Counterfeiting item restrictions 10 day suspension

[luxbuy25]

Hello. I have been buying on eBay for the last 18 years. For the past 2 i have been selling designer bags, gold, silver, etc., on the platform. I own a physical shop in LA, where I also sell.

For the past month, i have been hit with counterfeit item violations mostly for Louis. Vuitton bags. Mind you, all the bags are going through eBay authenticity department and all of my bags always pass their review and get authenticated. I always photograph actual items on sale. Make very detail’s pictures. At this point i’m just not sure what to do. I’ve reached to eBay business through Facebook but they weren’t able to help me saying that the receipt is not a proof that the bag is authentic. Then what is? So they want us to authenticate through a 3rd party before listing on eBay. I am at loss of words and frustrated. This is 3rd restriction for the past 3 weeks and eventually this account is going to be suspended. 

do i close this account and simply open a new one? With the way things are going they will flag another one of my bags and flag it as fake and again suspend my account. 

Open to any recommendations. Thank you. 

[ms.rodriguez*]

You are on ebay's radar for these bags.  Take them down and list them in another site. Getting a new account is useless since ebay will know it's you since you need to provide a valid ID and social security number.  Using the spouse's ID is useless too if you still use the same device and have the same IP address.  The account will also be banned.  

Now if you move to China and sell whatever you want, ebay can ban you and  but in  a short time , you are up and running again since IP addresses are private in China and apparently no ID from sellers in China is required here.

[pjcdn2005]

I'm sure that the same people read both boards so one post would have been fine.  I suspect that they will want more pictures as you only have one pic of the exterior. 

Unless you are an expert at authenticating specific brands, it is a good idea to get the bag authenticated by a third party before you list it. Unless you buy directly from the designer's store, you don't know for sure whether an item is authentic or not.  The authenticity guarantee program is for buyers, not sellers.  A seller should already know for sure that an item is authentic when they list it.

[rfmtm]

Do not relist until the matter is resolved.

Since this wasn't a VeRO complaint, but an ebay take down, you have a problem. Ebay appears to be doing more and more of this sort of thing against sellers of various products without giving them any recourse whatsoever to appeal it. The best you could do is have your attorney send a letter to ebay's legal department, but hardly worth it for a single item.

Obviously ebay is trying to protect against counterfeits, but at times seems to not be applying the take downs fairly to all sellers. I suspect if this practice continues to escalate, some public advocate or news group is going to call them out on it.

[luxbuy25]

I do know for sure that this is not a fake bag. And it doesn’t make sense for me to list fakes and jeopardize my reputation when I know it goes through Authentication department. It simply does not make sense. 

[luxbuy25]

Thank you for the advice. I will reach out to the lawyer but I feel like it would be useless. All the LV bags that I sell been passing the authenticity team also. So not sure where it’s coming from. To say that i am being targeted is silly but not sure what else to say 🙃

[albertabrightalberta]

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@luxbuy25 wrote:

I do know for sure that this is not a fake bag. And it doesn’t make sense for me to list fakes and jeopardize my reputation when I know it goes through Authentication department. It simply does not make sense. 

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I agree with this!! ^^ It wouldn't make a bit of sense to list a fake because if it didn't get caught before the listing ended and/or sold, it certainly wouldn't pass the authenticity check. 

But I'm a bit confused by your OP because it's contradictory. 

The way the authenticity program works is that item is sold, paid for and sent to the authenticator and evaluated. One of the following happens:

• Item is deemed authentic, item is found to match the listing's pictures and description and it's forwarded to the buyer
• Item is deemed authentic but not in the condition as shown in the listing and item is returned to seller explaining why the sale didn't go through. Usually sellers are advised to include more or better pictures showing condition and to have a better and more complete description.
• Item is deemed counterfeit, listing is removed and (I believe) the fake bag is returned to the seller. 

Yet you state that "all the bags are going through eBay authenticity department and all of my bags always pass their review and get authenticated" but you said that several listings were removed. 

If the removals happened after the sale and after you sent the bags to the authenticators, those bags didn't "pass their review." 

So were the removals before the bags were sold?  (That seems to be what you're saying.) If so, is it possible that your purchases from TRR or wherever else you source your items sold fakes? Other luxury reselling sites and sellers certainly have erred and it's possible that you might have purchased fakes and didn't know it. (I'm not going to venture a guess on the LV's authenticity because it's not my area of expertise.)

Personally, I usually recommend that unless you personally purchased an item directly from the design house or one of their retail authorized partners (Saks, Bloomies, etc.) and if you aren't expert in the brand or item, it's a good idea to verify authenticity before listing. 

The fashion and handbag boards do have knowledgeable posters who have their own specialty brands and can offer opinions before you invest in a professional COA. That way you avoid throwing good money after bad. 

[fashunu4eeuh]

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@luxbuy25 wrote:

All the luxury bags are going through eBay Authenticity Guarantee program after the sale. If you read my message carefully you would notice i am mentioning that bags always pass authenticity. Also, where do I ever mention in my post that I relist banned listings. 🙄 

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A ten-day suspension indicates several violations have already occurred. eBay’s penalties for multiple infractions are cumulative. The longer the suspension, the greater the likelihood of more/continued violations.

