[meteorite-list] EBAY Fakes

From: mark ford <markf_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:29:50 2004
Message-ID: <6CE3EEEFE92F4B4085B0E086B2941B31014344_at_s-southern01.s-southern.com>

Hi,

Following the recent incidences of fake 'meteorites' being put onto ebay
They were so flagrantly fake that I, also wrote to eBay below is the
response I got ..


>>
Hello Mark,

Thank you for taking the time to write to us in relation to your concern
about fake items on our site.

eBay shares your concern in such matters. This is why we work very=20
closely with major copyright holders under our Vero Programme. We also=20
are happy to work with agencies such as the Police and Trading=20
Standards.

Please remember that eBay acts only as a venue for sales. As we never=20
take possession of the items offered for sale, we cannot authenticate=20
them. We ask that sellers list items honestly and accurately, and that=20
bidders ask any pertinent questions before placing a bid. =20

We do not permit the listing of fake items on eBay: however, we can only
use the information provided within the listing text, as we do not have=20
the item itself. This may mean that we cannot remove items reported to=20
us, as the content of the listing is not sufficient evidence of an=20
infringement. To retain the consistency and integrity of our policies,=20
we must be careful that we act only on actual listing evidence.

If the meteorological society were to contact us directly that this item
was indeed a fake, then the item would be removed immediately.=20

We do not police the site: this is why you may see active items which=20
are in violation, and we encourage you to report those to us. We instead
use reports from concerned users and rights owners.

I hope this has helped to explain our policies.

Best wishes,

Willy Smith
eBay Trust and Safety
>>


(Their email seems to imply that if the 'IMCA' where to write directly
to eBay indicating that these items are fakes that would be enough
reason for eBay to remove the items and they would be willing to do so!

Should/Would the IMCA write an email to eBay to get this seller removed?
It can't come from an individual member as we don't represent the
association. Whilst I realize that the IMCA don't police eBay, they do
represent the collecting community and I feel that this guy relicsenb
needs to be reported!

Mark
Received on Wed 03 Sep 2003 03:56:56 AM PDT