eBay taking STRONG measures against fraudsters and counterfeiters!

The buzz is that eBay is about to take some positive steps toward stopping potential counterfeit goods being sold as soon as THIS WEEK!

The general challenge on eBay is there are items that are frequently targeted by counterfeiters (e.g. Louis Vitton handbags, nike sneakers, etc.).  Bad guys use fake ID info and even if they are reported and booted, they come back.  Thus many sellers have been calling for deeper seller registration requirements to stop the "coming back". problem.  Also these guys use tricks like 1 day auctions so that eBay TnS doesn't catch them, etc.

We have inside information that eBay is going to take these actions shortly:

1. Paypal verification will be required to list more than one item that is often counterfeited – don’t have to accept paypal, just have to be verified.  This will give ebay a higher level of knowledge of the seller  (presumably allowing them to  track bad guys better and stop them from opening account after account with different basic info).
2. Seller review – sellers will be limited to listing a small number of items until the sellers account has undergone an initial review. Once you list an item, you will go under review (by TnS I'm guessing - they are going to look for past  issues I'm betting to gauge the seller's trustable).
3. 1-3 day listings done - Elimination of 1 and 3 day listings of these items that are often counterfeited by all sellers.
4. Restricting of cross-border trade - HK/china specifically (e.g. won't be able to sell to china from  Europe, from China to Europe, etc. (China is the source of lots of counterfeits from what I've heard).

What is the list of items most often counterfeited?  eBay isn't going to issue this list because it gives the bad guys a head's up. 

I think this is a long-term positive.  From a short-term perspective, sellers never want to see a change in Q4, so its going to be interesting to see how good sellers of these items react.

Comments

[Valerie]

I am a verified power seller , I have been on ebay for 9 years and have never sold a fake item. I am a Square Trade member, Pay Pal verified and preferred seller . I have a great record and great integrity in all my selling and all my items , this includes the many Luxury items I sell . I don't have a problem with waiting 10 hours for a listing to show up , I have nothing to loose by this but time. What I do have a problem with is "Square Trade" , they use automatic logo inserts , this means it takes up to 24 hours to add the Square Trade logo which in return puts a "revised" status on all your items, making it another 10 hours for the listing to show up . It is a major set back and I am now thinking that Square Trade is not worth it . To loose 24-34 hours on an items is NUTS ! I am thinking I may stop using them . I have an auction on now that is going on 24 hours to list because of this ! Help , there are no phone numbers for Square Trade and emails take 2-3 days for response. Ebay is making my hair turn Gray !

[venessa]

what happens to ebay sellers that dont send out items and the buyer file a claim back what actions do ebay take against that ?
do they sue you especially if it was like $3000 au in total ?

[Michael Beven]

Well I just luv u moral crusaders....get off yur ethical hi-horse and accept a few home truths...the people who buy the copies generally do so because they can't afford the real thing. They want to be seen without having to pay. Lets talk Louis Vuitton...the stuff is rubbish....the Chinese laugh at stupid gullible Westerners who pay $1000 for something that is made for $10....lets take Callaways, TaylorMAdes,Pings....all these clubs are made in China...so are the copies all from the same factories......what is so moral about Callaway having a set of clubs made for under $100 and then selling it for $5000.....bring on the sellers and the counterfeiters to bust these greedy businesses.

[Caroline Martin]

I am one of these people who have had problems with some items I am selling on my Ebay account and not happy about it, but the problem is not that. I can quite agree that something needs to be done to stop counterfeit items to be sold, but if anyone of you think that what Ebay is doing will change anything, you are well wrong (and I can see some of you do).
Do you think that someone who sells counterfeit items cannot be a paypal verified account?? Think again! As for the restriction they will help a bit but not much.
I would suggest that Ebay comes up with 2 things:
1st: When you join Ebay (or any other auction site for that matter) as a seller you have to sign a pledge that if asked to give the details of your own distributor/wholesaler, you will do so. So Ebay can provide this information to the manufacturers of the real deal, so they can check if they have this wholesaler in their book. In case you buy from a fourth or 5th party, you would have the option when giving the details of the company you bought the items from to give more details. This would be my case as I buy some of my goods from an auctioneer who is very strongly involved against selling counterfeit and has links with Designer houses (so I know that I am selling the real deal). The details could be fully checked and everybody would be happy.
Anybody who sells the real deal will have no issue in being checked, as long as no information is disclosed to anybody else other than Ebay, the Designer house and your distributors.
For second hand goods, it could be checked with details such as original receipt of the goods/credit card statements… If the person is on the mailing list of the designer shop where the item was purchased (client of top designers like Vuitton, Prada, Tiffany are often on mailing lists)…
2nd: we all sign another document saying that we are selling genuine articles when selling designer goods or collectable items.
This will force everybody to do some real research to be sure they are selling the real deal.
No more “It is not my fault, I was sold this as the real thing… Etc, etc…”
This would basically stop people avoiding prosecution.
Maybe, something could be done to help the Ebay sellers finding out how to spot the real items from the fakes as not everybody knows.
Examples: Vuitton is manufactured in France or the USA only and it says so on the items. Luxotica is the only manufacturer of Dolce Gabanna’s sunglasses… (I have worked in luxury goods for 15 years, so I know a fair few things about luxury items…)
THAT will really curb the counterfeit sellers.

