I bought an item of jewellery that was listed as genuine, turns out it is not genuine.

[girlfriday67]

I have contacted the seller today (when I received it) to advise that I will be returning the item to her for a refund.  Problem is she says she can't refund me as she doesn't have the money now.  Also, the listing was auction only, but I said I wanted to 'buy it now'.  The seller said she could not change the ad to include 'buy it now' so to just make the payment directly to her PP acc. via her mobile number, which i did.  We were still communicating through the eBay message service though.  Does this mean I won't be covered under the Buyer Protection?  And if I am, what happens if she doesn't have the money?

- Worried

[girlfriday67]

Yes, Paypal will cover me. I listed in my claim on PP. In the message box to the seller I listed my dot points for the evidence against it not being genuine. When you compare it to the original for sale by the company on their official website, the markings are quite different. I am hoping that this will be enough for the PP investigators to be able to verify the evidence. I just have to wait a few more days until the date PP gave me for it to be resolved. Cheers

[lyndal1838]

Have you provided a letter from an authorised 3rd party such as a jeweller, gemologist , the manufacturer or agent for the brand to confirm that the item is a fake?

Paypal will NOT accept a link to a website or your opinion.

Be on the lookout for an email from paypal asking you for more information in the form of a letter from a 3rd party.  You will have a limited time to supply the confirmation and if you do not do it in time the dispute will be closed in the seller's favour.

[fixnwear]

girlfriday67, 

sorry to hear you bought the fake jewellery.

But if you compared it in the pictures to PP why didn't you do the same before you bought it.

I can't be sure but suspect PP will accept none of that - you really need a letter on their letterhead from the jeweller or store that sells the geunine ones to tell them it's a fake.

What can be hard about that - just take it somewhere and have it authenticated - or not, properly.

Best of luck with it all - and please let us know if you win anyway, without the 3rd. party corroboration - it'll be very useful to know if it ever happens to any of us in the future.

[girlfriday67]

Happy to say this has now been resolved, thanks to PP: full refund received.  I didn't need a 3rd party valuation to verify my claim that the Tiffany bracelet was not genuine, I simply listed my reasons clearly in dot-point form on the PP claim form.  They found in my favour.  It has taken about 2 weeks in all, but so relieved to have my money back.  They have not ordered me to return the item to the seller, but I am going to post it back to her anyway, I don't feel right in keeping it.  

Thanks for all the help guys, and I hope this helps someone else who has been caught like me 😉

[girlfriday67]

PP have resolved my claim and I didn't need a 3rd party valuation, I just listed my reasons in dot-point form on the claim form and they could see clearly my reasons for doubting it's genuiness. It was a Tiffany bracelet, so the markings are very obvious. I should have been MORE careful though! Cheers

[girlfriday67]

I should have been more careful, I though tI knew what I was looking at, but the pics were blurry, so it made identification difficult, I just got eBay fever and bought it! I listed my concerns about the markings not being genuine Tiffany in my claim, and PP found in my favour without a 3rd party valuation. Hope this helps

[2106greencat]

Well done,

Obviously in some clear cut instances verification is not needed, so a good outcome.

Of two minds about whether you should return to seller - Good on you for being honest, but then again, the seller tried to fleece you TWICE - first with a fake product and secondly with a BS story about not being able to refund.

If it were me, I would not return it, if you feel bad getting something for nothing, chuck it out, I certainly wouldn't let the seller get hold of it again to resell to some other unsuspecting person, not to mention, why should you be out of pocket for the return post.?

The seller does not deserve your kindness IMO

[cmcoins2000]

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@girlfriday67 wrote:
I should have been more careful, I though tI knew what I was looking at, but the pics were blurry, so it made identification difficult, I just got eBay fever and bought it! I listed my concerns about the markings not being genuine Tiffany in my claim, and PP found in my favour without a 3rd party valuation. Hope this helps

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Bet it came in the 'cute' faux aqua box or gift pouch.

Both probably worth more than the contents.

Poor old Tiffany have been suffering this for years.

I wear a silver bracelet my brother gave me for my 24th birthday - real Tiffany.

Have never taken it off - even refused when in hospital so they masked it with tape.

Now been on 42 years - love it.

[cmcoins2000]

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@2106greencat wrote:

Well done,

Obviously in some clear cut instances verification is not needed, so a good outcome.

Of two minds about whether you should return to seller - Good on you for being honest, but then again, the seller tried to fleece you TWICE - first with a fake product and secondly with a BS story about not being able to refund.

If it were me, I would not return it, if you feel bad getting something for nothing, chuck it out, I certainly wouldn't let the seller get hold of it again to resell to some other unsuspecting person, not to mention, why should you be out of pocket for the return post.?

The seller does not deserve your kindness IMO

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I'm with greencat.

The seller would only try it on someone else.

Save them from themselves.

[i-love-my-sheep]

I also agree about not sending it back. You're not allowed to sell Tiffany items on eBay anyway and she is just as likely to relist it. If she has other Tiffany items listed, report the listings to eBay.

http://vero.ebay.com/vero/tiffanytrademark2