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eBay Mokume fraudulent listings

#1

I recently discovered a jewelry maker listing his products
fraudulently on eBay. A search on the term “mokume” turned up a long
list of titanium rings. They were neither made of nore did they
contain Mokume . The maker just called them mokume to get them to be
seen by folks looking for rings. When I contacted the maker he was
belligerent huffed and puffed about applying for a trademark on
Mokume. That was a laugh!

I contacted Ebay about the fraudulent listings with some supporting
documentation. They responded and the listings have been removed.
Below is their letter and a guide to reporting fraudulent listings
and other problems. It is a little time consuming but worth the
effort.

After pin pointing the area of concern you just click on "Contact Us"
and fill in the form.

Bill

PS The term “mokume -gane” keeps turning up in inappropriate places.
For instance you can make "mokume " from Fimo. That would be “wood
grain Fimo” or “wood grain plastic”. You can not make Fimo “Mokume
-gane”. The term “-gane” in this instance means metal. If it is not
metal the full term cannot be applied.

Ebay Form removed - Sorry No ebay links on Orchid, Please!

Bill

Bill Seeley, President
Reactive Metals Studio, Inc.
@Bill_Seeley1
928/634-3434 * 800/876-3434

#2

Here come all the Mokume-gane ‘style’ listings lol Ebay is full of
people using terms incorrectly I wish I had a penny for every 'cameo’
that is an oval plastic, porcelain, glass cab with a decal plastered
on.

teri
An American Cameo Artist
www.cameoartist.com

#3

I’m curious, did the listings contain the word Mokume in the title
or in the body of the auction (like keywords). If “Mokume” was in
the body of the auction, fraudulent seems like a harsh term. In
addition what bothers me, is that you seem tickled that got this
guy’s listings vero’d off of Ebay. Why? Did his selling these rings
hurt you or your business? Maybe a quick note to him saying you’re
selling titanium rings not mokume would have been nice. “Here’s what
mokume means yada yada yada”, he may have responded differently.
Kind of like somebody coming into your retail store and telling you
how to run your business. (Old folks showing up at 8am to have watch
batteries repalced when you open at 10 comes to mind.)

-Stanley Bright

#4

I don’t think you understand. Fraud and misrepresentation on Ebay is
rampant. Along with yes it does hurt us when someone uses the term
in their auction. It messes up the ebay search enginges and is
considered ‘spamming’ and a no no by Ebay auction rules. One listing
is a mistake 30 is fraud. Fraud is a crime. Ebay encourages it’s
members to help police the site. It is definitely not an over
reaction and I have contacted many many people about auction items
and identifying them. I usually send a hi I thought you should know
I recognize the cameo and it is made from… and worth a lot more
than you are asking and if you describe it better you will get more
money. That usually seems to work lol

I have also asked sellers about wrongly listed items usually when it
is a misrepresentation on purpose you can tell by the listings and
the people are almost always belligerent because they know they are
thieves.

Recent trends…if someone has their feedback private and the deal
looks too good to be true then indeed beware! Jus tlook up VCR or
DVR and you will see what I mean free shipping no feedback or hidden
feedback and recent members of ebay. Selling 200 dollar machines for
30 bucks…hmmm if the machines exist they are probably stolen but I
think they are a virtual item and your $30 would be long gone.

Teri
An American Cameo Artist
www.cameoartist.com

#5 
    I'm curious, did the listings contain the word Mokume in the
title or in the body of the auction (like keywords).

Stanely, He listed his rings in the title of the objects as Mokume.
I wrote him before I contacted eBay.He knew what he was doing. It is
hard enough to educate the public about our more exotic materials
without people making up anything they want. When you see something
wrong do something about. Don’t call it gold if it is plated, don’t
call it silver if it is nickel. Don’t call it wood grain if it is
titanium. Honesty is good for us all. Bill

Reactive Metals Studio, Inc.
PO Box 890 * Clarkdale, AZ 86324
Ph-928/634-3434 * Ph-800/876-3434 * Fax-928/634-6734
E-mail- @Michele_Deborah_Bill
Catalog- www.reactivemetals.com

#6 
"what bothers me, is that you seem tickled that got this guy's
listings vero'd off of Ebay. Why?  Did his selling these rings hurt
you or your business?"

