eBay (www.ebay.com), the world’s largest online marketplace and a global leader in mobile commerce, recognizes that the coin category on eBay is a dynamic space with a passionate – and informed – community. They are listening to their customers and re-engaging with coin enthusiasts on and off eBay.com to understand how we can make the coin experience on eBay even better.
As part of eBay’s commitment to buyers and sellers in the coins category, they are collaborating with us to ensure the coin experience on eBay meets industry standards and is an effective destination for buyer and seller coin enthusiasts. As part of its work with the Professional Numismatists Guild, eBay will be setting up a program to better educate collectors about the PNG and its member dealers. Several eBay representatives were in attendance at the PNG members meeting at the 2012 F.U.N. show.
One of the first updates eBay is making to the coin category is a policy decision to remove replica coin listings from eBay.com. Effective February 20, 2012, new replica listings and replica re-listings will be disallowed. This decision was made in response to feedback received by the coin collecting community, including PNG members. This policy decision will help ensure compliance with applicable laws (the Hobby Protection Act) that require replica coins to be permanently marked with the word “COPY.” eBay will be aggressively enforcing this new policy.
PNG President Jeffrey Bernberg enthusiastically endorsed eBay’s decision to eliminate listings of replica coins:
“The new eBay policy is very positive for consumers. Most of us who have been in the coin business for any length of time have encountered numerous people who have been hurt by replicas — both financially and emotionally. I personally have seen dozens of cases of people mistakenly thinking they had a real gold coin but it was merely one of the a base metal, plated “Baldwin $10″ replicas distributed in the early 1960s as a give-away in cereal boxes. People truly believed these were genuine gold pieces simply because they’d been in the family for 40 or 50 years. The new eBay policy set forth with PNG’s collaboration will have a lasting, positive effect for decades and even for generations to come.”
PNG Executive Director Robert Brueggeman added: “Stay tuned for more exciting announcements over the coming year – this is only just the beginning. eBay is committed to working with PNG to grow the business of its member dealers.”
