10 replies to this topic

[Longhorn92]

So why do you suppose some long time sellers on eBay maintain 100% positive feedback despite selling fake/repro items?

I can think of two big dealers who sell fake Vietnam era militaria and they have strong and constant positive f/b.

Is it as simple as novice collectors being taken in, meaning those of us with a little knowledge never bite?
Or do people know and just need fillers or display items?

Is it a little of both?

I suppose the former may be the better explanation--novices get burned while people with knowledge stay away. But at some point you'd hope someone would realize what they have once it's in their hands and leave some negative f/b.

What kills me is that they always claim "100% genuine/wartime manufactured/pre-1975" etc. so based on what they sell, these sellers are outright lying. I realize some sellers may not know any better but I'm talking about the obvious guys who make a living at selling fakes and know it.

Thoughts?

[CNY Militaria]

My thought would be a bit of both thoughts you had. I also imagine that those collectors who do take a plunge and are bitten, take advantage of return policies offered by the seller. Once money is refunded, buyers are likely inclined to leave a positive detailing the honesty of the return policy, or would just rather not leave feedback at all.

Edited by CNY Militaria, 09 March 2012 - 03:53 PM.

[Dave]

It's easy. Feedback is normally given based on the transaction, not on the item itself. So if the transaction went smoothly, positive feedback is also given. Another factor is that most buyers who buy from people who create fakes buy without knowing they got a fake. So the item shows up, transaction went okay, and fake item is received into collection.

They might find out it was fake later on and be pissed at the seller, but that's long after the feedback was posted. Also, they might find out it's fake and then send it back to the buyer for a refund. If the seller takes it back and makes it easy, that's also warranting good feedback from most people.

So no, 100% positive feedback isn't indicative of the genuine-ness of the item. It just shows he can ship quickly and is otherwise pleasant to deal with.

Dave

[Harlan]

Dave is exactly correct - the buyers who buy the fakes from notorious fakers are ignorant of how the helmets should be marked, so they're happy if it just arrives quickly. Most will leave their feedback just as soon as they receive the helmet and won't realize they were taken until later.

[Jack's Son]

This thinking is correct. If a person goes through an auction without the slightest concern of the items authenticity, they will not catch it when it arrives. Only if something is very wrong, will they question the item upon arrival. BINGO....happy customer.

[X_redcatcher]

one of the reasons Ebay feedback is a bunch of Phooey . Just cause there is a 100% feedback does not mean much in my book.

[Longhorn92]

If the seller takes it back and makes it easy, that's also warranting good feedback from most people.

I agree with most of what you guys have written but I forgot to add that one of the things that usually catches my eye is the "No refunds" policy on most of these types of dealers, which to me is a red flag, depending on the item I'm looking at.

[gwb123]

I agree with all of the above.

While I've had many of the same thoughts, I've been baffled by this for years.

For one thing, while we write these rankings off to "novice" collectors, I can't imagine that such novice collectors exist in the hundreds or thousands.

I generally deal in patches. The sheer volume of repro patches that are continously sold is staggering.

In the old days, before eBay tightened down, you could look up a 90 buying and bidding history on individual buyers. That was pretty cool because you see their buying patterns, and with a calculator get an idea of what they were spending.

One thing I noted was that sometimes you would see a collector burst on the scene, and then spend continuously for 3 to 4 months. They would buy hundreds of dollars of "genuine" patches from the same dealer or dealers. Than all of a sudden they would drop off, often never to be seen again.

An oddity that I have observed is that when someone is moving into a new area of collecting, they will learn just enough information to become dangerous. More specifically, they will decide that period patches have a certain look to them, and all else is bogus. This backfires when they decide that the way the fakes look IS CORRECT, and then go crazy buying them up. Sometimes with such folks it takes a great effort to "deprogram" them, and get them to understand what the real stuff looks like.

Getting back to who is buying this stuff, a certain percentage of it is actually vets, or their offspring who want to have an example of grandpa's patch and are not willing to pay $165 for it. They are quite content to have a repop, even if they have investigated it that far to know the difference. And some of the repops do a fairly good job of imitating the design.

But I agree... I still don't fully get where all of this stuff goes.

[Raygoon Gasbar]

The hump artists on ebay with 100's if not thousands of + feedbacks really doe bug me too. And to be honest with you, I think ebay protects sellers who rake in money for them, but will throw a little guy like me under the bus. They might just have tons of neg. feedback that you will never see, just to keep the $$ rolling in. There are a few guys who deal with M1 carbine parts on there who are known to be some of the biggest scammers in the world, yet hardly any negative feedback, and tons and tons of fake parts sold as originals.

An example of how it works the opposite way......6-7 years ago when I sold the bulk of my collection to fund other hobbys, I used ebay for a big chunk of it. I sold upwards of 200 items or groups of things with zero issues. Every thing I had was legit, honest stuff. Well after I had sold about 3/4's of the stuff I wanted to sell, some one left me negative feedback on an item claiming it was fake, and I refused to refund there $. Both of which were total lies, the item was not fake, and the seller was PO'ed that I would not refund his shipping cost's...purchase price, yes, but not his shipping. I'll tell you what, one negative feedback, tanked the rest of my sales, stuff went for 25% or more less than I was expecting, or sometimes not selling at all, when prior to that one incident it was selling like hotcakes.

[Bill Scott]

Repro artist are very slick if an item is sent and it sticks its a done deal.If the buyer finds out and it less than three months from the sale instant refund if the seller is smart.If the guy is a dirtball and doesnt care he rides it out and if ebay kills his account he uses another credit card and starts another ebay store under a new handle or open one in wifes or friends name.I have been on the show circuit for over 35 years and I can tell you every scam these scumbags use.Some of the repro artists make 10 times as much as an honest dealer makes in any given year.Anybody that buys from any dealer who says ALL SALES ARE FINAL or NO REFUNDS GIVEN is a FOOL P.T Barnum said it best Theres A Fool Born Every Minute And Two To Take Him in collectibles it 10 to take him.Scotty

[Bugme]

The hump artists on ebay with 100's if not thousands of + feedbacks really do bug me too. And to be honest with you, I think ebay protects sellers who rake in money for them, but will throw a little guy like me under the bus. They might just have tons of neg. feedback that you will never see, just to keep the $$ rolling in.

Wow, now that's a conspiracy theory, eBay protects us by hiding our negative feedbacks? I'm a Power Seller with several thousand transactions on eBay, I've gotten three neutral feedbacks & no negatives and I pride myself on customer satisfaction. I even include a letter with every item that says: For whatever reason, if you think that what I sent you is anything less than what you expected, I will refund your money completely.

Trust me, some guys on ebay just seem to get away with everything but, eBay is not cutting anyone any deals concerning feedback. BTW, your words: "bug me" almost hurt.