Alarm Sounds on eBay Counterfeit Product Sales
Consumers easily duped by counterfeit products.
Los Angeles, CA, July 23, 2014 - Consumers place their confidence and trust in supermarkets, restaurants and drugstores to provide safe food, authentic products and pure medications. Government regulators and inspectors boost that confidence with laws and periodic inspections. However, that consumer protection does not extend to e-commerce websites like eBay.
Consumers often unknowingly purchase counterfeit products from sellers on eBay, and it’s no surprise. Counterfeiting is big business -- a profitable $1 trillion global criminal enterprise. US Consumers lose billions to counterfeit product purchases which often go undetected until they fail, are returned for warranty, or cause an injury. Some are deadly.
While eBay reaps billions in revenue and profit from transaction fees, consumer counterfeit product protection is lacking. Counterfeit sales continue with impunity says The Counterfeit Report®, a popular consumer protection website that provides consumers a free visual guide on identifying counterfeit products of over 250 global brands.
The Counterfeit Report regularly purchases counterfeit products from eBay with ease. Many are spotted simply using eBay’s own automated search engine which sends out an email alert, yet the listings remain. Manufacturers are vocal and clear that not enough is being done to stop counterfeiting and brand damage, and many do not authorize the sale of their products on eBay.
Some counterfeits are instantly identifiable on eBay -- and with just a little knowledge, many others are easy to spot. For instance, “fake” products and medications – products that bear a manufacturer’s brand name but never existed in the manufacturer’s product line are easy to find on eBay, but after hundreds of complaints, they are still for sale.
Here are just a few examples;
This Monster® Tron T1 Headphone is a fake.
The Monster Tron T1 headphone was never manufactured by Monster, yet bears the Monster® brand and is often accompanied with listing titles like “limited release” and “rare.”
In just the past few months, just seven eBay sellers duped an unlucky 13 eBay buyers out of almost $3,000 for this fake Monster product. Over 50 reports of these fraudulent listings have been submitted to eBay by The Counterfeit Report, yet the listings continue.
This fake Lamisil over-the-counter (OTC) anti-fungal medication bears the brand of a real product.
Novartis® Lamisil is, in fact, an authentic OTC product sold globally in supermarkets, drug stores and online. However, this liquid Lamisil “Nail, Skin, Body” product never existed in the Lamisil product line -- it is a fake. The labeling claims to contain Terbinifine Hydrochloride, but its real ingredients are unknown.
Over 50 complaints from The Counterfeit Report were submitted to eBay on potentially dangerous fake Lamisil branded medications, yet the listings continue.
The popular Iain Sinclair Cardsharp2® Folding Safety Knife is a very common counterfeit sold on eBay.
Pink Cardsharp2 knives were never manufactured by Sinclair -- and are fake. The pink knife is obviously very easy to spot on eBay, as are fake Cardsharp2 knives with the “QC Passed” sticker shown here.
Over 100 complaints have been submitted by The Counterfeit Report to eBay, yet the listings continue, including bulk counterfeit sales from an eBay PowerSeller with 54,160 transactions. eBay feedback is no indication of seller credibility or product authenticity.
Counterfeit fragrances are common eBay listings and may be almost visually identical to the authentic item. Could you identify the counterfeit Ralph Lauren Polo® and Chanel Mademoiselle® shown here, and purchased on eBay? There are simple clues that identify these counterfeits.
Consumers would be alarmed to know that hazardous ingredients including arsenic, beryllium, DEHP, cadmium, urine and antifreeze, along with high levels of aluminum and dangerous levels of bacteria have been found in counterfeit fragrances and cosmetics. Buyer beware.
The Counterfeit Report® notifies eBay of the counterfeit listings and the seller, and submits negative "counterfeit" feedback -- after accommodating eBay’s 7-day delay protecting “PowerSellers.” Additionally, a Counterfeit Product Alert® bulletin is listed for the product on eBay to provide consumers with information and pictures to help visually identify and avoid the counterfeits.
The Counterfeit Product Alert® bulletins successfully hindered and aggravated the counterfeit product sellers on eBay. eBay listings for the counterfeit products were greatly reduced or disappeared. But, so did eBay’s transaction fees, and eBay removed the bulletins.
After months of tedious non-productive resolution efforts and conflicting instructions, Alynna Wesley, spokesperson for eBay’s President John Donahoe, claimed “looking out for the eBay community” in advising The Counterfeit Report’s publisher that Counterfeit Product Alert® bulletins “do not appear to be in the spirit of eBay’s policy.” The bulletins remain blocked.
eBay has a serious counterfeit problem to solve, and a legal, moral and ethical obligation to protect eBay consumers. Ms. Wesley reports that “eBay receives 1000’s of item reports a week,” and that the removal of counterfeit or prohibited product listings on eBay could take months. Adding, “once through the system, we’ll get to the listings as soon as possible” said Wesley. Not a confidence builder for consumers that continue to be victimized by dishonest sellers, counterfeit products and fake medications.
The eBay community would be much better served if eBay put consumer protection before profits with appropriately staffed anti-counterfeiting efforts, aggressive proactive research and harsh penalties for dishonest sellers.
The Counterfeit Report offers this advice to consumers. Avoid online purchases from unauthorized sellers. When in doubt about a product, retain the product and compare it with an authentic product at an authorized retailer. Always buy with a credit card, (never cash, PayPal withdrawals or wire transfers). Notify your credit card company that you have retained the counterfeit product and are disputing the charge. Notify the seller and authorities that you received a counterfeit. Consumers can easily submit the information to TheCounterfeitReport.com website for the appropriate notifications.
Website: www.TheCounterfeitReport.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Counterfeit-Report/131568053660579
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The Counterfeit Report® is the first and only website to provide consumers a free and informative visual guide to detecting counterfeit products and promote consumer awareness. Manufacturers can immediately list and update their counterfeit product information in a central venue for the greatest mass-consumer exposure, and benefit from enhanced brand protection and direct consumer education. The Counterfeit Report uses thousands of authentic and counterfeit product photos to show consumers the sophistication of counterfeiters and their ability to create visually identical counterfeit products and packaging specifically designed to deceive. Consumers can also report seeing or purchasing counterfeit products and the source directly to the manufacturer on the website.
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