Fake sterling silver ring

[liswarb]

So I bought a sterling solid silver ring as the description says sterling silver to see weeks later the ring discoloured and actually is silver plated. The seller was going to issue a refund then could not find my order details which I sent them. The ring did not discolour straight away then it did. I am unable to get a refund and EBay don't seem to want to help me. This was a present and I am fuming as the seller is miss selling!!!!

[merlinwholesale]

Have you tried opening an Item Not As Described case through eBay? 

[sml192]

You have 30 days from date of delivery to open an 'Item not as described' dispute under eBay's Money Back Guarantee. 

PayPal also provide 30 days for an 'Item not as described' dispute under their Money Back Guarantee but if you funded the purchase with a debit or credit card then you have 120 days from date of purchase to file a chargeback with your card issuer. 

[liswarb]

I bought this on eBay and seller is selling fake ring so I need to report this if this is the right place to do this.
I am complaining about the seller
Lisa Warburton
Sent from my iPhone

[santlache_sales]

These are the pages for business sellers, not dsgrunted buyers.

Sterling Siilver is always hallmarked, did you not check this when you received the ring ?

Had you done so and no hallmark saying .925 Silver was present, which also tells you who made it, where and when, you could have sent it back straight away.

That is why British silver and gold is always hallmarked in the UK.

[moldosgifts]

Hi can i ask how it discoloured. I ask becasue i sell solid silver finding and over time they can discolour.

From grey to black.

How did you test the ring to arrive at silver plated?

The most basic test are magnet and acid testing or take it to a jeweller.

Magnet will not stick to solid silver if its plated it will providing underlying matrial is magnetic.

Hope all that makes sense

[sml192]

Ebay do not guarantee the authenticity or accuracy of any item listed.  Instead they provide a 30 day money back guarantee to protect buyers, after which you will need to turn to your payment provider for a refund.

You can report the seller separately if you believe they are breaking one of eBay's policies but that won't get you your money back and eBay are unlikely to take any action unless they receive several complaints against the seller.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/buying/resolving-issues-sellers/report-issue-seller?id=4022&st=3&pos=1&q...

Leaving appropriate feedback will help to prevent the seller from continuing to deceive other buyers. 

[cooksongold]

Sterling Silver is not always hallmarked.

Finished jewellery items of Sterling Silver are hallmarked if over 7.78g in the UK. Now, you might be referring to a basic 925 fineness mark - though this isn't necesarily an indication as you have sellers sticking a 925 on items that aren't sterling silver as well these days....

[santlache_sales]

Proper British Silver and Gold is Hallmarked.

But some fly-by-night have-a-go jeweller banging out stuff where the fineness is always questionable, no it won't be hallmarked.

[cooksongold]

Proper British silver and gold is only hallmarked if its over the weights required of the hallmarking act.

[ojewellery]

I've experimented with hallmarking my own designs alpha/ beta testing below legal requirement weights and its made absolutely no difference to sales or customer feedback (but reduced bottom line so I now only hallmark pieces getting towards hallmarking legal requirements).  Lack of understanding of what hallmarking actually is, is definitely an issue.  I was really surprised with my 9ct gold pieces that those hallmarked sold no better than those that weren't - these are not pocket money pieces.

People take the metal fineness mark (925 for sterling silver) and call it a hallmark.

@liswarb was it sold as hallmarked sterling silver when you check the listing specifics?  If it is sold as hallmarked but only has the 925 fineness mark you can return as item not as described - include a close up of the fineness mark.

If the silver is tarnished - turned black, it could be sterling silver but has become exposed to chemicals that have accelerated tarnishing.  All sorts of things can do this from soaps to perfumes and moisturisers.

There are various options for removing the tarnish.  The first thing to attempt is vigorous rubbing with a clean cloth - a tea towel or clean cotton face flannel can work, moving on you could try warm water fairy liquid and a soft sponge/ cloth, next step - with around the house items you may have, if you've got any bicarbonate of soda in your baking cabinet, line a small dish or mug with a piece of foil, add the ring, add a generous tea spoon of the bicarb over the ring, cover with boiling water and leave to cool.  Once cooled remove and rinse.  If there is still evidence of tarnish you can repeat the process.

