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...

[plpmr]

Why not leave feedback to warn others?

[jun_man1978]

Yes absolutely will do that also

[woo_an9]

Sorry you've had this experience. Yes, it's absolutely pointless having any
sort of system to report these things. It's put me off buying from them to
be honest. The items I've pointed out to them are such obvious fakes it's
almost laughable. As you say, disappointing.

[dch2112011]

No this is absolutely an important issue, it affects everybody.

ebay's reputation suffers - it will once again become known for selling cheap tat which it has been trying to change for years 

Buyer's will suffer when thinking they have a bargain find that it is a poor copy counterfeit and if sold from a 'private' account many will believe it cannot be returned.

Genuine sellers will have their margins eroded trying to compete and eventually will be driven off the platform 

ebay have the systems in place to wipe out this illegal practice but fail to act robustly enough to make it count. They do act so it is not completely ignored, it just seems that the guidelines they are working to are too protective of the sellers.

Amazon are the other extreme - a buyer reports an item as counterfeit or even used when sold as new and the listing is taken down and the seller has to prove that the item is new and genuine - and that is not easy under their system - it is open to abuse with competitors making reports just to gain an advantage.

[weiwu108]

Well said - you are absolutely right about Amazon too, I had a very bad experience with them as a seller

 due to a dishonest buyer. Regardless, back to eBay. I agree, they could do so much better if they had the will. 

[toolboss15]

One of many reasons I dont do much shopping on this platform. now as it has got worse over the last 10 years or so and eBay lets this happen and dosnt do a thing.  eBay is shop at your risk, so bets go to another platform to purchase Etsy is going down the same road selling fakes.

[zoomingmouse]

I recently received fakes.

I'm toying with the idea of adding some pics to my neg FB.

Will this increase the risk of FB being removed?

They easily show that what you see in the seller advert is not what has been received.

[dch2112011]

It should have no influence on feedback removal - in fact it is ebay's new toy  so if anything it should help the feedback remain but then it is ebay !

[zoomingmouse]

Will see how long it lasts - they have lifted the pics from the brand... pics added to inform others of their obvious fakery.

They have them in all sizes & other colours.

Other sellers selling them too, or maybe the same seller with multiple IDs... This is no good for Ebay at all, just a time-wasting exercise, which puts buyers off & creates distrust in genuine sellers.

[dch2112011]

Good on you - with this subject I am at a loss as to what members can do other than use the vero brand - report to brand owner function - if they are members.

If you read ebay policy and advice - it reads as though this is all covered - but it really is not being implemented as robustly as it reads  -  a mass action of reporting may spark a reaction - using report a seller for policy violation, quoting the policy rather than the item itself  or both ?

It is a real head scratcher as to what members can actually do other than what they are doing within the ebay system.

[zoomingmouse]

The seller has now removed them all from their shop, which is interesting, but there are lots of other sellers still selling them.

I do think it's worth opening a SNAD case & sending them back as their cost.

Also, taking good photos showing close ups of any flaws that show the bad quality / evidence of the fakery & post them with your feedback as it may just stop someone else from falling foul.

BTW I didn't use the word fake or copy, just pointed out the anomalies, in the hope it won't get removed.

These particular fakes are being sold by Chinese sellers with UK locations.

[dch2112011]

Sounds like a small victory for mankind   maybe it's the start of a change in  ebay's handling of counterfeit items.

Well done again !

[zoomingmouse]

We live in hope...

[alicenluca]

I agree. Sellers should declare their goods are copies or counterfeit to allow buyers to choose to to buy at their own risk. For example- no Hoka trainers are made out of California, but hundreds of counterfeit sites sell on eBay. EBay has to refund hundreds of buyers every year but still do not put restrictions in place to save everyone money and disappointment. They make too much profit from the counterfeit companies, so buyers are not their priority. It's criminal. 

[vikmaso-0]

I spotted some fake sandals this morning with the seller actually admitting they are fake in the description. The seller also used pictures of them featuring a geniune dust bag in the backgound. This auction currently has 7 bids.

I am absolutely shocked that ebay have allowed this auction, seeing as the seller admits they are fake, & I can't help but feel sorry for the potential buyers, if they believe they are getting genuine sandals.

I am tempted to report them, but seriously what is the point as ebay will only say that the seller admits they are fake on the description. So no deception involved...But they are still selling COUNTERFEIT items!

This is so wrong!

[dch2112011]

there is a distinct difference between, copies, duplicates and counterfeit - basically counterfeit is where an item replicates a branded item including labels etc or very similar labels that are indistinguishable from he real thing and are passed of as authentic thus misleading the buyer.

Copies or dupe's are copies of  the original product with different labelling and declared as such - these are not necessarily illegal -  it would be up to the original brand as to whether they wanted to pursue infringement which on these non branded or seperate branded products  is not as straight forward as you might think.

I am not saying I agree with this but it is how it works - the buyer is not being misled 

[kasiawoj]

Ebay does check shoes for example Nike Jordans. They can guarantee if the are fake or not.

[ali402363]

bit late to reply, but ebay knew for over 25yrs yet they allow it. nothings changed. begs the question why??

[woo_an9]

I think I was a bit naive when I reported someone for having fake Creed for
sale, I thought Ebay would do something about it but I just got a stock
reply more or less saying 'and so what'. I did challenge the person selling
the item, they said they didn't know, it was an unwanted Christmas present.
They still sold it to someone. To someone knowing the brand it was
blatantly obvious it was a fake. I just hope the buyer realised and got
their money back.

[docto4768]

What I don't understand (maybe as a new buyer) is that eBay don't automatically remove goods which are marked by a seller as (e.g.) facsimile.

My interest is GB stamps and there are many listed as facsimile or copy, but to sell such items is surely fraud even if marked as (actually) fake. These are antiques after all.

So is there a way to block a seller's items from appearing onscreen please?