PAY ATTENTION TO THE CATEGORY IN WHICH AN ITEM IS LISTED!!!

(If Ebay will let me add this update after not posting my past several attempted updates!)

The Fakes and Crooks are getting a little smarter and depending on the potential Buyers NOT paying attention to the category in which their garbage is being listed.

In order to keep Ebay from pulling their fakes and reproductions they previously listed and sold in "Original Period Items" the established fraudsters are listing the same items with two little differences:

1. - They are listing them in the "Reproduction" category

2. - They describing them the same as they used to with the exception that they are leaving out the words "genuine," "authentic" and the like. They are describing them in florid terms and letting you assume that because they look old, they are old.

It is vitally important that you take the time to determine the category in which an item is listed and how it is described. If it is listed in "Reenactment/Reproduction" whether or not the listing STATES it is not a real antique IT IS NOT A REAL ANTIQUE.

Don't be bidding hundreds or thousands of dollars for a fake flag because you did not take the time to notice that the Seller listed it in "Reenactment/Reproduction." Ebay and no one else can protect your from your own carelessness.

UPDATE 02/07 -

The latest trend in phony Civil War merchandise involves images actually from the Civil War period which are knowingly misidentified as famous personages and priced as high as $5 MILLION.

These are images of average people from the period intentionally misidentified with claims that they are "Previously Unknown Images" all based on the personal opinions of the Sellers. A claimed image of Jefferson Davis was repudiated by the Curator of the Jefferson Davis Museum and the Seller insisted he was right and the Curator was wrong.

Care to spend $100,000 because the Seller can't tell Jeff Davis from Martha Davis?

An image of someone bearing NO physical resemblance to Lincoln has a Starting Bid of $5 Million.

An image of a gent with a beard is U.S. Grant - after all, he has a beard!

A recent image of a 40+ year-old man claimed to be Confederate guerilla Captain Quantrill (who died at age 28) was disputed by a descendant of Quantrill to no avail - the Seller is still "certain."

UPDATE 01/21

Now they're gravitating to "Black Americana" and other categories.

More snow chains taken off of someone's car up Nawth to which someone added a nice tag that identifies them as "GEO. DWYER & SON - SLAVE TRADER & AUCTIONEER - 117 FRONT ST. - NEW ORLEANS"

Oh, boy! Rusty tire chains, a fake label, an old lock and the Seller does not take PayPal...what more could you ask for?

IMPORTANT UPDATE 01/07

Ebay has finally taken notice and started aggressively pursuing and ending the fake garbage that has been plaguing Ebay for so long. The blatant fakes are drying up on the Civil War category and gravitating to the "Knives & Swords" and "Black Americana" categories where they are now being reported to Ebay and acted upon.

Kudos to Ebay and our hopes that this will be a continuing effort on their part to disarm the handful of Sellers (read that "professional crooks") from Bristol, Tennessee, and Virginia who have been acting in concert to perpetrate a ring of fraud on Ebay and profit from the trust of others.

MORE FUN - "Previously Unknown" images of famous people who don't resemble who they're claimed to be

Images have been and are showing up on Ebay claimed to be "previously unknown images" of famous people from the Civil War and Old West. The only funny part is that in virtually every case these "famous people" bear little if any resemblance to the people they're claimed to be. In some cases the only resemblance is that the person pictured is the same sex from the same century as the "famous person" they are named to be.

When the Seller has been contacted on several of these listings and asked what proof he has that these are the people named his response has been, "What proof do you have that they aren't?"

His only proof...except for the occasion he quoted the descendant of a famous person who has no living descendants...is his opinion.

Classic...bid away, folks!

GUIDE START

It is too easy to be the victim of fraud and fakery on Ebay. The primary rules of purchasing authentic Civil War artifacts on Ebay are simple -

NEVER, NEVER EVER bid on or buy anything from any Seller who has "Private Bidders"

No reputable Seller has any reason to hide the bidders on an auction. The crooks and frauds always explain that it is to "protect the bidder's identity from people who want the item for themselves" 0r "to keep people from making 'second chance' offers." This is simply a lie and the purpose of hiding the bidders is to keep anyone from warning them that the item they are bidding on is a fake either during or after the auction.

NEVER, NEVER EVER bid on anything or buy anything from a Seller who asks you not to post Feedback or refuses to post Feedback for you.

Asking Buyers not to leave Feedback and refusing to leave Feedback is a very effective means to again prevent anyone from finding out which Buyers were the victims of fraud and notifying them.

NEVER, NEVER EVER bid on or buy anything from any Seller who has multiple items listed or sold but has zero Feedback.

NEVER, NEVER EVER buy anything from a Seller who wants cashier's check, money order or personal check only.

