Is Coach's efforts against counterfeit illegal if items are real.

[2ndhandeverything]

I have received 7 day suspension for trademark infringement on coach purse. This is my second violation. The first involved 2 Coach purses that were removed. This time 1. I have a friend who will remain nameless ( because Coach doesn't authenticate) who works at the outlet in Nashville who verified two of the three were authentic. Yes one was counterfeit. I now run the all by her after the first listing was removed. Now the other one has been removed and have been restricted all though authentic. Is all this Coach policing against the first sale doctrine (slapp) if I am selling authentic especially since this has happened to many people on here who are receiving the same harrasment. I understand looking out for counterfeit but it seems more likely it's because we aren't liscensed retatilers. Any help would be appreciated thanks

[bonjourami]

The op's mistake was trusting a 'friend' to authenticate his two bags that were pulled.

[myangelandmyprincess]

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@bonjourami wrote:

The op's mistake was trusting a 'friend' to authenticate his two bags that were pulled.

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I agree the friend working at coach may not be as much of an expert as she thinks she is.  But coach pulling them doesn’t mean they aren’t authentic.   The op needs to get them authenticated.   Last I knew of eBay didn’t have a approved authenticating service for purses or clothes but there are some out the op can try to use    I would first post on the fashion board for their expertise before paying for an official service.   No need to pay for something if the experts there can definitely say not authentic 

[bill11223]

I know people on line will validate the authenticity of items put I doubt any evaluation done strictly on line without having the item in the appraisers hands is valid. You run the risk of  a buyer claiming it id fake.

[emerald40]

OP, your Coach bags have already been removed twice, the last one resulting in a suspension.

Do not list them again here, no matter what or you are just playing with fire.

[retrose1]

OP, you have had 2 bags pulled and are on a 7 day.  Know that if you list another Coach (or any desgner item) that gets pulled as fake, your account will be suspended, perhaps permanently.

As I said on your other thread....I walk by any used Coach purses I see at sales because I do not want to risk my selling account.

[slippinjimmy]

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@sg51 wrote:

Take your Coach purses to the Fashion board with lots of pictures..there are several Coach experts in there who do a fabulous job.

Does Ebay take their word as protection against a claim of counterfeit?

I think that is the essence of OP's question, even  though OPs facts are a little different.

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If this was a VERO takedown as opposed to a takedown INITIATED by eBay then eBay only listens to Coach, you would have to file a counter notice against Coach and get them to withdraw their claim (at which point eBay would reinstate the items and remove the violation).

Unless you have very strong evidence the items are legit a counter notice won't get you very far. Coach are known to abuse the DMCA / Vero system but they are willing to spend money on lawyers if they feel so inclined and will not generally be scared of the threat of a counter notice.

If this is strictly an internal eBay takedown then you have a slim chance you can convince them the items are legitimate. The fact you had previous takedowns and did not dispute them won't make it easy.

Since it was a second transgression eBay have been reasonable in giving only a restriction instead of a full suspension (for a period of time or permanent). A third offense will really bring trouble so tread carefully and do not list anything made by Coach until the matter is fully resolved.

[2ndhandeverything]

Thanks yeah I'm done with Coach as the resell price isn't enough to risk it. But still wondering about the legality. It seems like Coach is just bullying people around and trying to keep you from reselling their used bags as best as possible. Also should I worry about being flagged for other designer items now that I'm on the radar? If so it really takes a lot of the fun out of the search. And which ones. I try to be as honest as possible and would feel horrible if I knew I actually sold somebody a fake.

[bonjourami]

Ebay's purse authentication service:

https://www.ebay.com/s/itemauthentication/buyer

[castlemagicmemories]

There was a former Coach employee who was listing Coach bags on Ebay.  These were genuine bags and they were removed via, IIRC, a VERO takedown. 

She had all the documentation and proof that these were authentic and she fought them successfully and won.  But it was not easy or quick. 

Also there were other sellers who fought take downs~tabberone.

You don't know for sure that your bags are authentic.  You are on the radar now and have had a 7 day.  Another take down and you could be gone.

[myangelandmyprincess]

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

There was a former Coach employee who was listing Coach bags on Ebay.  These were genuine bags and they were removed via, IIRC, a VERO takedown. 

She had all the documentation and proof that these were authentic and she fought them successfully and won.  But it was not easy or quick. 

Also there were other sellers who fought take downs~tabberone.

You don't know for sure that your bags are authentic.  You are on the radar now and have had a 7 day.  Another take down and you could be gone.

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Yep I’ve heard these stories.  Thus I will never do business with coach nor will I ever carry one. 

[retrose1]

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@2ndhandeverything wrote:

 Also should I worry about being flagged for other designer items now that I'm on the radar? If so it really takes a lot of the fun out of the search. And which ones.

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YES!!!!

Basically if the brand is known to have fakes, don't list it.  Everything from Ralph Lauren up.

[pjcdn2005]

You haven’t confirmed whether your listings were taken down because Coach filed a Vero notice...it would be fairly clear that it was a Vero notice.  If it wasn’t Vero, then I doubt that Coach itself was involved in the takedown.

[2ndhandeverything]

I saw no mention of vero

[bonjourami]

Then your purses were reported as not authentic.

[missjen831]

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@bonjourami wrote:

Ebay's purse authentication service:

https://www.ebay.com/s/itemauthentication/buyer

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And you know their experts are anything but experts right? Their experts have been caught selling fakes soooooo......