Fakes, reproductions, replicas, an investigative report, by Harry Ridgeway

Fakes, reproductions, replicas,
A discussion about ebay

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If you are thinking about buying relics from eBay, America's number one personal trading company, consider this:

eBay is but one of many webpages selling Civil War collectibles over the internet.  

Although eBay has distinguished itself as the largest internet operator, they are NOT an honest internet operator.  The majority of internet operators are honest, ebay is simply not one of them.

Most web operators take consignments, eBay sales are exclusively consignments.  When other  webpages offer consignments, the consignee, (webpage operator)  takes ultimate responsibility for warranting all products sold, whether consignment or owned. eBay has steadfastly refused to take any responsibility, consequently they have become the dominant seller of fraudulent products.

eBay advertises a caveat emptor policy for their consignments, and although that may sound on the surface as adequate warning, eBay actually conspires with the consignors to sell fraudulent products.  eBay requires all consignors to hide their identity through the use of handles.  Your name cannot be an email address, web address, or heavens forbid your actual name!  eBay encourages their consignors to list auctions using "Private Auctions", this to allows the consignor to hide the identity of the bidders so they cannot be warned or tipped as to fraudulent auctions.  Further it is against ebay rules to even contact a bidder of fraudulent auctions to warn them.  Ebay also awards their "Power Seller" and other designations to volume sellers.  Some sellers who have seldom, and some have never sold authentic relics, have been awarded this designation.  All of these sales policies are a pattern of conspiracy designed by eBay to defraud the public.  eBay sets these requirements, not the consignors and not the customers.

The majority of dealers who sell at shows are honorable, very few or likely none of the honest dealers have significant offerings on ebay.

All of the major dealers have webpages that compete with ebay. Most sales of quality relics are from the legitimate webpages, and not eBay.

Most of the major dealers in Civil War, are also collectors and are very careful to protect their reputations.  Most of these collectors are in it for the long haul and you don't play in the long haul by cheating people.

Most of the major dealers in Civil War offer lifetime guarantees to back their sales, the dominant sales on ebay are fakes and eBay only guarantees heartache.

In short eBay is engaged in a massive conspiracy to defraud the public, and this will be their undoing eventually.  No other webpages selling Civil War relics operate this way.

Some collectors have become  frustrated with internet sales. The problem is not internet sales, the problem is 99% eBay. So far they have tried to insulate themselves from legal liability, but I suspect this defense will crumble pretty soon. Sleezebay is not the only game in town. Follow the links around the major webpages. You won't see those people systematically selling bad stuff on the internet the way eFake is doing.

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