Buy Or Buying Gold and Silver Jewelry on Ebay? Read From Real Experience!

So, you are thinking about buying gold and silver jewelry on ebay eh? Yes, you can buy a real bargain about 66% of the time. However, purchasing precious metals may not be what you think it is, as I discovered. Why not read my true life experience and learn the lessons by my example? Read my experience here!

The world is fraught with counterfeit goods. Ebay is a great outlet for the world to display these - as I have learned. Gold, silver and precious metals in jewellery and bullion are not exempt from this. This really is a time to highlight the old adage of 'buyer beware', not only from e-bay, but from many other established outlets in the jewellery business!

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Have you noticed that gold, silver and precious metal prices are at an all time high? I did! In fact, noticing an acceleration in world unrest, particularly in the middle East, the destabilisation of the world economy and the realisation that the present monetary system seems unsustainable, it seemed reasonable to look for other forms of investment. Spreading the risk, therefore, for me was to incorporate gold and silver to the portfolio and ebay seemed to be a good place to grab a few bargains. I like to make efficient use of my finances and I find it fun to bargain hunt with sniping I learned a few lessons through buying gold, silver and jewellery via ebay and was amazed in what I found! You will learn too by reading on.

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Like many of my ilke, blissful ignorance is the crime I committed when I first started my purchasing on e-bay. It wasn't until I received a gold ring described as 'Antique 9ct Gold And Tourquoise Stone Ring' that alarm bells sounded. It just didn't look right. Armed with just a Jeweller's loupe, it was hallmarked but had a brightness not conducive to 9ct gold which tends to look more brassy.

I held fire on the feedback and, determined to know the truth, I purchased an acid testing kit. Keeping exactly to instructions , I discovered that this ring was, indeed, fake.

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This process is time consuming and can take weeks before your case is assessed. They use a process of automation in the form of arbitration.

I must add, that this route can get very nasty, and, on many of the occasions where I had to resort to resolution, seller's e-mails would be fraught with denial and accusations.

However, I ensured that I kept professional and dignified at all times.

Paypal and ebay resolution can get pretty embarrassing though.

This is especially the case when you have 9 claims going at the same time because some 30% of your gold and silver purchases prove counterfeit!

Yes - indeed - there seems to be a huge amount of counterfeiting fraud on E-bay and thank goodness to my acid testing kit, I could test all the items purchased - hallmarked or not!

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It held a certificate of authenticity, was 9ct gold with diamonds and sapphires, and looked beautiful. I was delighted to win this for a mere 80. I couldn't go wrong, could I?

Wrong! This item was tested fake.

It had the assay hallmarks (GTV, being one of them), the diamonds tested real with my selector II diamond tester, but the gold fizzled on acid testing.

An On-going Investigation I must add that the investigation is still and ongoing issue.

I contacted Gems TV about this and the fact that it had a lifetime certificate of authenticity. Their response was surprise and denial. However, they had destroyed all data relating to 'those' certificates just last year and couldn't track back and if I were kind enough to send them the bracelet, they would be happy to investigate the product.

Big News For The Shopping Channel, Gems TV, To Be Found Guilty Of Selling Fake Gold!

'Yeah, I bet', I thought. It crossed my mind how these things can get conveniently 'lost', so I have kept the piece and am considering what to do next - legal action? The BBC? The British Hallmarks Assay Department? What is for sure, it would certainly be big news if Gem's TV were found to have sold fake gold items, wouldn't it?

Either Gems TV have been practicing in an immoral manner, or the seller. You could say that at the very least, their certificates of authenticity are not worth the piece of paper they are written on, despite advertising otherwise! At worse, it is fake. I may add, at this time, this item was also independently tested with the result that it was, indeed, fake gold.

Whatever, the lesson here is to never take jewellery items by looks alone. Even businesses with 'good reputations' seem to need to be looked on with cynism - certificates or no certificates!

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Ebay Is Advocating an Open Sesame For Scammers!

I appealed the decision on the basis that the item was not as described - i.e. counterfeit.

This would not have been proved so without the acid testing, but apparently, you aren't allowed to acid test for fear of damage. But then you can't prove something is counterfeit gold without testing it!

Ebay, therefore, seem to be advocating an open sesame for scammers to rip off their customers by tying the hands of the consumer for whom is being defrauded! I sigh.

It is a catch 22 situation!

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I experienced items fizzle and disintegrate on the links of chains, but with a genuine gold clasp (as in the photo), heavy gold overlay on silver and base metals, rings that are gold in parts and poorly silvered copper necklesses that make a great smoky orange and copper flare on testing.

Some items have had genuine stones and others just coloured glass. One thing is for sure, all of the jewellery items were hallmarked.

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