[Philip Cooper]

Ebay are not capable of policing their monster of a website, and deserve every bit of bad publicity they get, be it for allowing fakes to be sold, or accidentaly kicking off genuine ebayers, they are not performing, but luckily for them have a massive monopoly.

[nova-uk]

While I admire Ebay for starting to do something about counterfeit problems, I don't think the new initiative will solve the problem and even create more problems for ligitimate sellers. I sell secondhand designer bags for a living and just started to go on Ebay. After I sold first two items, Ebay placed the restriction on my account without giving the reason. I have not received any complaint from VERO --how will I ?? It is because those items I sold are genuine!!! Someone mentioned to me that the new initiative will limit the number of items the new Ebay members can sell and also said that Ebay sometimes just place the restriction by using Ebay staff rather than the VERO. I have bought so many genuine handbags on Ebay in the hope of selling them--- now I am not even allowed to list anything with the designer brand names on the title!!!! How can this be fair to ligitimate seller like myself??? I also agree with the above comment about Ebay's limit on 1 day and 3 days listing to make more money from Buy It now listing. Anyone has a suggestion to how I can solve this problem?? (my Paypal is verified by the way)???

[Mike Wiesner]

I've known many legitimate sellers who have been hurt by these sloppy policies. People are starting to depend on eBay for their livelihood. eBay has cut the accounts of some of the most honest sellers in the jewelry area -- I know someone who has been on eBay for seven years, with 1,600 feedback, every single one of them positive, who had 160 legitimate listings deleted by eBay and her account suspended -- then restored with an apology for the mistake -- then suspended again 3 days later, after she spent countless hours re-listing her items. At the same time, eBay refuses to list a customer service number on their site, so users are forced to spend days or weeks navigating the bureaucracy and waiting for calls back.

I use eBay as much as anybody, but for its sake I hope a sincere rival comes up soon -- maybe it'll help them shape up and stop "punishing" (as one eBay customer service rep said) legitimate sellers.

[damon]

hummm, interesting post..but i think this is positive...

http://ebybid.blogspot.com

[beyondthetreeline]

http://blogs.ebay.com/beyondthetreeline/entry/eBays-very-odd-view-of-the-globe/_W0QQentrysyncidZ69458013QQidZ69458013

[Paul]

Here;s my problem, I now can't buy legitimate merchandise outside my trade area because the seller is restricted as to where they can ship. They've thrown out the baby with the bath water.

[Davo]

Maybe some one has already mentioned it, but I will say it anyway - eBay needs to ban the use of free email accounts to become a member. This I feel should be step one in the process of weeding out the scammers.

This is mindlessly logical.

[Liane]

I sell authentic designer denim on Ebay but have noticed that since this went into effect my auctions take anywhere from 5 to 24 hours to appear in Ebay search or in my Ebay Store because they must be under a manual review. So while I am paying for a 7 day listing, I am only get 6 days of visibility. This was a terrible time of year for Ebay to put this into place.

[Jenni]

I wish they would have done this sooner. I bought a ove glove and never got it. The person listed the following info on ebay but little is correct.
E-mail: minidads@yahoo.com
User ID: minidads
Name: Matt Griffith
City: woodstock
State: GA
Country: United States
Phone: 770|924|0257

What I do know is Tammy Meadows cashed a moneyorder sent to 6331 Will Dupree Lane in Acworth, GA 30102. The phone number given to ebay is a fax number to extended stay motel. That place's phone number is (770)924-8770.

If anyone knows anything that could help please email me!

