You can read "eBay Convicted in Counterfeit Case" here. Reply to this message to discuss it.

I know this isn't the point... but who would be silly enough to buy a 'Hermes' bag on eBay??? What genuine outlet of a fashion house like that would use eBay? Oh well... I had a friend who sent a cheque for £450 for a laptop and never got it... there is a certain amount of sence needed for buyers... Rip offs should be stopped but eBay only instigates changes that doesn't really hurt their pockets, I think... Ys

CAVEAT EMPTOR.

I feel eBay should be held accountable for people selling fakes. They may not actually be the seller but they in some part have helped the seller.

I've been fortunate that I have not gotten burnt. But if I had, I would really feel eBay should be partly responsible. They didn't sell the item but the seller sold it on their platform.

They sort of helped with the crime. So they should be penalized as if they helped with the crime.

-Carlos

I don't see how ebay can be held responsible, they can't be expected to inspect every single item on every single auction to make sure its genuine and authentic.

But it is up to them to take appropriate action when someone is found to be selling fakes.

Ebay should in no way be responsible, and like the person who posted before this, there is no way a company can police every single auction, and there are probably thousands of auctions which would be totally impossible. It's just not fair to hold ebay responsible for the wrongs of the sellers. With that said, sellers shouldn't be buying from manufacturers who sell fake items. Any items that I see from dealers that say anything like, "popular-name-lookalike" and it's in bulk for resale, I don't even think about buying it because I believe those "popular-name-lookalike" items could be things that are being passed around as the fakes, and probably even if you state that it's simply a look-a-like, it's most likely wrong. (I don't know that for certain, but I wouldn't ever take a chance). Even buying or selling items that say 'anything remotely similar' to "lookalike" in the subject line of auctions is probably not a great idea either. I may not sell as much as most other sellers, but I'd rather sell items that people know they can trust. I think one of the best ways to have repeat customers is loyalty in every respect. If you plan on staying on ebay for a long, long time, you'll want to do what's always right.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: WJS,

I completely disagree that ebay is not responsible for the growing number of fakes being sold on the site. They are because the Company takes no action whatsoever when reports are made to them of people continually selling fake items. Six months after informing ebay of three sellers of hundreds of fake items these sellers are still there happily listing and selling their fakes as "Genuine" to unsuspecting buyers.
I agree that it is very difficult to police the sale of fakes. However, ebay surely should take prompt action when several reports are made to them. I have found this not to be the case.

Everyone loses out from the sale of fake items;
buyers lose faith and sellers of genuine items find sales declining.

I belong to several online groups specializing in collecting ancient coins. I and others on these groups have alerted Ebay numerous times about fakes that are being offered as genuine antiquities. On occasion, the auctions were killed. Most often, Ebay did nothing and did not even acknowledge my contact until after the auction was closed if at all. Ebay does not make this process easy, and I no longer bother flagging even the most blatant howlers. Ebay made it more difficult to detect bad sellers and alert unsuspecting bidders by permitting hidden feedback and limiting the number of feedbacks viewable. Now that Ebay has hidden bidders names it is no longer possible to alert unsuspecting bidders that they are about to be fleeced, sometimes for hundreds of dollars.

I think that there are likely other lawsuits waiting in the wings. Ebay would be better served taking the money it will spend on lawyers and settlements and do what is necessary to be more responsive to complaints and notifications of fraud.

I agree that once someone has been flagged a couple of times that their items are fake they should be banned.

But seeing as ebay do nothing to veto their members, there's nothing stopping that guy just opening a new account with a new email (other than the obvious loss of feedback that can be artificially generated)

It would make the honest people more likely to sell something.

I sell my items cheap, because I buy them cheap, I'm happy if I make about a 75% profit. But I personally check my items before I post them with any guides I can find on the internet that say how to spot a fake.

My items are bought from bankrupt/liquidated businesses and surplus stock, one mans loss is another mans gain as they say.