eBay Won't Tell You -- You Bought a Fake

Deceived buyers never told they received a fake or dangerous product.

July 28, 2016, Los Angeles, CA - As a consumer, you would expect that eBay would notify you when they learn you have purchased a dangerous, fraudulent or deadly product on eBay (EBAY). In fact, eBay even posts a confidence building Money Back Guarantee on each eBay listing page stating "Get the item you ordered or get your money back." But how would you know you received a fake?

Alarmingly, eBay won't tell you, even when they know the item you received is a fake -- an item that doesn't even exist in the manufacturer's product line, but bears the manufacturer's trademark -- says The Counterfeit Report^®, a website assisting and educating consumers about counterfeit products.

To identify what happens when buyers receive a counterfeit or fake product from an eBay seller, The Counterfeit Report purchased over 2,000 trademarked name brand products from eBay sellers. None were authentic items. The counterfeit and fake products received included electronics, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, sporting goods, children’s toys and fragrances, all represented to be covered under eBay's Money Back Guarantee. Yet, after reporting and submitting claims for the counterfeit items, eBay's ultimate response was to block The Counterfeit Report's test purchase accounts, but allow the sellers to remain.

The counterfeit and fake items received from eBay sellers represented over 400,000 counterfeit items listed or sold to eBay consumers. The Counterfeit Report found that if the eBay listings were removed, buyers viewing their eBay purchase history were misled with the message below for the removed counterfeit items and are not notified by eBay they may have a fake, be in danger, or eligible for a refund. The counterfeit item purchase on eBay is hidden from the buyer with the eBay statement; "If you've already sent payment, the sale should process as normal and you don't have anything to worry about."

The opposite may be true, and buyers could have a lot to worry about. The purchased item may be a dangerous or deadly product. At a minimum, a refund is due the buyer.

For example, buyers that received the items shown below received a fake -- they dont exist in the manufacturer's authentic product line. .

(Clockwise from left – Photo: The Counterfeit Report®)

• SanDisk® 64GB microSDHC memory card. The microSDHC® standard is limited to a maximum capacity of 32GB, but over 40,000 fake SanDisk®, Kingston®, Samsung® and unbranded Generic microSDHC® cards were sold by test purchase eBay sellers in capacities above 32GB. Data is lost or overwritten when the actual capacity, often far less than the printed capacity, is reached.  (view the alert)
  
• Vans® does not make iPhone 6 cases – but they are common on eBay.  (view the alert)
  
• The Lunatik® TakTik® Extreme model case is not made for the Apple iPhone 6®, yet The Counterfeit Report made dozens of purchases of poor quality counterfeit Lunatik® products representing over 160,000 sales to duped eBay consumers. (view the alert)
  
• The authentic Skunk2® performance shift knob is only available in a matte titanium finish. The Counterfeit Report reported 1,663 colored fakes listed on eBay in red, neo, blue, green, gold and chrome. And yet, the items remain. (view the alert)
  
• The Monster® trademarked Tron T1 Headphone was never produced or sold by Monster Products, yet unsuspecting consumers can be duped out of over $300 for this fake Monster product. (view the alert)
  
• Dr. Numb® Over-the-Counter 5% Lidocaine topical pharmaceutical is not manufactured in a 10gr. size. Unsuspecting consumers receive a fake product with unknown ingredients, and an obvious spelling error. (view the alert)

Not only does eBay allow counterfeit products to be listed, alarmingly, eBay allows the sellers and listings to remain despite repeat notifications of hundred-of-thousands of confirmed counterfeit and fake items. eBay even sends direct email solicitations to consumers to purchase the fake items.

The Dangers
e-Commerce giant eBay is no stranger to allegations of selling counterfeit goods and by not adhering to its own policies or cracking down on counterfeit goods listed on its website. eBay allows the sale of millions of dollars of counterfeit goods to unsuspecting consumers, while collecting transaction fees on each sale.

Companies that facilitate criminal activity and benefit from the proceeds of dishonest actions which impact jobs, consumer safety and public trust create a public perception of deception and impunity. However, reputation damage is only a small part of the problem: counterfeiting costs U.S. manufacturers over $250 billion, US workers over 750,000 jobs, and the manufacturer’s brand integrity is tarnished or destroyed.

Manufacturers are vocal that not enough is being done to stop counterfeits on e-commerce websites. While individual listings may be identified and removed in what is best described as a whack-a-mole process, they just pop up again with the same sellers. eBay earns over $2 billion in profits and needs to do more than the bare minimum to stop counterfeits on its website with harsh penalties for sellers, aggressive proactive research, and appropriately staffed anti-counterfeiting efforts.

What should you do if you receive an eBay counterfeit?

• Never return the counterfeit item. It can easily be recycled and sold to another unsuspecting consumer, is a violation of US Postal Regulations or Federal Law, and the only evidence for your refund claim.
  
• Notify eBay immediately at (866) 540-3229, and open a refund claim under eBay’s Money Back Guarantee.
  
• If eBay doesn’t satisfy your claim, dispute the credit card charge. You have the counterfeit product as proof of your claim and to support the negative feedback you leave for the seller to protect other consumers.
  
• Some cases or arbitrary eBay decisions may require more aggressive action.