Counterfeit products

[mikepate38]

eBay policy states that counterfeits are not allowed. Yet the entire platform is rife with counterfeits. From profiles claiming to be jewelers selling diamonds, often times several carats, even lab created diamonds are expensive when you get into multiple carats. Especially when you get into the internally flawless and colorless stones they claim to have. And will be glad to sell to you on a 14k solid gold setting the for a few hundred dollars. The listing and the description claim them to be lab created, but the price won't even pay for the setting. And the seller has to many to count in their shop. Or high end fragrances like Creed. They use a stolen picture of the bottle probably from the web because am actual picture of the bottle will show tale tell signs it's a counterfeit, like the name is in a satin or matte finish when the authentic one has the name in a high polish. Or the metallic finish that goes over the raised letting on the bottle isn't perfectly aligned with the raised lettering. A product that sells for $500 a bottle isn't going to have that mistake. Or the label is not centered or it's crooked, again $500 per bottle, this stuff cost more than a high end Champaign per fluid ounce, the label is going to be straight and it's going to be centered. The lid has a plastic insert that is set flush at one end and raised at the other. Again, at the price point this stuff sells at the insert is metal and it's set flush in the lid so the way around. Then there is the electronics, the shoes, and thousands of other products in here that are blatantly counterfeit. And out of the hundreds of reports I have filed on products that a 5 year old could tell they are counterfeit I have never received a communication that anything was done. Yet I constantly get communications that there was no violation. It's too the point that I'm beginning to fully understand. eBay profits from sales. It doesn't profit from suspending accounts. It doesn't profit from prohibiting sellers from selling counterfeit products. It only makes money when products are being sold. So there has to be an unspoken rule that if it's at all possible do not prevent sellers from selling counterfeit products. I use to spend close to $10,000 a year between a few different accounts on eBay. The counterfeit problem is so bad that I no longer trust anything coming from eBay to be authentic. I spend less than $100a year in here now. eBay is the place to go if you want cheap garbage from China. But do not go there if you want authentic. I feel for the good sellers. The ones that sell actual OEM goods. There are so many counterfeits that eBay refuses to address that the products from  those who sell quality products simply aren't trusted to be what they say they are. Oh yeah, gotta love the sellers in the central US who don't speak English and ship everything from China. That one really opens your eyes to exactly who we are dealing with here. 

[soh.maryl]

Forgive me if I didn't/couldn't read your wall of text.  

Yes, there are counterfeits being sold on eBay every day.  You do know that no eBay employee sees or validates anything that's listed here, right? That's why eBay offers ALL buyers the Money Back Guarantee.  In addition, just like shopping for anything anywhere, buyers need to arm themselves with information about what they are buying.  

Have you considered this? If you were a seller and I were a competitor, I could report ALL your listings as counterfeit just to get you out of circulation if eBay took my reports seriously.  Would that be right? 

[tex-421]

I agree counterfeits are a problem with many online marketplaces, including Etsy, Amazon, even Walmart.  But it’s virtually impossible for companies like eBay to verify the authenticity of gold, diamonds, perfume, etc.. the list goes on.  But when you see a bottle of Creed selling for $20, or a 5 carat diamond ring for $100, or a flawless Tahitian black pearl chain for $50, it definitely should raise some questions.

[toysaver]

"the entire platform is rife with counterfeits"

The world is rife with wannbes who can't afford luxury products but pretend they can.

[tex-421]

Be kind, lots of people can’t afford $10K for a single flawless black pearl from Tahiti, but will gladly pay $50 for an imitation look-a-like from China.  

[frodobagginskennedy]

I wear my 16K diamond engagement ring with a slim band from QVC Diamodnique line.  Lots of people wear expensive stuff with lesser quality, sometimes, even fakes.

[stuff4divas]

@mikepate38  

more of us would read if u used paragraphs, so i did not read your 'wall of text' as @soh.maryl  put it so accurately,

but all listings have a report item button

[eburtonlab]

What is allowed and what some people try to get away with are two very different things.

Counterfeit 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

[mikepate38]

And it's people like you who make this place a place no one wants to visit. 

[bonjourami]

"And out of the hundreds of reports I have filed on products that a 5 year old could tell they are counterfeit I have never received a communication that anything was done. Yet I constantly get communications that there was no violation."

Its curious that you think Ebay should close these listings on just your say so. As far as the jewelry, if you are an expert, or a certified gemologist, you could submit your paperwork, and Ebay may then take a look at the listing. As mentioned, all buyers are protected by the 30 day MBG,and with almost two billion listings here, thats the best any website can do. Buyers must take some personal responsibility in this too. If they would stop buying the junk, those sellers would soon be out of business. But that will never happen, because too many buyers, want 'cheap', not 'quality',and they know exactly what they are buying.

[tex-421]

@mikepate38 

"I feel for the good sellers. The ones that sell actual OEM goods."

Authorized retail sellers of Hermes, Creed, Versace, etc have contracts that stipulate how that can retail their products.  You will not find an authorized Hermes retailer selling perfume on eBay, Amazon, or Walmart.  My point is that an authorized Hermes dealer really isn't competing with sellers on eBay that might be selling counterfeit goods.

[paxilill]

Ebay doesn't care if the seller sells enough, just look at all the sellers selling blantantly fake Ford 4WD Intergrated Wheel Ends the counterfiet is so bad that even the fake Ford box isn't made correctly or put in the correct spot. 

[fbusoni]

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@mikepate38 wrote:

eBay policy states that counterfeits are not allowed. Yet the entire platform is rife with counterfeits. 

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I personally do not see the contradiction.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

For well over 2 decades, Ebay has suffered from a reputation for being an unsafe place to buy.

It has made many improvements to keep buyers from losing money, including the Ebay Money Back Guarantee.

It still has a reputation for being less safe than bigger internet marketplaces.

It would need to limit its sellers before they list to authorized resellers of brands and certify at least a sample of their precious jewelry sellers as selling items which are as described. The cost would be higher, the fees higher, and selection of genuine items lower, as well as some reduction in counterfeits.

There are types of item that I would never buy on Ebay. And there are many, many items which are safe to buy which would be unavailable here, as they are unavailable on other marketplaces, because these tighter procedures would be improperly applied.

If you are unhappy with Ebay, you have other choices of where to buy. I used discretion on what I buy here. I limit my purchases of some items to sellers I know. And I know how to use the Ebay MBG to protect me.

I also am well aware of which items I lack the expertise to buy online.

If you have not been a victim of a seller of counterfeits, and have not been refused protection by the Ebay MBG, you are just another Karen.

[stuff4divas]

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@mikepate38 wrote:

And it's people like you who make this place a place no one wants to visit. 

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@mikepate38   oh if only that were true 😂 this place would be so much more awesome LOL