Counterfeit Products.What can we do?

[malishadesilva2010]

Hi,

I just bought a guitar and the ukulele from a seller.The seller was based in NSW Australia.

Both are fakes.(The Guitar was ESP LTD and the ukulele was Ibanez)

The seller has a 30 day money back guarantee. I really can't be bothered to repack and re post them again.So I decided to keep them.Also my issue is not about money.

Its about the principle of the thing.

Also if I send them back he will dupe someone else.

But I was just wondering in a world where everything is faked is there any way to overcome this.

One of the securities we had was to buy from Australian sellers. Well that was what I was thinking up to now. 

This seller's advert has been directly cut and paste sections from the original sites. Sellers like this will give a bad name to Australian sellers.Not only that what about the honest and straightforward seller who are genuinely trying to do a good business?

This is a losing battle in our world. Only thing that matters is Money, Money and more Money.Isn't there anything that we can do?They get away with it so easily.

It makes me sad,very sad.He is still there selling stuff.When I read the reviews on his  bay site most of his clients seems to be very happy with there purchases.

I heard that this was common in sites like Alibaba & Ali express where they openly advertise and sell counterfeits of known brands.But now its here in Australia.

Is it only me that's sad about these things?Is there anyone else out there? 

Thanks

[letscleanupmycupboards]

But if sold as a reproduction or replica and if it's not a copyright or trademark item then there should be no issue if this is clearly stated. Purely hypothetical as I've not sold anything for months on eBay. What I'm more interested in is the aspect of these items bring illegal to post. If the item is normally allowed to travel by mail I don't see Australia post drawing a distinction between an authentic WW2 tunic and a replica for reenactment etc as neither are dangerous goods.

It's not a question asked when you post. They ask about batteries or dangerous goods. Not replicas.

[lyndal1838]

It is a myth that you cannot post fake goods through Australia Post.....within Australia!

Who knows what is in the parcel....AP is not going to ask.

The problem arises when goods have to go through Customs and have to be declared.   If you know they are fakes and declare them as such you will have a problem.

If not declared and Customs intercept them then you also have a problem.

[digital*ghost]

It's not a myth, but it is largely uneforceable domestically - there is a clause in Aus Post's T&Cs that (in a nutshell) states illegal items are not to be posted, so it doesn't specifically state fake items, or those that breach IP laws, but rather broadly covers all illegal items within Australia (this is one of the reasons buyers can have certifiably fake items destroyed rather than posted back)

This also means if it is not an illegal item (referring to my earlier definitions), and not otherwise on Aus Post's restricted or prohibited list, then there is no issue posting the item. 

[lyndal1838]

But fakes are not necessarily illegal Digi.

[digital*ghost]

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

But fakes are not necessarily illegal Digi.

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They are - or, that was kinda my point, and why I referred to my earlier definitions. Replicas and reproductions aren't inherently illegal, as they can be made by the same company, or under license - you also have knock-offs, which copy the same or similar design, but under a different brand, and those are typically legal (unless the design is patented or otherwise protected, but for many things that's not applicable).

Fakes by definition are illegal in Australia, as they are intentionally purporting to be either authentic, or licensed, when they are not. 

The lines blur if you have someone listing a replica as authentic, because then the item gets labeled "fake", when in fact it's the seller who is being fake.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

@cupboards

when eBay enter the equation there is no certainty about anything, regardless of legalities.

The meanings of the words fake, counterfeit, copy, reproduction, replica etc are all attributed different meanings depending on circumstance.

A seller of reproductions will feel that they are legal, but a disgruntled buyer might think differently.

[digital*ghost]

ebay have actually defined replica as counterfeit, they are technically incorrect, but I wouldn't try arguing with them about it. (I like what little of my sanity I have left 😄 ).

[countessalmirena]

Oh, digital*ghost, digital*ghost... I can see it now.

Alley in a rough neighbourhood. Teenager in hoodie and patched cheans approaches two men nonchalantly. "I want 10g," says the teen.

"10g - that'll cost ya $7,000," responds one of the men laconically.

The teen digs out a bundle of folded notes. "There," he mutters.

The first man hands over a small bag.

The teen jerks his hoodie up over his head, and heads off.

Later that evening, he stares, enraged, at his French onion soup. "That was never parsley!" he shrieks.

[porcelain_dolls_by_me]

We are a distibutor for a USA company and sell their products in a particular range of sizings. 

eBay has numerous listing for the "same" product in sizings not even manufactured by the company of the genuine product. 

These items are bought from Chinese companies on Aliexpress by Aussie sellers and onsold to innocent buyers here.

All such listings are for obviously countefeit products and we have raised the issue with eBay on several occasions bu they choose to ginore the problems.

[digital*ghost]

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@countessalmirena wrote:

Oh, digital*ghost, digital*ghost... I can see it now.

Alley in a rough neighbourhood. Teenager in hoodie and patched cheans approaches two men nonchalantly. "I want 10g," says the teen.

"10g - that'll cost ya $7,000," responds one of the men laconically.

The teen digs out a bundle of folded notes. "There," he mutters.

The first man hands over a small bag.

The teen jerks his hoodie up over his head, and heads off.

Later that evening, he stares, enraged, at his French onion soup. "That was never parsley!" he shrieks.

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I honestly don't even know why I picked that particular analagy to run with - though it was first thing in the morning (for me), before even my first coffee of the day - not sure if that's a good thing or not. I was originally going to use cosmetics as an example, but I wanted to make sure the item in question was undoubtedly legal, even if the transaction was dubious in nature. ^_^

Not sure if my hypothetical dealer alter-ego is is chaotic good, bad or neutral....