonder who he is trying to fool?

Sample Listing

****1913 Solid Gold Sovereign*****
MINT CONDITION!
1913 Full Gold Soveriegn.
This coin comes in a wooden screw case and is in mint condition. This is a real collectors treasure!
There is not reserve so happy bidding!
Free Post and Packing to anywhere in the world!

Seller ID	Item Number	Date	Description	Price
tilgeartools	280381888385	6th Aug 2009	****1913 Solid Gold Sovereign*****	£25

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.

High eBay Feedback is No Guarantee of Integrity or Honesty
When we wrote this page, this eBay member's feedback was 3; with 100% 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
Please see our "Copyright" page for further information.