Reported obviously fake goods - eBay chooses to allow them to continue selling

[weiwu108]

I took the time to report a seller based in China for listing a number of fake garments. They purport to be from contemporary designer brands and the brands are unashamedly named in the listing (Our Legacy, Lanvin, Kapital etc.) but they are being sent from China and listed at one-tenth of the price. eBay sent a message in response to my reports and declared that the seller was not in breach of their guidelines. 

I am posting here just to register my surprise and disappointment that eBay condones the sale of fake goods on its platform and what a waste of time it is to report them.

I know this is hardly an important issue in the greater scheme of things but it bothers me. I plan to take it up with Trading Standards and other agencies but it's a shame eBay doesn't see fit to stop these counterfeit sales. Times must be hard for them...

[myriad*seller]

eBay can't tell whether something is fake or not - they are not experts

You could be a competitor, trying to get another sellers items removed

So they ignore most reports as they cannot take your word for it. Feedback would reflect the fakes being sold, if the seller gets enough bad feedback they will be removed from eBay. 

Anyway, sellers selling fake items still generate fees for eBay...

[weiwu108]

I appreciate your reply - I think your last comment was most telling - yes, eBay still gets paid regardless.

I have reported the fake garments from a Swedish brand to the brand itself and they were very interested in taking things further.

Here is an example of one of the neutral feedbacks the seller received: 

"The item is clearly a duplicate/not original. Bought this to replace my Bellroy because I spilt wine on it so can compare. It's discontinued now so can't find it in stores. Thought the price was too good to be true. Shame."

If eBay are selling clothes in the quantities they deal in they really should be able to recognise some of the big names I reported - ignorance is not an excuse. I even sent the website of the genuine company to compare them to...  I am hardly an expert in clothing brands, I just like good quality clothes and have come to recognise and respect some of the names.

[myriad*seller]

The Swedish brand should be able to get the listings removed if they join the VERO programme

However, scammers have been known to join the VERO programme before the actual brand owner and eBay listens to whoever the apparent VERO holder is, sometimes ignoring the actual brand owner, so lets hope the VERO for the brand hasn't been taken by scammers first! 

eBay don't sell anything

eBay never see any of the items sold, and sellers would just report competitors to get their listings removed if eBay listened to "the man in the street" 

Get VERO involved and they will have to  contact eBay

I presume you opened a case and got a full refund for the fake item? 

[weiwu108]

Of course I understand ebay never see the physical items sold but any reasonably intelligent agent should be able to tell that the Chinese seller is listing fake items simply by going to the genuine website and comparing the garments and the prices. Otherwise, what is the point of even having of process where users can report counterfeit items? 

EBay makes a lot of money from being a middle-man and for listing goods, they should have enough funds to enable a sensible research process so that they can make an informed decision about these reports. Like I said, what's the point if they just send back a cut/paste reply saying it's all good and we don't care anyway. 

I understand that competitors can abuse this system but, as I said, they should employ agents who are intelligent enough to determine this.

I never bought any of these garments (and I'm not selling anything made by the same brands, btw) I just reported them to eBay because I thought that the garments were plausible enough to fool an unwary buyer and it seems like an abuse of the platform to have people selling fake goods.

Anyway, sounds like it's all pointless and the reporting process is an empty tick-box gesture.... how disappointing. We live and learn and I won't waste my time in future.

[weiwu108]

I just wanted to add, on a more positive note, that I posted the original message and other replies out of a sense of disappointment. Whenever I have contacted an agent about a problem or refund they have always been incredibly fair and helpful... I think I found the attitude to counterfeit reports surprising.

Ebay agents usually come across as thoughtful and decent when presented with an ethical issue and this attitude obviously comes from the top down (and must be helpful for business, presumably).

Anyway, like I said, live and learn.

[pg_kicks · Accepted solution]

Whilst I agree they dont see the products but they have a reporting feature thats not fit for purpose, having AI check stuff is just stupid especially when it doesnt even know eBay policies. I have reported items that are clearly fake, 10% of resale value, no box, having a full size range and asking you to message them but eBay still allow it to be sold on their site, they go for the £ and thats all they care about. Hopefully they are forced into action by trading standards as currently they are a joke for the reporting features, even the staff dont care, they just repeat please report we (eBay) look into every report.

[weiwu108]

Thank you - finally, someone who agrees with me rather than trotting out the usual excuses. Thank you so much for your informed reply.

Like you say, this is actually a scandal in the making and either trading standards or the media are going to take an interest in this very soon.... sadly, it must be cheaper to issue the occasional refund to buyers who complain about the counterfeit goods they have bought rather than set up a proper monitoring system.

[pg_kicks]

The thing is many don't actually see the problem, if you are selling in categories where fake items havent flooded the market its not really an issue, but for clothing/footwear its become so bad that its actively turning buyers away. eBay copied the Authentication Guarantee from other sites but it seems they just looked from the outside so it has a lot of issues still, I've offered advice as I have worked in the industry for over 15 years now but they seem to think they know better yet the issues are still here. I'd hate to think of the amount of people who have spent hundreds of pounds on eBay and dont know they are wearing a £5 copy but eBay dont care as they have got the £15 in commission. From a business view I understand the short term advantage for eBay but long term its suicide if they dont change, I'll continue to complain to management level though even though 75% of the replies are copy and paste which are not the most helpful.