Stanley,

You seem to be saying that as long as a person is not being
directly harmed by the fraudulent, misleading or ignorant behavior
of another, then it’s perfectly alright to let that behavior
continue. I disagree. I am of the quaint belief that we all have
the moral responsibility to try to correct wrong behavior when we
have the chance. I also believe that ignorance is no excuse. A
seller has a responsibility to know what he or she is selling.
Unfortunately, when it comes to gems and jewelry on ebay, ignorant
or unscrupulous sellers thrive on the fact that not enough buyers
or prospective buyers have the moral courage or inclination to do
the right thing and take the action available to them to get these
clowns out. You should try it some time. You will some pretty lively
email correspondence with them. I know that from experience!

Jerry in Kodiak

#7 
Kind of like somebody coming into your retail store and telling you
how to run your business. (Old folks showing up at 8am to have
watch batteries repalced when you open at 10 comes to mind.)

Yeah, the nerve of them old geezers

But Stanley - their batteries were dead - not their fault they
didn’t know what time it was!

Marty in Victoria, on Island Time

#8

I agree with Teri about not just sitting back and letting it be
someone else’s problem. I also sell as well as buy on Ebay. I have
brought to Ebay’s attention several flagarant cases of fraud and
they have been very quick to take action. This is something we all
should realize is in our interest to keep people from becoming the
victims of as it will also keep people happy to know there are honest
business people out here.

Ms.Terry Pettit
www.earthmagics.com

#9

The only people who can fight fraud on Ebay are it’s users. There is
so much product that the administrators can only rely on the users
to BLOW THE WHISTLE on the scammers. Pass the word.

#10 
The only people who can fight fraud on Ebay are it's users. There is
so much product that the administrators can only rely on the users...

fray in March and purchased some sugilite which turned out to be
plastic. The seller refunded my payment, but ignored my concern that
he was selling fake gems as genuine. I’ve brought it up numerous
times with eBay, including through Community Outreach and Customer
Support, and the bottom line (as of their e-mail last week) is that
this seller “does not meet our internal guidelines for suspension”.
While this is a high volume seller who has continued to sell lots of
this crap, and eBay has the input of a Graduate Gemologist (me) that
it’s fake, they’re taking no action and is considering the case
closed. “Buyer beware” just isn’t an excuse in my opinion. It irks me
that people can continue to take advantage of others and get away
with it, but after all the effort I put into this, guess I have to
let this one go…

Cindy Crounse
Refined Designs

#11 
        From my experience, they don't seem to care. I stepped
into the eBay fray in March and purchased some sugilite which
turned out to be plastic. The seller refunded my payment, but
ignored my concern that he was selling fake gems as genuine. I've
brought it up numerous times with eBay, including through Community
Outreach and Customer Support, and the bottom line (as of their
e-mail last week) is that this seller "does not meet our internal
guidelines for suspension".

Amen to your post…I agree with you! As the saying goes, if you
get enough people who agree, a cat’s meow turns into a lions roar!
People must unite to get things done these days…sad but true!

#12

The sellers that commit fraud are relying on ignorance or passivity
of the buyers. They committed a federal offense. Mail fraud go to
your postmaster and ask for the forms to file. Selling one thing and
mailing another is mail fraud. They think because it is a low cost
item no one will bother. Go ahead bother. :slight_smile:

Teri
An American Cameo Artist
www.cameoartist.com

#13

you can also file a complaint with the postmaster general
online…just do a search on the net for the addy. Won’t be hard to
find. Also you can get in touch with the “Federal Trade Commission”!