Anthony's Fake Fraud Counterfeit 315's And 321's...

Remarkably, whilst everyone's attention is drawn to the UK Cartel,
Anthony's has been pumping out FAKE 315's and 321's weekly, and
raking in thousands of dollars from their victims...

Here's only 1 example... I can supply several...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Stamps-3...Sw%7ECFY8CLR

Below... one of MANY faked 315's...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Stamps-3...p=true&rt=nc

Wow...that's an absolutely horrible job of it, too. The right side has as many curves as Raquel Welch!

You think that's bad... you should see all the 315's...

Go to their completed sales and type in 315... between
fake cancels and fake unused, I figure they're pulled
in over $3K this year on 315's alone... perhaps more...
I haven't checked each and every one of them... we have
been talking about it constantly in the stamp groups on
Facebook

harvardmba is just as guilty...

Running 315 AND 317...

See this 317

http://www.ebay.com/itm/REFERENCE-S...142081447750

315 (with a story) ~ So why not get a cert?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VERY-NICE-G...272737919112

One more for the road...

Anthony's latest piece of Frankensteinium Trash...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Stamps-3...272737919112

With sellers like those pumping out fake 315's there soon won't be a large margined 304 around!

Anthonys has been doing this for many years, their moral compass has long been in a spin.

What am I missing here? I see nothing wrong with either listing from harvard-mba. He is quite clear that the 317 is a fake, and even includes the PSE certificate for same.

The story for the 315 sounds like he did due diligence. The comment about getting a certificate for such a valuable stamp is valid no matter who one buys it from.

I'd want to see real proof of wrong-doing before pronouncing guilt, especially in a public forum.

Uboat has a point. harvardmba did list the one as a fake and with a cert stating such.

The problem seems to one of perception as the number of faked items listed is far higher than other sellers. The question which arises is how can one seller come by so many spurious stamps, even if he is not trying to pass them off as genuine.

I found his statement that since he was selling the entire estate he "had to" sell the fakes. I know that, if I were the person selling the estate, I would have told the owners/heirs that this was a fake and would have advised strongly against selling it, suggesting instead the donate it to the APS/PF/PSE for their reference libraries.

But again, at least harvardmba is honestly listing the stamp for what it is and with a certificate.

I wonder how many people buying something like this would "lose" the certificate? Hmmmm....

Both these sellers have a number of listing reviews on Stamp Smarter. Anyone can quickly search and find multiple examples of things to look for in listing.
Scott #315 is also noted as the most commonly faked US stamp on ebay, anyone buying a single stamp should look for a certified one or one that measures at least 21.5mm x25 mm. Buying a multiple would also be a way to ensure a legitimate stamp.
Don

harvardmba is a fraud enabler. He is trying to get his cut of someone's fraud while making himself appear honest.

Can someone please help me understand how a seller can maintain such a high level of feedback given the all of the negative instances above. Thanks. And I appreciate this post as I am/was actually bidding on one of his items now.

Collectors often know less then they think they do, so they don't know that they have been taken. Anthony's also knows less then they think they do, so it's possible to find things if one is willing to take the time to search.

Following what revcollector said, there's also human greed, where buyers think they're getting a huge bargain ("I got it for 10% of catalog, wow!") when in the case of these fake coils, they're worthless. They're still good for postage, actually.

If the fraudster willingly takes something back (and he always will, maybe to recycle for the next sucker. It cost him virtually nothing anyway), no negative right? He's a great guy, right? Just soooo nice and cooperative.

There is also the seller who only throws out whoppers every once in a while, mostly on forgeries and obscure things not in Scott. Take a look at their auctions/store. Much of the 1000s of sales will be from inexpensive things at a normal retail price.

I have the same question as most everyone else, how does one maintain such integrity with pumping out fake issues, seems like ebay would step in and ban them from the site, and I would hope HIP would do the same, and how can one be sure there getting a genuine stamp, the is frustrating for I purchase a lot of stamps on ebay and Hip. How do you protect your self?

You educate yourself. For 315, get a cert, as stated above.

Stamp sales are a gnat's eyelash for ebay compared to everything else, so expecting them to do anything isn't reasonable. As for "integrity," Don (51Studebaker) has posted several times that the seller feedback system is meaningless.