Counterfeit non-genuine goods - DO35 Coupling

[bernie4634]

Ebay needs to be far more diligent and proactive with implementing their counterfeit goods policy.

I recently purchased a supposed Cruisemaster DO35 offroad coupling (hitch) for trailer or caravan. When the item was received, I then realised it was most likely non-genuine or counterfeit which Cruisemaster themselves confirmed. I spoke with an ebay representative regards this and they assisted with initiating a return / refund request which the seller actioned immediately, refunding the purchase price in full with no requirement to return the item.

Unfortunately this dodgy DO35 item is still listed on ebay by 4 or 5 different sellers. They are all priced at $360 and many buyers may not recognise them as non-genuine. (They can be identified by a complete lack of OEM (Cruisemaster) labelling and other aspects.) Fitting such non-genuine items to trailers or caravans may void insurance claims. My main concern however is these safety critical items are likely substandard and could lead to serious accidents with fatalities should they fail. In such cases I'm sure the seller would be implicit and I believe ebay may be implicit also in facilitating the marketing of such items.

[springyzone]

I had a look at the ad I think you bought from.

I believe it is fraudulent.

The photo very clearly labels it as Cruisemaster.

It has the word cruisemaster in the title of the ad as well.

Then in the description it refers people to the DO35 manual user's guide for installation & maintenance.

It may not be counterfeit in the sense that the item itself has not been branded with the name cruisemaster but the ad is obviously trying to mislead people. The fact it is below RRP is not necessarily a guide either. It is still costing several hundred dollars and these days, most bigger items can be bought under RRP.

Ebay definitely could do more to stamp out this kind of nonsense. It should be against ebay policy to use a brand name in the title or description of 'other' products unless there are some very clear guides that it is NOT that product. eg the words 'compatible with'.

I believe that the ebay rep in this case may have agreed with Bernie that the ad was misleading as Bernie was given a full refund. Congratulations on following it up, Bernie. You did well.

The fact that the seller refunded without even arranging a return speaks volumes too as I believe this may have been Australian stock, as in-stored in an Australian warehouse. (based on  very short estimated delivery times and the fact click & collect is available).

Bernie, you look as if you could be new to ebay. Just a word of caution. Ebay is full of misleading ads like this, you have to read every bit to double check things. Plus you see that bit that says 3 years warranty?

That's rubbish too. You've dodged a bullet. Had you not acted to get a refund & had you needed to claim in eg a year's time, you would have found you could not make a claim. Ebay warranties are usually useless & that is doubly so if a seller or item is from overseas.

For any purchase where you want a warranty, buy from a real store or an authorised seller.

Also watch out for sellers like this who look to be fairly new to ebay. All businesses have to start somewhere, I know, but some of these sellers come and go and I suspect pop up under different names. They are allowed to have several different accounts, it is not against ebay policy.

But it means if you do buy something, thinking it has a great warranty, you could come back and find that seller no longer appears to be around.

[bernie4634]

Thank you Springzone for your sincere and most helpful feedback (unlike others). Yes I am essentially new to ebay and have learnt quite a lot about pitfalls of shopping on online through this experience.

As you noted, this type of thing should be against ebay policy. This case is in fact clearly in breach of  ebay’s counterfeit item policy - https://www.ebay.com.au/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/counterfeit-item-policy?id=4276. I have reported this to Cruisemaster themselves and provided detailed information and ebay links, including for listings by other sellers. Cruismaster created a ticket for this and hopefully were taking up the issue with ebay. However these non-genuine products are still advertised on ebay, including by the seller I had purchased from. I am reporting these listings to ebay and hopefully they will pull these adds? This is a genuine public safety issue.

Sincere thanks again for your feedback.

[padi*0409]

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@bernie4634 wrote:

I am reporting these listings to ebay and hopefully they will pull these adds?

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Unfortunately if the sellers are registered in China, then eBay Australia has little to no power to pull the listings.

[springyzone]

Padi's right, Bernie, in that Chinese sellers are a law unto themselves & they get away with things Australian sellers couldn't.

It doesn't seem to be against Chinese laws for example, to copy photos from genuine brand name websites & use them in ads for their own unbranded products. I wouldn't be surprised if that happened with the cruisemaster item. I have definitely seen it happen with fashion items. Some years ago I was surprised to see photos of a wedding gown, the exact photos from the website of a well known brand here. I knew this as it was the gown one of my daughters bought. Yet here was the Chinese ad on ebay supposedly offering it for about $150, less than a tenth of the real cost.

It always pays to double check where a seller is registered. It may say the item on ebay is located in Australia but if you click on the seller name, it should take you to a page where there are some tabs, including 'About'. If you then click that, it will show where the seller is actually registered.

Once you know the steps, it doesn't take long to check.

But basically, ebay isn't a great place for buying electronics or anything else requiring a warranty, unless you're sure it is an authorised seller.

And as for buying Chinese items directly, you are right and there could be safety issues as well.

[bernie4634]

So foreigners have more rights in Australia than Australians do?

Now that I have reported these cases to ebay we'll see if ebay upholds their own policies. 

[sandypebbles]

When it comes to eBay then eBay Australia cannot and will not touch sellers registered in China

Report all you want, it is not going to change reality 

Buyers could easily do so by not supporting dodgy sellers registered in China in the first place

Blame the people choosing to keep these sellers in business 

eBay are not going to do a thing

Cruisemaster *may* have the ability to do something

So does every buyer who buys from China

Not what you want to hear of course

But that is the reality 

[padi*0409]

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@bernie4634 wrote:

Now that I have reported these cases to ebay we'll see if ebay upholds their own policies. 

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Even if they were to sanction that seller (they won't), I saw at least 4 other Chinese sellers with the exact same photos of the item who will carry on listing them.

Unfortunately the Chinese sellers come under the Chinese eBay site, and the Australian site has no say in how they operate, sad but true..............

Snap again Sandy...............

[domino-710]

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@bernie4634 wrote:

So foreigners have more rights in Australia than Australians do?

Now that I have reported these cases to ebay we'll see if ebay upholds their own policies. 

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That is a bit A&&&se up - they are not selling from Australia - so do not come under Australian Consumer Protection.

For goodness sake - pay the bit extra - it will actually fit & come with a company warranty.

Too easy.

[sugar249]

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@sandypebbles wrote:

Buyers could easily do so by not supporting dodgy sellers registered in China in the first place

Blame the people choosing to keep these sellers in business 

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The problem is the buyer such as this would rather come and bleat on the forum, than make the connection with the fact cruisemaster and reputable sellers, sell them for 500,  they are on Ebay for 360.   Do they really not think they are dodgy.

It really comes down to personal responsibility,  but it's easier to blame Ebay instead of themselves.

[domino-710]

Very basically - it is called.

' You get what you pay for '. 

End of.