Ebay Authentic Fj helmet Fraud alert!!!!

[Munslow]

If you are not new to the militaria forums this need not be of interest to You, as we all know that ebay is a virtual no go zone for serious collectors, however, there is a particularly nasty "Fj helmet seller" currently plying his criminal trade on ebay. It appears that there is an individual from germany with multiple ebay identities taking photos of real helmets from militaria shop websites and posting them as items he is selling from his "personal" collection "with tears in his eyes" for very high prices. At best he has some repros.

This is the link to one he had up in the middle of april.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...525204258&rd=1

He was also, up until today, trying to "sell" another one with a different picture of a real helmet with the same description under the name of "jadepalast" but after being denounced to ebay fraud protection it has been removed.

The seller has at least 5 identities;
jadepalast, office-discounter, allroundseller007, servercombo, sunshine-feti

Beware of original helmets with bad english descriptions!!!!!!!!!

[Willi Z.]

Thanks for the warning on this guy. Looks like that helmet sold for about $2700. The wire looks bad, and it is copied from an original helmet that has similiar wire. Advanced collectors know how much such a helmet would bring, so given the price it sold for, someone got taken.

[Joseph Wu]

Thanks for this great info. I noticed a nice SD FJ helmet on eBay about 4 days ago, the seller is jadepalast, so I think he is the same person. It's a 3-day auction only, low starting price, good look pics & the similar story.....he is forced to sell it due to he needs money..... He also did not have any more pic about the helmet, the helmet has never been on his hand IMO. Fortunately, eBay ended his auction about 6 hours early, I think nobody has been cheated that time. So beware this guy & thanks to share this info with us again.

BTW, I think the pics were stolen from George Petersen's site.....

http://www.nchsinc.com/shop/New%20Items%20VIII.htm

Regards,
Joseph

[britpc]

This man needs sorting out

Irv

[paradet]

Hi all , just checked his different names/feedback. He also sell to himself and give then positive feedback.No miracle at all......
Btw the location is Schwerin, which is in east germany-that explain his bad english hehehehehe he should do his descriptions in russian-would be much better i bet

[Jager]

Czech helmet alert!!!

Hi, just want to let you guys know that the really good fakes are being made in RUSSIA and not by Czechs!!!!!!! they sell for 400-550 euros, and are almost perfect.. I am trying to get a hold of one to inspect..

[WalterB]

If you are not new to the militaria forums this need not be of interest to You, as we all know that ebay is a virtual no go zone for serious collectors...

Although I do applaud your efforts to alert fellow collectors, you cannot possibly be serious about the above-cited statement are you?!? Ebay has proven to be a great source of authentic, untouched militaria for me. You just need to know your area of collection and be willing to pay, most of the time, a fair price for it.

[Joseph Wu]

Ebay has proven to be a great source of authentic, untouched militaria for me. You just need to know your area of collection and be willing to pay, most of the time, a fair price for it.

I agree with you WalterB , I also found a lot of great FJ items on eBay at very fair pirces. But I've to say the authentic FJ items are seldom seen on eBay now.....
Cheers,
Joseph

[Jager]

Although I do applaud your efforts to alert fellow collectors, you cannot possibly be serious about the above-cited statement are you?!? Ebay has proven to be a great source of authentic, untouched militaria for me. You just need to know your area of collection and be willing to pay, most of the time, a fair price for it.

whats wrong with telling people where these are made? evryone was under the impression that the czechs were making these. they aren't.. what so oofensive about this?

[Joseph Wu]

whats wrong with telling people where these are made? evryone was under the impression that the czechs were making these. they aren't.. what so oofensive about this?

Hi Jager,
Take easy. Would you please take a look WalterB's reply more clearly again. He means the eBay is not such a lousy area as Munslow mentioned. He did not focus on where the fake FJ helmet were made..... Hope it helps!
Cheers,
Joseph

[Willi Z.]

Certainly ebay still has its share of nice items. I just heard of a choice smock eagle selling for next to nothing cause the guy didn't even know it was Luftwaffe, paratrooper or FJ. It is also a dumping ground for fakes. But, it is also a great learning aid....to keep up with fakes. Ebay is no different than most shows, it is just that you see the bad items sell right on your screen and you know for how much. Trust me, bogus items are sold at every show, under tables, in parking lots.

I think Jager is telling us that there is a new generation of fakes coming out......better than the Czech stuff....and from Russia. I would like to see one of those.

[WalterB]

whats wrong with telling people where these are made? evryone was under the impression that the czechs were making these. they aren't.. what so oofensive about this?

What the heck are you talking about???

[Munslow]

I am glad to hear that not all stuff on ebay is fake as I would like to be able to use this source myself to obtain collectibles. However, the purpose of this thread is to warn people of, what appears to be, the posting of a genuine photo of an FJ helmet, by a seller who does not have it.

He just sold again ((item number 6532639261) on the 16th may. I cannot post the photo here but it will be available still for a few days.

Last week there was a first world war camo helmet up for sale on ebay. The real owner posted on the forums asking how his helmet could be on sale by someone else.

It may look genuine in the photo but does the seller really have it? You may know enough to tell whether it's genuine or not from the photos but new developements show that even that is risky on ebay..

[WalterB]

I am glad to hear that not all stuff on ebay is fake as I would like to be able to use this source myself to obtain collectibles. However, the purpose of this thread is to warn people of, what appears to be, the posting of a genuine photo of an FJ helmet, by a seller who does not have it.

He just sold again ((item number 6532639261) on the 16th may. I cannot post the photo here but it will be available still for a few days.

Last week there was a first world war camo helmet up for sale on ebay. The real owner posted on the forums asking how his helmet could be on sale by someone else.

It may look genuine in the photo but does the seller really have it? You may know enough to tell whether it's genuine or not from the photos but new developements show that even that is risky on ebay..

Well, you need to take some elementary precautions before you purchase on ebay such as (a) review the seller's feedback history (the seller you point out in your transaction has one negative out of 30, not very good); (b) look at the actual auction and see if the bidder IDs are kept private (in your auction that is the case), this should create alarm bells in your mind; and (c) in order to avoid the risk that you mention about a guy posting pictures of a helmet he doesn't own, ask the seller to send you specific photos (chances are that if he doesn't own the helmet in question, he will be unable to produce the specific pictures that you are requesting).

Taking some of the above-mentioned precautions will enable you to reduce the risk of getting burned.