Why does eBay make it impossible to report counterfeit item's?

[craftmonster81]

I recently ordered a branded product and when it arrived it was very clearly counterfeit. I reported the listing but eBay said it did not violate their guidelines as they had used all images and the information from the genuine brand. 

The only option I was given was to request a return and eBay doesn't seem to want people to be able to report an actual counterfeit item that has been received as long as the listing looks ok. 

This seems really wrong and eBay should not be making it difficult for people to report fake items being sent out. 

[redwick1]

If the item is not as described then you have to do the dispute for My item does not fit the description ( Not as described)

The seller sends a pre paid label for the return and once they have it back then you get a full refund.

You will be able to leave feedback to warn others but be careful what you say.

Ebay can only see the photos and the description on the listing so would not be able to decide if fake or not.

There are many fakes on ebay so up to buyers to know what they are buying.

If they are a business in the UK and selling lots of items then you could try Trading standards 

if you want your refund best to that as if you have a fake item TS could confiscate it.

[red_magpie]

eBay now allows sellers to copy and use any other seller's photos and descriptions. So buyers have no guarantee that the item they receive will even be the one on the photo!

As you have discovered, eBay seems happy to allow this - in fact, and even encourages it. They now also prohibit sellers from marking or watermarking their photos, so that there will be no way buyers can tell that a photo has been copied from another listing.

Can you imagine any shop getting away with this?? Buying on eBay is a jungle.

Okay, you can use eBay's money back guarantee and they will automatically take your word that the item is counterfeit, and you can claim a full refund.

But if you try to "report" counterfeits, you will find that "eBay does not accept reports of counterfeits from ordinary members". Instead, they suggest that users "can still help by getting in touch with the owner and encouraging them to contact us." That's a great bit of buck passing - let the user do all the work!

In other words, although eBay's VeRO scheme entitles brand owners to contact eBay when they spot counterfeits for sale, eBay won't reciprocate by alerting the brand owners when counterfeits are reported to eBay by its users. Let's be clear about this, it isn't eBay users who are responsible for preventing fraud on eBay, it's eBay. And all too often eBay simply doesn't seem to care.

For further information see: https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/listing-policies/selling-policies/intellectual-property-vero-pr...