Retail

Did You Just Buy a Fake at eBay?

Wikimedia Commons
Paul Ausick
Published:
Last Updated:

The number of counterfeit and fake items buyers have received from eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) sellers totals more than 400,000 listed or sold, according to a recent report. The online auction seller does not routinely notify buyers that they may have purchased a fake, even when eBay knows the item is counterfeit.

The counterfeit goods run the gamut from microSDHS memory cards to topical pain killers, according to website The Counterfeit Report, which said that it “purchased thousands of trademarked name brand products from eBay sellers,” none of which was authentic.

Other online retailers like Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) and JD.com Inc. (NASDAQ: JD) have also come under scrutiny and found wanting by The Counterfeit Report. The biggest issue is sales from third-party sellers, which represent all of eBay’s and Alibaba’s sales and more than 40% of Amazon’s.

The website reported the fakes to eBay and submitted claims for reimbursement, but instead were blocked from eBay’s test purchase accounts and the sellers were allowed to continue doing business.

The Counterfeit Report also identified a number of fake items that do not even exist in the brand manufacturer’s authentic product line:

  • More than 40,000 64 GB microSDHC memory cards branded as being made by SanDisk, Kingston and Samsung, among others, were sold by test purchase eBay sellers. The real cards have a maximum capacity of 32 GB and data is overwritten when the actual capacity is reached.
  • Cases for Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 6 sporting the Vans brand. Vans does not make cases for iPhone 6.
  • Monster-brand Tron T1 headphones that have never been produced or sold by Monster Products.
  • Dr. Numb 5% Lidocaine (over-the-counter topical anesthetic) is not manufactured in the 10-gram size by the company. The Counterfeit Report noted, “Unsuspecting consumers receive a fake product with unknown ingredients … .”

In the event consumers receive a fake product from eBay, The Counterfeit Report recommends taking the following actions:

  1. 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.
  2. Notify eBay immediately at (866) 540-3229, and open a refund claim under eBay’s Money Back Guarantee.
  3. 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.
  4. Some cases or arbitrary eBay decisions may require more aggressive action.

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