No more fakes on eBay?
messydesk
Posts: 20,592 ✭✭✭✭✭
They're hiring a counterfeit coin specialist. Perhaps they're seeing that it's actually necessary to Do Something™ about the reputation they have about being the place to unload fake crap with impunity.
https://jobs.ebayinc.com/us/en/job/R0072641/Counterfeit-Specialist-Coins
John
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
15
Comments
Good news but I hope that it's at the higher end of the pay scale!
I will start with giving the new hire a slam-dunk present.
Curious to know why "Do Something" has the TM after it
Just remember...the advice you receive on the site is worth every bit of what you paid for it.
They ought to hire Judith back as she is, or was, in Salt Lake.
bob
For some reason I'm not filled with hope.
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
Neither am I. For what they're paying, they're expecting someone to play whack-a-mole "at scale" rather than establish strategies and methods for smoking them out and working with law enforcement.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
They need a team, not just 1 person
Fingers crossed
Mike
My Indians
Dansco Set
I don't know. A lot of this is going to come down to what the plan is.
I think that many people on this board could validate counterfeits at the rate of thousands per hour -- if they have tools to flag the listings that need reviewing. eBay clearly has competent software engineers. Unless I miss the mark, they're not expecting to hire someone for this position who has any software engineering skills. So it may come down to how much support this person has, from the people who are able to build and train them on the tools that let them do the job right.
I'm tempted to say that this would be a good job for AI. But really, AI could be overkill. There obvious 'tells' on many of the listings of counterfeits. If the person did nothing more than review the listings from new sellers and sellers in, ah, certain geographic locations, that would make a huge difference right there.
It's not easy for someone outside of eBay to set up the right queries. eBay should already have tools to do that sort of thing internally.
None of that would help weed out the subtle counterfeits. But it should definitely be possible to make a big improvement over what they have now, even with a single person.
Years ago I offered to Judith to be a consultant on counterfeit and altered coins. I never heard back from anybody, then she left, and everything went to Hell.
Ill believe it when I see it 🤔
I feel it is a step ahead of where it currently is. AI is a joke, in this instance.
Who knows how it may grow, most likely determined by actual cost to ebay, as in loss of sales. May be frightening.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
Why don't you apply for the job?
Mike
My Indians
Dansco Set
I hope they immediately throw out the application of Baba, Mr. Ali
It's at least a step in the right direction. In the future when eBay gets a complaint, rather than just sending out a form response that the coin doesn't violate eBay's policy, someone will actually take a look at the listing and delete it if it's a counterfeit.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
If it works....
Was. She passed away a few years back...RIP...
mbogoman
https://pcgs.com/setregistry/collectors-showcase/classic-issues-colonials-through-1964/zambezi-collection-trade-dollars/7345Asesabi Lutho
There are a couple of folks who seem to have success reporting items currently. The 1909-S listing posted was removed:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/389648659746
He also has a bad 1891-CC Morgan that I have posted in my Face Book Group.
Will AI override the new counterfeit expert's findings?
LOL
Wayne
Kennedys are my quest...
They’ve already told me the counterfeits I report and identify are legitimate and meet eBay’s requirements. $61k-$102k salary per annum ! Some of us did it for free for years , to no avail.
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
Judith is no longer with us
i remember that and she was terminated almost immediately after you offered
Nothing's going to change.
Or a team of the finest call center reps in Mumbai
I'm too old now. I help out where I can here and there, but could not do it on a full time basis.
Hoping for the best and have my fingers crossed.
I wonder what will happen when this new hire makes a mistake and approves a fake or takes down a legit coin.
It could get really ugly.
when the effective coin community watch group existed in ebay this was always a possibility. the watch group did much good. legit coins can be appealed. fakes would just be slipping through the cracks. this will also have the same issues as the current reporting process that doesn't work at all
This ebay job could be effective if the person takes a similar approach:
1. maintain a group of experts who are consulted on new potential fakes.
2. maintain a database of known fakes
3. automate the detection of known fakes offered for sale
4. maintain a database of sellers who have tried to sell fakes
I know @Bikergeek is interested in this type of process.
eBay will not care as long as they get their $$$$, and these experts will do little to stop the fakes
1997-present
If ebay does not care, why are they hiring someone?
many reasons, but the two that come to mind are PR, the old look we are dealing with this route, and I gather investors want this dealt with also, so they have two good reasons for doing such a move when in the past they never really bothered
1997-present
eBay offers various types of buyer protection where the buyer gets their money back from eBay even if the seller disappears. Their 2025Q4 quarterly filing says:
They report transaction losses of $396 million for that quarter.
I don't know how much of that number is coming specifically from coin sales. I also don't know how much a new hire would be able to move the needle. But that's a BIG number. The max salary for this position is a bit over $100K. If you add in the costs for the rest of the non-salary benefits (insurance, etc.), this hire might cost eBay $200K per year. It wouldn't take much for a new hire to pay for themselves.
i have seen sellers of counterfeits with low90s to 80s feed back %age but are top rated sellers -- with the attendant glowing language about the quality of their service
and while we are talking low feedback sellers, apparently there is no flag given for such a situation for seller account review because - if they did - there would not be 80% feedback sellers with many negatives mentioning counterfeits