People on ebay resell, so imo it is important to also ask all sellers where their silver came from.  Some may unknowlingly be passing this fake stuff off to a 3rd party.

LOL...'if its to good to be true, then it's probably not true.'  I e-mailed a couple of these sellers advertising S80 silver and point blank asked the question - "Is this solid sterling or .925, or is it plated?"  Both responses were 'Of course'... E-bay needs to ban these kind of sellers who falsely advertise.  I also agree with another poster in which we need to stop doing  business with them.  I am a reseller, and only offer quality items at reasonable prices.  I'm not in it to make a killing.  But, I also am not going to sell something that I am not sure about. Just remember, your not gonna get real silver or gold for some of the prices your seeing out there.   

Oh, another couple things... learn about silver.  There are two key things I look for.  One is smell.  Silver has a specific smell, and two, real silver has a different luster about it.  Good luck.

Here is how I protected myself.......I will sell these few  I have as they match the color of the metal wire in  my handcrafted pendants but I will use this polite disclamer.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140771330643

This is all still a waste of our time.......time Americans need to spend in productive ventures cause eBay forces us to compete with Chinese sellers who not only sell fake they sell way below our standard of living............why cause their life standard is lower and from what I've been told (may be wrong) they are gov subdized to get control of our economic market.

As much as I'd like to start a anti Chinese sellers on USeBay I will not go that negative route.

It's easier to just avoid them at 70 my age..

For you younger folk who will be around longer to support yourself in a world owned by them Try by cluing the Feds in ~ there are International Precious Metals Laws being broken here.!!!!! They will solve the problem directely with eBay's abating the issue.

I did find this..but it states that laws to regulate the trading of international precious metals are very very weak.

"International efforts to disrupt terrorist and organized crime networks must pay special attention to how these networks are financed. Global trade in precious metals and gemstones has become a significant source of financing for both organized crime and terrorist groups. As the demand for materials bearing precious metals and stones continues to grow, criminal and terrorist networks will exploit weak national and international monitoring of the trade to finance activities that threaten us all. Public-private partnerships offer a real chance of increasing transparency and monitoring in the trade of precious metals and gemstones, thus undermining the financial foundation of global terrorist networks.

Serious efforts have been undertaken by governments, international organizations, and the global business community to stem illegal trade in many commodities used in money laundering and terrorist financing—especially since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in the United States. Significant success has been seen in disrupting the trade of illegal rough diamonds through the Kimberly Process. But success has been elusive in the illegal trafficking of precious metals and gemstones. Efficient law enforcement in this area is hampered by the lack of internationally recognized procedures for certifying batches of primary precious metals-bearing raw materials and a lack of well-established methods of identifying the origin of both precious metals and gemstones. These shortcomings complicate the process of distinguishing between legal and criminal supplies and place a substantially greater burden on the due diligence efforts of precious metals refiners and stonecutters to ascertain the veracity of their customers.

Russian research institutes and forensic laboratories, led by the mining and metallurgical company Norilsk Nickel, have devised advanced methods to identify the origin of semi-products bearing platinum-group metals (PGM). This methodology can be expanded to other metal groups and gemstones, taking the form of a Platinum Initiative to ensure efficient certification procedures in the international metal trade and strengthen existing certification schemes in the diamond and gemstones industries."

DEE

I do notice that a lot of Chinese sellers in China who used to list as 925 silver have changed their listings to silver plate or just silver and some put plated in the descriptions. They still show photos with the 925 mark which must be stamped at the factory or by their suppliers. The stones however are described as topaz, zircons, CZ's amethyst, garnet etc. and are really just glass.

Including a hi-volume seller in N.Y.with 2 selling IDs who listed his as designed by someone whose name I forgot. The big trouble is that the lower volume US sellers who are selling the same stuff originating in China are still listing as 925 or sterling.

I really think e-bay should seperate China from US and let them have their own e-bay, because they have gotten wise to the new items not being bought and now list in vintage!!! It is not vintage stuff they are selling..We should have our own US vintage and US estate items where no other country can list.

However that is not to say some US buyers would not buy from China and sell on US.. I really do not see how to avoid this situation, and it is a bad one for all honest sellers.

I have boufht s80 ad 925 from china, did I do a oops

As a seller of some silver items, I always state that the item is stamped .925 or 0.999 for fine sterling silver. If the seller doesn't specify what is stamped on the piece, ask before bidding if you want silver and not some plated metal.

2nd that.  I purchased some cheap S80 chains and they arrived with 925 marked connecting tags. I got some faux  opal rings only advertised as silver so I figured silver plated and most came stamped 925. I think Chinese factories put the mark on when they make their jewelry. I see gobs of Italian chains marked 18k at flea markets and the chains themselves can be lifted by my magnet. Much Mexican jewelry is also marked 925 Taxco and is really Alpaca.