Another mild abrasive around the house that effectively lightly scruffs the surface and removes the tarnish is toothpaste gently rubbed into the surface, then clean water rinsed clean and dried.  

I supply all my jewellery with an impregnated jewellery cleaning cloth - cooksongold (also on the thread) sell proprietary versions of these and they're great to have in to keep your jewellery in ready to wear condition.

Ideally sterling silver should be stored after having been wiped with a clean cloth in a dry, dark space.  Its not ideal to regularly use abrasive methods to bring the sparkle back to jewellery.

In reality we don't always remember to store clean and dry so some form of cleaning and to periodically go through our jewellery collections and restore the sparkle is necessary.

[1956glyn]

Real gold under 1 gram is quite often not hallmarked....eg earrings

[liswarb]

I have waited for a refund and still the seller won’t give a refund for miss selling item
I am complaining when the description says solid silver sterling ring
So I wait you response please
Kind regards
Lisa Warburton
Sent from my iPhone

[liswarb]

It’s copper
I use to work in a jewellers and a repair jewellers doing repairs. I know sterling silver tarnishes however this is copper coloured and i bought this as a present so I will never buy rings again, I just wanted seller to refund me as I’m really disappointed and annoyed
Lisa

Sent from my iPhone

[merlinwholesale]

Hi Lisa, I can understand your annoyance and disappointment, but if the seller won't refund the money you paid, you need to try other avenues to get your money back.  You've been given some good advice in the above posts on how to go about that.  You've also been given a link to follow to report the seller.  
This is just a discussion group really and so Ebay can't help you through this forum.

[4_bathrooms]

---

@liswarb wrote:
It’s copper
I use to work in a jewellers and a repair jewellers doing repairs. I know sterling silver tarnishes however this is copper coloured 

---

That really begs the question why you didn't notice sooner?

Anyway, eBay gives you 30 days following delivery to open a return request for an item not as described reason as per their 30 day Money Back Guarantee. After that period eBay aren't going to be interested and you will be unable to obtain a refund via eBay. If you're within the MBG period you need to open a return request selecting "Doesn't match description or photos" or "Doesn't seem authentic" as the reason.

If you're outside the 30 day MBG window your next port of call is your funding source. If you paid using PayPal you only have the same 30 day window that eBay affords but if you paid using a debit or credit card you have 120 days to file a chargeback via your bank/card issuer. If you paid via a digital wallet like Google Pay or Apple Pay you almost certainly can't file a chargeback.

If you can't file a chargeback you'll need to take the matter up directly with the seller. Click on their eBay User ID then click on the "About" tab - this will tell you whether they are registered as a business seller or a private seller. If they are registered as a business seller and they're registered in the United Kingdom (showing a UK address) it's good news - you have consumer rights you can enforce. If they're a private seller or a business registered outside the UK there isn't going to be much you can do.

You can't report a seller via these boards - most of the people posting here are other eBay users like yourself. You can report a seller using this link but that will not enable you to obtain a refund unless you're within the 30 day MBG period. If the MBG period has expired you will have to follow the above directions to obtain a refund.

[liswarb]

The ring didn’t discolour straight away and is obviously now
It’s the fact the seller said solid sterling silver when it’s not. There’s no point in me going on, I know EBay won’t refund me, to have sellers on miss selling is what annoys and angers me and taking money for items clearly not sterling silver
Disappointed
Lisa
No need for you to reply you haven’t helped either
Sent from my iPhone

[1956glyn]

Members are trying to help you and advising you of your options so i am not sure why you are telling them they have not helped.

I collect jewellery and have done so for many years and have never worked in a jewellers BUT saying that  i could tell straight away if an item was silver plated and not genuine sterling silver so apart from it discolouring i am not sure how you were fooled 😞

[liswarb]

This was never resolved so I've given up as, the ring discolouration did not happen straight away and only when it did could I bring this up to notify the seller and EBay as in the description it stated SOLID STERLING SILVER RING, I wanted a refund because the ring is copper coloured! I know genuine sterling silver tarnishes however this is definitely not sterling silver 

[sml192]

If you are out of time to do anything through eBay and you paid with a debit or credit card then you can file an 'Item not as described' chargeback with your card issuer.