does eBay follow up reports of counterfeit items?

[coco-jakson]

As most people know, there are many fake designer bags on eBay. I recently contacted a seller advising that the Chanel bag she had listed was a fake and that the serial number on the 'authenticity card'  was a known and documentted fake serial number. Google 10218184 will verify this.

The seller did not reply, but ended the auction even though it still had just over 2 days to run, and sold the bag to the highest bidder for $2,000. An admission of guilt?

The sale of counterfeit items is a criminal offence. I feel for the buyer; some just don't realise there are people out there that will take advantage of their ignorance.

Right after I contacted the seller, I also reported the item to eBay.

I cannot identify the seller here, obviously, and sincerely hope that eBay will contact the seller and refund the money to the buyer. I won't be holding my breath however. But, you never know, has anyone ever received a reply from eBay after reporting a seller for acting against eBay policy?

[egglesdtp]

Anyone who is stupid enough to pay $2000 for a bag deserves everything they get.

[lyndal1838]

If the item was reported after the listing ended there is not much chance that ebay would act unless the report comes from the buyer.

They rarely take notice of reports from other members unless it is a seller who has been reported several times before.

[kopenhagen5]

Lets hope the buyer is smart enough to have it authenticated within the time frame to open a case for a refund.

[phorum_junkie*]

Ebay will quite rightly rarely take the word of another member that a listed item is counterfeit, if they did then sellers could just report their competitors and it would end up with nothing for sale.  They will act if a buyer can provide proof an item is counterfeit and they will also act if the rights owner, in this case Chanel, report the listing if they are a VERO member.

The buyer also has the option of reporting the fake item to Chanel and the authorities as the seller has broken the law by selling a counterfeit product.

[coco-jakson]

A report was sent to eBay right after I emailed the seller; the auction was still active at the time.  I thought there might be a slim chance that eBay would act to protect the buyer. 

Thanks for your comment.

[coco-jakson]

Thanks for your comment. I wouldn't ask or expect eBay to take my word on it. I included verifiable info to substantiate my claim. With respect, I don't think eBay would  'end up with nothing for sale'; that is conjecture and suggests the majority of sellers are unscrupulous and eBay incapable of discrimination. 

[digital*ghost]

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@coco-jakson wrote:

I cannot identify the seller here, obviously, and sincerely hope that eBay will contact the seller and refund the money to the buyer. I won't be holding my breath however. But, you never know, has anyone ever received a reply from eBay after reporting a seller for acting against eBay policy?

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The only kind of reply they ever issue (if at all) is an automated email that advises the report has been received, but any action taken can not be disclosed due to privacy reasons - items can be removed by eBay post-sale, even if the buyer paid for it, and in those cases only the buyer will receive notification, and even that won't specify why the item was removed, or whether or not the buyer should expect to receive their item.

eBay - rather foolishly, IMO - likes to automate as much of the site as possible, so while you can submit conclusive evidence of fake items, there won't be anyone to look at it and make a judgement call. They will however take the verified rights owners at their word, so in the future if you spot an obvious fake, the best thing to do is look for the brand under the VeRO members list, and contact them.

http://vero.ebay.com/

[michellebartley]

Are you 100% sure that this Chanel bag was a fake. What idiot in their right mind would pay $2,000 for a piece of junk. I wouldnt believe what Google said either.

 I would say it is authentic, someone paying that amount of money would do all the background checks first. Mind boggling to say the least.

[davidc4430]

heres a nice read on a rainy afternoon,

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Fake-Forgery-Lies-Ebay-By-Kenneth-Walton-9781416907114-/201565541174?hash...