Item Received is Counterfeit
The item I purchased is very inexpensive, but still, it is counterfeit. It's a Tac-Force knife that is from the Batman collection. I never expected a counterfeit on an item this cheap, but there's possibly more listings with counterfeit items, one being the 9" Classic Italian Milano Stiletto. I'm getting a refund, but apparently this is an issue with this seller. Why is he allowed to continue with this?
10 comments
frugalmarketplace
·1 year agoUnfortunately there is so much counterfeit stuff on eBay….you have received some very good advice. Please be careful who you purchase from.
The fakes have invaded the fine jewelry category. Tons in several high end brands and eBay does nothing about it.
12345jamesstamps
·1 year agoI see where items are shipped from.
I don't think this is China-based.
It is a drop-shipper.
So I live in San Francisco.
Items listed as shipped from San Francisco and South San Francisco.
Two different cities actually.
South San Francisco is near San Francisco but not a part of San Francisco.
Therefore, the seller is selling from more than one store in two different cities.
Useless information at this point but South San Francisco is not a part of my city San Francisco.
simba6
·1 year agoI suppose anything popular is at risk for fakes.
mudshark61369
·1 year ago@jbn0177,
In looking at the seller's listings for those knives, it is easy to tell they are actually China based. Item locations not giving a City and State only California - United States. High volume seller with a 98.5% rating. No MPN in the item specifics and the low price with multiple quantity discounts.
eBay can't possibly check each of the millions of new listings posted daily for authenticity, and the seller's use of copied original Mfr. packaging and product photos, prevents them from being able to tell the difference if an item is reported. You should have left the seller a negative before the refund was authorized. Now you cannot leave a non-positive feedback or a positive with a negative comment.
jbn0177
OP1 year agoI opened my eBay account many years ago. Then I'd get a couple sellers like this, and I'd stop buying for a while, sometimes years, because I just didn't want to deal with it. Then I just closed it and after several years, opened this one.
I didn't know about how the feedback works now, I should have posted here first. Should I come across any other issues, I will ask you all for advice before doing anything.
Thank you for the information, and taking time to explain it to me.
eburtonlab
·1 year agoCounterfeit items are not allowed to be listed on eBay at all. No one is authorized to sell counterfeit items. That fact alone does not stop some people from trying to sell them, however.
The problem is that unscrupulous or uninformed sellers can list genuine items and then deliver counterfeit items.
It is not always possible to look at a listing and know in advance exactly what, if anything, the seller intends to deliver. For one thing, a scammer can simply copy a listing from a genuine seller, using a genuine photo of a genuine item.
Except for a few specific categories of items that go through authentication, eBay never sees what the seller ships or the what the buyer receives, so there is nothing for eBay to check unless someone complains about what was received by invoking eBay's money back guarantee.
Sellers are responsible for the descriptions they provide, and buyers should not assume that eBay screens the listings in advance.
As long as counterfeits exist and there are folks trying to sell them, buyers will still have to be on the lookout for them, and avoid deals that are obviously too-good-to-be-true, whether they are being sold by accounts registered overseas or by domestic sellers wittingly or unwittingly buying counterfeits from overseas to sell here.
Buyers that doubt their ability to distinguish a genuine article from a counterfeit one should only consider purchasing from trustworthy sellers that have an established reputation for delivering exactly what was described, and should avoid deals that are too-good-to-be-true, or deals that are offered by inexperienced sellers that might disappear soon after the transaction is made, or else be prepared to get items authenticated by trusted sources within thirty days to be able to take advantage of eBay's money back guarantee.
Instead of reporting the listing, report the seller here:
https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/resolving-issues-sellers/report-issue-seller?id=4022
jbn0177
OP1 year agoThank you. This isn't one of those too good to be true items. It's an inexpensive item and the retail price is normally close to what was listed. Therfore, I was lax on researching this seller. I read some of the negative comments and saw that people were receiving cheaply made items, but again, the price reflected that. Some mom and pop stores carry these knives but I've moved and don't know where to go now.
Personally, I've never bought an item on eBay that is expensive enough to require an authentication, and probably never will. For my own peace of mind, I'd rather buy from a retailer and pay full price.
Again, thank you for your help. It's just so irritating.
eburtonlab
·1 year agoThank you.
You are most welcome.
This isn't one of those too good to be true items. It's an inexpensive item and the retail price is normally close to what was listed.
Unfortunately, counterfeiters are not limited to only copying expensive designer items; they will copy anything they think can be sold for a profit, including toys, electronics, medicine and even first class postage.
soh.maryl
·1 year agoGlad to hear you're being refunded. Did you see a lot of negative feedbacks about counterfeits before purchasing? Always a good idea to check FB history before you make a purchase. It's my understanding that eBay does take action if/when a seller gets an exorbitant number of counterfeit complaints, but have no idea what that number would be.
jbn0177
OP1 year agoHi, no the feedback I saw was due to cheap materials that broke easily. After I received this knife, I went back and read more feedback. That's when I saw someone say that they had received an Italian stiletto knife they thought was counterfeit. This knife was for a gift. It was going in a collection and not being used as a utility knife. I contacted the seller, he didn't respond. After 3 days I reported him.