The reason they will not use PayPal is that PayPal actually can and will help you get a refund on this junk just as most credit cards companies will and they can get your money back without the Seller agreeing to it. The Sellers who won't take PayPal use the "disclaimer" that, "DO NOT ASK TO USE PAYPAL...I FLAT OUT REFUSE TO USE THEM.. I KNOW THIS MAY BE AN INCONVIENCE BUT I HAVE MULTIPLE REASONS WHY I WONT USE THEM ANYMORE!"

Those "multiple reasons" are that PayPal really will take your money back from the Seller for a fraudulent sale. They don't use PayPal and you don't have any recourse to get your money back and that is EXACTLY what the Seller wants - your money in his hand with no way for you to get it back.

Several Sellers in the "Civil War Original Period Items" area of Ebay have multiple (some as many as a dozen) Seller accounts and use these to "shill bid" (bid on their own auctions). They do this either to sway bidders to bid higher or to "win" their own items if they are not selling for a high enough bid - then they post glowing Feedback about themselves.

Fake "Relic" Knives - Bread & Butter Moneymakers

Some Sellers purchase reproduction goods and then "age" them using chemicals or by simply burying. They are skilled enough to acid-etch numbers, letters or designs on knife blades and then use metal stamps to put maker's marks and/or dates of manufacture.

The most common knives you will find faked on Ebay are the infamous "Blacksmith made (or McElroy made) D-Guard Knife" (from North Carolina, or Texas, or Virginia), the "Boyle & Gamble Bowie" (with bone and brass handle) and the "Texas Confederate Bowie" (marked for one of several Texas infantry regiments and featuring a horn handle). The "D-Guard" and the "Boyle & Gamble" are excellent modern products purchased from Crazy Crow Trading Post while the "Texas Bowie" is available from Atlanta Cutlery.

The knives sold by Crazy Crow and Atlanta Cutlery are not knives made to "look like" those sold on Ebay...they ARE the knives being sold on Ebay as "authentic relics." In simple terms, the modern manufacture knives made to look "old" sold in multiple listings on Ebay are absolutely fakes and the people selling them know it because they produce them.

Check products at Crazy Crow. Check Atlanta Cutlery for other products. Prices range from about $50 to about $90. Add a bucket of gasoline and a bit of Comet and you have yourself a "Genuine Ebay Civil War Artifact" at a fraction of the cost!

In the past several months there have been SIX Crazy Crow D-Guard "Relics" listed and sold, and a SEVENTH is running right now. Figger the odds that seven REAL and IDENTICAL Confederate D-Guards would surface within a couple of months of each other. One Seller was honest enough to sell his knife as a possible replica when he found out about Crazy Crow.

UPDATE 12/29

Will wonders never cease? The seventh Crazy Crow "Confederate D-Guard" listed was removed. The listing now shows as as "Invalid Item." If Ebay removd it as a result of the report made that would be a first and, one hopes, only the start of a strong trend.

Is it profitable? The five fake D-guards sold for a total of $1698.56 against a cost of $247.50 (5 x $49.50) for a net profit of $1451.06. That's an average of $290 net profit per knife. Even the one listed as a fake sold for nearly double what it cost to buy from Crazy Crow.

The real laugh is that several of these "reputable dealers" selling readily-identifiable fake knives and other items have written guides to tell bidders why they should not research who they are buying from or the authenticity of what they are selling and why people who want to free Ebay from the crooks who inhabit it are "bad people" and should be ignored. They advise unwary bidders to NEVER go to the Northern Virginia Relic Hunters Association "Ebay Fakes Forum" where people who actually KNOW what is real and what is fake will share their expertise for free.

DO NOT EXPECT EBAY TO PROTECT YOU FROM CROOKS!

Those committing fraud in the Civil War area and other areas have been reported to Ebay Security multiple times with no action taken against the criminal element. Ebay makes considerable revenue from the fees paid on these inflated fakeries.

Ebay will, however, send a nasty letter to people trying to inform unwary bidders warning them of "interfering" with the sales of these crooks.

NEW DEVELOPMENT

A former French Foreign Legionnaire defrauded on one of those infamous "D-Guard Bowies" (actually from Crazy Crow) has gathered the information necessary and filed a report with InterPol for international wire fraud and international Internet fraud...not only against the Seller but also against Ebay and PayPal.

The best way to protect yourself is to follow the first advice of NEVER bidding on a "Private Bidder" auction. Become informed about what you intend to buy so you can avoid obvious fakes. Seek wise counsel from other people who know what is real and what is not and who are familiar with exactly who the crooks on Ebay really are.

Finally, Ebay is a "free fire" zone for fraud, so CAVEAT EMPTOR!