@megazhiz,
I realise that you are floating a serious idea here, without any intention of sarcasm.
However, picture the scenario:
- Seller who sources genuine items from authorised seller, local distributor, or originating company/manufacturer: ✅ Yes, I sell genuine items.
- Seller who purchased/purchases items from eBay seller or other seller who claims that they source items from authorised source: ✅ Yes, I sell genuine items.
- Seller who purchases items from Chinese distributor who affirms that the items are genuine (intended for Asian market): ✅ Yes, I sell genuine items.
- Seller who sells items that "fell off the back of a lorry": ✅ Yes, I sell genuine items.
- Seller who knows that the items they source are counterfeit: ✅ Yes, I sell genuine items.
- Seller 1 knows his product is genuine because he has followed the correct path. He is almost certainly an authorised reseller. His declaration of genuineness is based on truth.
- Seller 2 may very well think that his product is genuine. He takes this somewhat on trust, because he is NOT an authorised reseller and he isn't obtaining his stock direct from the manufacturer or from the local distributor for Australia. His declaration of genuineness is based on assumption only.
- Seller 3 knows that he is not selling goods intended for the Australian market. He may think that they are genuine items nonetheless, but it is quite likely that he's aware there's something smoky going on because he's obtaining the goods at less than the price of the genuine items from the local distributor. He may still think that he's supplying genuine items, but again, this is based on assumption and false assurances.
- Seller 4 knows he's selling stolen goods. They may well be genuine - well, they probably are! - but he's involved in criminal behaviour and ownership of the stolen items, once sold, would be contentious.
- Seller 5 ... obviously he knows that he's selling counterfeits.
In terms of warranty, only those items sold by authorised Australian sellers are necessarily covered by warranty.
For items which are genuine but not sold by an authorised seller, it's likely that there is no warranty.
For items which are genuine but are parallel imports (that is, not intended for the Australian market), there is no warranty within Australia. The buyer can always post the item to the overseas manufacturer, but postage both ways will be the buyer's responsibility, even if the manufacturer repairs the item under warranty.
For fakes/unauthorised reproductions/counterfeits/imitations, of course there is no warranty.
In terms of the item being fit for purpose, counterfeits and fakes churned out in a Chinese factory or similar are made in the cheapest possible way to give the illusion of being the same as the brand name item that they are imitating. The illusion doesn't have to last forever, and it doesn't have to go very deep; the great majority of Australian buyers don't "lift the lid" to check the innards. The components of electrical goods, for instance, don't have to be of the raw materials required to pass minimum requirements for safe and efficient operation; they just have to do the basics for a short time. The capacity doesn't have to be as stated. The fabric doesn't have to be as stated, and the dress design just has to look roughly like the design it's imitating. The silicone cooking implements etc don't have to be made of food grade silicone, since the fooled buyer can't tell the difference just by looking.
Sometimes sellers tacitly admit that the items they're selling are cheaply churned out rubbish. There's an overwhelming number of items sold on eBay where the "Brand" field is completed with "unbranded".
No matter how many times and with how many exclamation marks and capitalised blue font a seller declares "GENUINE!!!!", it does not make it so. A declaration of genuineness can only be trusted when there's a chain of authorisation (specifically when buying a new item). Buyers need to be alert and aware. If you want genuine items with a warranty, look for an authorised Australian seller.
The seller must be
- an Australian seller,
- an Australian business/company with ABN to prove it, and
- authorised to sell the item (meaning that the local distributor will know the seller and can confirm that the seller is an authorised seller).
You can still buy parallel imports/grey goods from overseas sellers, but be aware that they are almost certainly not covered by warranty. Sellers buying such items should do their own research as to whether the seller is trustworthy, a genuine business authorised to sell the items, etc. It's usually safest to buy directly from the manufacturer. For example, I buy Emile Henry bakeware/cookware directly from the company. I'm aware that if there's an issue, I'd have to send the item to either France or the US. However, I wouldn't buy any electrical/electronic equipment from an overseas seller even though the Australian versions are significantly more expensive than the US versions, for obvious reasons.
Bottom line: eBay do not permit the sale of counterfeit items, so your suggestion makes no sense in terms of policy and filtering. I'm not saying that there are no counterfeit items listed on eBay. There are. However, eBay state that they don't permit it, act upon reports where it's credibly reported, and will suspend the account of sellers who have sufficiently transgressed the policy.
The exception - in terms of accounts being suspended or even chastised - is for Chinese sellers, because Chinese sellers are registered on eBay.cn, not eBay.com.au, and they come under the eBay China banner. Chinese IP legislation and Chinese trading behaviour to other countries, and their government's view of sellers and business subsidies is vastly different to the western world's. eBay.com.au has very limited ability to act upon reports of such sellers.
You can filter out some fakes by ticking the "unbranded" filter for brand in the left column of your search. Ultimately, you should make a facts-based judgement when you buy. Has the seller an ABN? Are they an authorised reseller? Have you checked with the local distributor rather than taken the seller's word for it? And of course... check in which country the seller is registered, by clicking onto the seller's feedback percentage (which takes you to their feedback profile page and shows the country of registration).
