scoutinghotfinds.com

A Guide to Identifying Recent Chinese Fakes on eBay

Below is an excerpt from the first few pages of my free eBook.  You can view the entire eBook here or continue reading this introduction.

As the editor of the Scouting Hot Finds I scour eBay several times per week looking for auctions that I think are noteworthy.  While writing my December 2 issue of the Hot Finds I spotted one of my favorite flaps of all time – the Unilachtego S1. The patch looked so mint and clean that I stuck it in there.  The next day I got an email back from one of the readers alerting me to the fact this seller was lifting images off of OAimages.com and using them to build bogus listings.  His dirty trick was a bait-and-switch.  He used the image of the classic issue but sent a computer embroidered fake.  Above is a link to the auction that tricked me.  This seller’s eBay name is discountbar.  Not very original but as you’ll discover further on in this document he isn’t the first or the last Chinese seller of fake OA flaps we are going to encounter.

In this screen grab from that December 2 issue you can see he tricked me on not one but two S1 flaps.  The 560 S1 and the 411 S1 shown here are the actual images lifted from OAimages.com and used in his auction.  I fell for it hook, line and sinker. It wasn’t too long before I got tricked by another related seller, 2011tophunter.  He is somehow connected to discountbar because some of their fakes are the same patches but he does have some of his own.  He lured me in with listing: OA BSA LODGE 378 GILA ArrowCorps5 Silver Mylar Border FLAP.  Turns out this is one of the flaps that both Chinese accounts are selling.  So they are either in business together or just the same person with two eBay accounts which is entirely possible.

So now you know why I’ve put in hours and hours assembling this eBook.  I won’t call it revenge, but rather, it’s my way of fighting back against these Chinese fakers that are ruining this great hobby.  If I can use this publication to slow down their success and hopefully lead to their removal from eBay then I will know it was time well spent.

Smiling All The Way to the Bank

This graphic shows you his top selling listings so far.  I include this to show you why this is going to be a problem.  In some of these listings he used the picture lifted off of OAimages.com.  With results like this there is plenty of incentive for him to continue and we could be looking at an exponential jump in the number of fakes he will produce.

You can view the free 24-page eBook on Yudu by clicking the mini flip book below.  Or if you want to view it as a straight PDF click here.

Click to launch the full edition in a new window
Publishing Software from YUDU

US Auctions Australian Auctions Austrian Auctions Belgian Auctions Canadian Auctions French Auctions German Auctions Hong Kong Auctions Indian Auctions Irish Auctions Italian Auctions Dutch Auctions Polish Auctions Singapore Auctions Spanish Auctions Swiss Auctions UK Auctions

Best Match Time: ending soonest Time: newly listed Price: lowest first Price: highest first Price + Shipping: lowest first Price + Shipping: highest first

1920s Boy Scout Uniform    US $71.00

OA Lodge 193 Ashwanchi Kinta F1 RARE FIRST FLAP    US $450.00

OA Lodge 217 Mattatuck F2b    US $65.00

OA Lodge 239 Semialachee S1a First Flap    US $50.00

OA 001 Unami F1a FF First Flap    US $62.00

OA 012 Nentico F1 FF First Flap    US $70.00

Philmont Ranger Zippo Lighter Philmont Scout Ranch    US $61.00

OA 028 Half Moon F1a FF First Flap    US $68.98

OA 083 Allogagan F2 Flap    US $88.88

OA 087 Bob White F1 FF First Flap    US $183.51

1949 1953 Philmont Scout Ranch National Junior Leader Training JLT1b    US $127.50

Boy Scout 1989 National Jamboree OA Service Corps Flap    US $75.00

Powered by phpBay Pro