[woo_an9]

I agree, what is the point of having a reporting system which is not fit for purpose? I've recently noticed a lot of fake Creed for sale. The are obviously counterfeit. Lots of 'unwanted Christmas presents' in the description. I messaged the seller of one last night politely pointed out to them, that it was not a genuine Creed product and asked them to remove it, but it eventually sold for £92! My reply from Ebay was the usual 'doesn't violate our policy'.....well actually, I think you'll find it does?!! I asked them to review, same answer. I'm just hoping that the buyer realises it's a fake and gets a refund and the seller gets called out. I just hate seeing people ripped off! 

Like you, I think 'greater scheme of things ' but it bothers me as well. I've written to Creed and like you intend getting in touch with Trading Standards. As you say......Times must be hard. Rant over......or maybe not! 

[sherdoak]

I entirely agree - I also recently purchased a branded pair of shoes which turned out to be fake.  I had fully believed the advert and it was only because I second pair of the shoes and could put them side-by-side, that I could clearly see the difference.

I had my money refunded under the Guarantee, but when I tried to report the seller for advertising fake goods, my report was immediately bounced back to say thatthe seller hadn't breached guidelines.  I had photos of the real vs Ebay seller product side-by-side to show the differences, but I couldn't upload them & so stated that I had them and was willing to share the photos, but there was simply no interest.

I find this incredibly frustrating as I bought an item in good faith and was cheated.  It seems unfair that I've reported this to avoid others falling into the same trap and yet Ebay isn't bothered at all.  My lesson is simply to never buy from this site again as it can't be trusted & I'm telling this to all my family / friends. 

There are other platforms that will now get all our buisenss instead as Ebay sellers clearly cannot be trusted & Ebay has no intention of correcting this situation.

[namelesspromotions]

I've just reported someone selling counterfeit copies of my OWN artwork. This is the second time I've had to do this. On both occasions ebay determined that the seller/item is not in violation of their policy. Hence you are correct, ebay allows counterfeit/bootlegged material to be sold on its platform. 

[simonthx421]

Same thing happened with me

reported a sale of fake silver coin 

eBay said they couldn't see a problem!!!!

im out of pocket and eBay don't care.

they allow sales of fake items on there site and still they don't care.

[dch2112011]

Great point reference brand owners which sparked a thought  - would it be better to report fakes directly to the brand owner who have a vested interest in protecting their brand - ebay seem to take notice when a big brand contacts them ?

[dch2112011]

Wow you must be a good artist that your work is being copied - in the art world does this mean you have made it ! 

Extremely frustrating and more than annoying -  hopefully you will find a way to stop this abhorent abuse of your talent 

[woo_an9]

Hi,

I did actually email the brand....Creed....in this instance. They did reply
to me although this was more general advice re avoiding fake goods rather
than addressing the Ebay issue. I did spot a couple of fake Creed items on
Vinted and messaged the sellers direct and they delisted them. EBay were
not interested. Just kept sending me the same standard message about how
this item 'does not violate our rules' Really?!! It's fake!

[dch2112011]

Yes sorry, I read afterwards in one of your posts where you said you had contacted the brand - problem is if the brand is hardly interested  what are ebay supposed to  protect ?   

It is not fair that you buy or sell branded goods and jump through the hoops to find them only to find it is a cheap copy, I feel that the brand, ebay and trading standards do not get excited unless it is a major value of goods - I might be wrong but with so many disgruntled buyers something needs to change somewhere.

At least you got the vinted items off the platform - so well done for that !

[namelesspromotions]

Thank you - I guess one could say I kinda 'made it' in terms of having enough exposure to see my work become regularly bootlegged, but that exposure came in the form of an agreement with a third party to reproduce and distribute the work with my receiving a VERY thin end of the financial wedge.  I was young, poor, and naive, and it was an opportunity to get the work seen on a scale that I couldn't afford to do myself. Now I'm old, poor, and a lot wiser; however you are correct, it is EXTREMELY annoying and frustrating to find bootlegs at virtually any given time I might google my name - the last time it was a site selling clocks, pillow cases, blankets, flasks, mugs, among other merch emblazoned with my artwork. The guy selling copies on here called me a jerk, an idiot, and the 'poster police' for informing him that he lacked the artist's permission to do so, yet in spite of a second report to ebay, and an appeal for them to read the PMs, I received no response and the offending item is still available.. 

[dch2112011]

That's some story - I suppose the only solice is the recognition your artistic talent is getting albeit of no financial benefit.

I assume you have lost control of the rights with the youthfull agreement.

As for the pompous ***  just be grateful you do not have to live with him !

I wish I had an answer for you but I don't - sorry 

Except could you produce more artwork that is not under agreement and sell originals online - your name must be searchable already 

[namelesspromotions]

I didn't cede any of the rights or give them exclusivity, I basically allowed the person in question (who is actually a well known veteran artist himself) to finance the printing and distribution of different poster designs in runs of 500 copies at a time, the more popular ones got more runs, HOWEVER, this is where it got sticky - he ended up printing more runs that he didn't tell me about. I knew this because one design in particular had evidently been printed at a different printers subsequent to him relocating - he denied it of course. On top of that, he printed even MORE runs of the same design with a colour tint added in a certain spot that wasn't there previously. The lesson here is if you are an artist, NEVER get third parties involved, do it all by yourself and keep everything, which is what I am now doing. More often than not, if I find somebody selling illicit copies, the threat of legal action will prompt them to remove it - however, in the rare case that an item is being sold on ebay and the seller won't budge, as in this latest case, ebay will usually side with the seller.