eBay Turns a Blind Eye to Counterfeits and Ethics

Duped eBay buyers never told about deceptive and dangerous products.

December 8, 2014, Los Angeles, CA - As a consumer, you would expect to be notified that you may have purchased a dangerous, fraudulent or deadly product on eBay^® (EBAY). Unfortunately, that just doesn’t happen. And, it didn’t happen when General Motors (GM) discovered ignition switch problems, or airbag manufacturer Takata (7312:JP) buried dangerous airbag problems for years. People were hurt, and people died.

Recently, eBay publicly admitted to allegations of altering feedback, blocking accounts, changing resolved disputes, overturning refunds and removing counterfeit comments and warnings protecting consumers from dangerous products. The allegations emerged as part of a nine month investigation and over 250 counterfeit product purchases from eBay by The Counterfeit Report ^®, a popular consumer protection website.

The Counterfeit Report purchases included counterfeit Apple iPhone chargers, which have been implicated in starting fires, injuries and a death, as well as over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, sporting goods, children’s toys, fragrances, and even an auto tire. Some products bearing a manufacturers name, never even existed in the manufacturer’s product line.

The eBay facade created to appease inquiring reporters quickly vaporized in less than a week when Director of Global Policy, Gary Fullmer, and Senior Manager of Global Brand Protection, Daniel Shapiro backtracked on their commitment to The Counterfeit Report for reform to protect consumers. Calls and emails still go unanswered and dangerous product sales, counterfeit sellers, and eBay’s obstructionist practices continued.

The Counterfeit Report research highlighted a woefully inadequate, understaffed and dysfunctional business process for handling fakes, dishonest buyers and sellers. Consumers rarely can identify counterfeits, and when they do, they are faced with a gauntlet of confusing challenges leading to eBay system failures, arbitrary decisions and conflicting instructions.  Previous buyers of the identified counterfeits are not notified by eBay they may have a fake, be in danger, or eligible for a refund.

Even when sellers admitted to selling counterfeits, eBay ruled in favor of the seller, removed feedback or demanded the counterfeits be returned to the seller. This simply allows the product to be sold to the next unsuspecting consumer.

It is a violation eBay policy and unlawful to return counterfeits -- trafficking in counterfeits is a crime. 

Here are just a few fraudulent, dangerous or potentially deadly counterfeit products purchased on eBay by The Counterfeit Report and remain. Ironically, The Counterfeit Report is alerted to many of these counterfeit products using eBay’s own consumer notification system.

Examples of products purchased from eBay sellers;

	Your life literally rides on your tires. The manufacturer of the authentic Pegasus Advanta SUV® tire ceased production in December 2011, and the factory was destroyed. This reported counterfeit tire bearing the trademarked Pegasus Advanta SUV brand has a required DOT (Department of Transportation) date code, July 2013, and was purchased on eBay. The manufacturer of the authentic Pegasus Advanta tire stated “We have no idea who may have made the counterfeit tires or what they put in them.” Counterfeits damage the legitimate manufacturer's brand name and reputation.
	Counterfeit Apple iPhone® USB Chargers have damaged equipment, caused injuries, fires, and one death, yet are common on eBay. Could you identify this counterfeit Apple charger purchased on eBay. Over 4,200 of these chargers have been sold by the seller of this counterfeit on eBay. Counterfeit eBay sellers may claim an authentic Apple iPhone® charger, but send counterfeits. The counterfeit UL mark shown here further deceives consumers, but counterfeits are not evaluated by UL for safety. The Counterfeit Report purchased various counterfeit "Apple” Chargers from eBay sellers and submitted complaints to eBay, yet the sellers remain and the dangerous counterfeit product listings continue.
	Counterfeits memory may damage your equipment, destroy data, or your once in a lifetime photos. Consumers are easily deceived by counterfeit memory cards which are difficult to detect without test software and are usually have much lower memory capacity than stated. Labeled as a SanDisk® 64GB microSDHC memory card, this product does not exist in the SanDisk product line, and is confirmed by SanDisk to be a fake. Look closely and you will see the package is marked SDHC, but actually contains an SDXC labeled memory card. While an obvious fake, eBay inexplicably ruled in favor of the seller in the counterfeit product dispute case and removed the counterfeit feedback for the seller, who remains active on eBay.
	Counterfeit fragrances are common on the internet and eBay. Consumers would be alarmed to know that counterfeit fragrances and cosmetics have been found to contain hazardous ingredients including arsenic, beryllium, DEHP (a plasticizer with health risks) and cadmium (a carcinogen), urine and antifreeze, along with high levels of aluminum and dangerous levels of bacteria. Is this something you would want to put on your body?
	Several counterfeit versions of the popular children's Rainbow Loom ® craft kits were purchased on eBay. They are unsafe for children, may shatter into sharp edges and have not been tested in accordance with U.S. Toy Safety Standards (may contain lead and other dangerous substances). Counterfeits do not comply with any ASTM, CPSIA, EU, or Japan's toy safety standards.

eBay earns over $2 billion in profits and needs to do more than the bare minimum to stop counterfeits on its website. The eBay consumer would be much better served if eBay put consumer protection before profits with aggressive proactive research, harsh penalties for sellers, and appropriately staffed anti-counterfeiting efforts.

In February Carl Icahn, a 7% eBay shareholder, told Forbes “The complete disregard for accountability at eBay is the most blatant we have ever seen.”

It couldn’t have been said better…

Website: www.TheCounterfeitReport.com