Please be cautious moving forward—you are skating on very thin ice. Your selling privileges could be in jeopardy. Proceeding cautiously includes boning up on the rules and policies that govern the site. My concern is fueled by a noted  lack of  awareness of certain policies and practices. 

In your OP, you wrote, “do i close this account and simply open a new one?”

All  accounts opened by one user are linked. This means if one account gets banned, they all do. Opening a new account to side-step a troubled one can be viewed as a policy breach by eBay. (Breaking that rule can get one permanently suspended, sometimes immediately, if eBay suspects fraud or ill intentions.)

Sellers cannot leave a negative comment about a buyer under a positive feedback.

When a seller cancels a buyer’s transaction due to an “out of stock” reason, that seller can get a serious black mark on their account, called a defect. Multiple defects, especially for seller-initiated cancellations, downgrades a seller’s standing. You have acquired such defects in the past, possibly moving your account into deeper troubled waters.

I mention these observations to emphasize there is a most imperative need to learn the policies. Not knowing can lead one’s account right over the cliff into permanent suspension.

[luxbuy25]

while I appreciate your response I do not find it very helpful. There are multiple restrictions because they went through my old listings and removed them one by one. By opening a new account i was thinking just starting from a clean plate. There is nothing illegal about that. Lol I was never penalized for cancelling a transaction. I was penalized for all the good reasons. LOL And it is a selling platform so of course something may get out of stock and the transactions get cancelled. You should have read about all the positive reviews that was left for me including all the items that we re authentic. You are being absolutely useless and not surving the purpose of this community that is to help and not look for all the loopholes to find fault. 

please refrain from commenting and pass your useless judgement 🙄 

[fashunu4eeuh]

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@luxbuy25 wrote:

while I appreciate your response I do not find it very helpful. There are multiple restrictions because they went through my old listings and removed them one by one. By opening a new account i was thinking just starting from a clean plate. There is nothing illegal about that. Lol I was never penalized for cancelling a transaction. I was penalized for all the good reasons. LOL And it is a selling platform so of course something may get out of stock and the transactions get cancelled. You should have read about all the positive reviews that was left for me including all the items that we re authentic. You are being absolutely useless and not surving the purpose of this community that is to help and not look for all the loopholes to find fault. 

please refrain from commenting and pass your useless judgement 🙄 

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@luxbuy25  wrote:
“Open to any recommendations.”

I took this statement at face value. 

My post was an urgent call to attention. The information provided was for your benefit and edification, to help you protect your account from the effects of current and previous actions that have the potential to cause you further trouble with eBay.

”please refrain from commenting and pass your useless judgement” 

If there is no interest in learning from more experienced sellers, even if it is tough to hear, perhaps it is best to refrain from soliciting their opinions. 

I have long served the community and will continue to do so. 

[albertabrightalberta]

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@luxbuy25 wrote:

while I appreciate your response I do not find it very helpful. There are multiple restrictions because they went through my old listings and removed them one by one. By opening a new account i was thinking just starting from a clean plate. There is nothing illegal about that. Lol I was never penalized for cancelling a transaction. I was penalized for all the good reasons. LOL And it is a selling platform so of course something may get out of stock and the transactions get cancelled. You should have read about all the positive reviews that was left for me including all the items that we re authentic. You are being absolutely useless and not surving the purpose of this community that is to help and not look for all the loopholes to find fault. 

please refrain from commenting and pass your useless judgement 🙄 

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Posters who come to the boards need to be willing and ready to hear advice, often not what they want to hear. 

@fashunu4eeuh warning about the danger of opening a new account with (your words: a clean plate) WILL result in a permanent ban. 

You are wrong in thinking that there's nothing illegal about that. Per ebay policy, it IS ebay-illegal.

Understand that people are honestly trying to help you even if our advice isn't what you want to hear. 

[maxine*j]

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@albertabrightalberta wrote:

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...@fashunu4eeuh warning about the danger of opening a new account with (your words: a clean plate) WILL result in a permanent ban. 

You are wrong in thinking that there's nothing illegal about that. Per ebay policy, it IS ebay-illegal....

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And, as I noted, it can result in any and all other accounts associated with this one also being permanently suspended, too.    But, like @fashunu4eeuh , all I got for my efforts was an eye-roll emoji (and a criticism of my reading comprehension).

I think a lot of very good and sincere breath is being wasted here.  A shame.

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[inhawaii]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

The ladies there may be able to give you a suggestion.

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Can't men know about handbags too?    😉

[inhawaii]

Apparently the OP is open to recommendations/suggestions ... as long as he/she agrees with them.

[inhawaii]

@luxbuy25 

I highly recommend/suggest that you DO NOT open a new account during your suspension.

[powell-memorabilia]

Might be because you sold "new" items?  If you are selling "new," even if you put on the (usually) misleading "other" caveat, that's what gets some sellers into trouble.   If LV has a strict set of authorized dealers, and you aren't one of them, then any LV bags that you call "new" really aren't.  They are either stolen, fakes, or you are not truly selling "new" LV items.