[Jenni]

I wish they would have done this sooner. I bought a ove glove and never got it. The person listed the following info on ebay but little is correct.
E-mail: minidads@yahoo.com
User ID: minidads
Name: Matt Griffith
City: woodstock
State: GA
Country: United States
Phone: 770|924|0257

What I do know is Tammy Meadows cashed a moneyorder sent to 6331 Will Dupree Lane in Acworth, GA 30102. The phone number given to ebay is a fax number to extended stay motel. That place's phone number is (770)924-8770.

If anyone knows anything that could help please email me at jenni88 (at) gmail.com.

[Degu]

I hope this means they'll finally get their act together and start wiping out the fake autograph sellers. It is ridiculous to watch the veritable flood of (often easily-recognizable) forgeries which never seems to stop.

I don't know much about coins, but the situation described above sounds very familiar.

Sometimes, yes, they'll shut down the criminals, but there are so many more that keep slipping by...

Hey ebay, forget Wiki, MyWorld, Express and all these other useless distractions and take on the real issues that need to be addressed!

[Steven D Branum]

So does this mean they will immediately reinstate my account, which was suspended on Monday, because I was making a stink embarrassing eBay in the US Coins category, when I warned, at my own expense, eBay members entering the group through a properly placed featured listing advising members how to spot those that sell counterfeits?

Does this mean they will finally remove the vulgar feedback, which the so-called Trust and Safety Department stated "doesn't meet the removal requirement as outlined in the policy", even though the policy specifically mentions such comments?

Does this mean that they will reinstate the feedback, which I left stating CORRECTLY that the seller was selling counterfeit coins, feedback which they later REMOVED after they suspended MY account?

Does this mean that they will no longer claim I am guilty of harassing another ebay member, (in this case a person living in China who had defrauded hundreds by selling counterfeit coins over a period of 6 months even though he was reported numerous times, many by me personally, without being booted and, who had obtained three different IDs in that 6 month period), even though the crook actually marked the items which I had bid upon as PAID?

Does this mean they going to start following their own policy and remove the negative feedback left for me after this crook's, (last known as qq--seller), friends in the US sabotaged my last three auctions, such that THEY could HARRASS me for spotlighting them with Featured Listings pertinent to the category and paid for BY ME, and for which I accepted no funds, and even canceled bids to protect my integrity from cynics?

Does this mean they will stop auctions in progress, or at the very least warn the bidders, when a member provides undeniable proof an item being sold is a counterfeit US COIN, which by the way is still US currency and falls under the jurisdiction of the US Secret Service, and which is a Federal crime taking place at the time of the report?

Does this mean they have removed the person or persons in the so-called Trust and Safety Department who never once asked for the proof, which I offered, when I stated that currently active auctions were of counterfeit coins AND I could provide undeniable proof of its counterfeit nature, and who also allowed every single reported auction to complete, which in at least one case allowed a member to be defrauded of $10,000.00, even after the so-called Trust and Safety Department promised a "thorough" investigation, which investigation apparently does not involve contacting the individual to request his offered proof?

Does this mean they have removed the person or persons in the so-called Trust and Safety Department who would not follow eBay's own publicly stated policy for removal of the previously mentioned feedback, and that the feedback, which I left for the auctions which were marked PAID by the seller, will be reinstated for the Chinese CROOK and that he will have his account permanently suspended?

If the answer to all of the above is "Yes", then will you please contact steven.branum@adelphia.net to notify him that his account with eBay ID sdbranum is fully reinstated with eBay's official and sincere apologies for their despicable treatment of an honorable individual of the highest integrity, who had tried so hard to protect eBay members from sellers of counterfeit US coins, when eBay absolutely refused to take any action, and who has suffered significant financial harm as a result of eBay's utterly contemptible actions.

I have to ask this request from you, because eBay, to date, has apparently refused to answer my request for a more detailed explanation for my account suspension.

And one last note... If you search for completed auctions for any seller EXCEPT sdbranum, you will get a list of the same, BUT whenever you search for completed auctions for sdbranum, you get the following.
Feature Unavailable
This feature is temporarily unavailable. We apologize for any inconvenience and hope to have it available again soon.

So when you contact, can you explain this curious feature? And yes, sdbranum HAS sold items within the last 30 days. Here is a link to his feedback, so that you can confirm that fact, through the above mentioned VULGAR feedback, the above mentioned feedback left by MALICIOUS BIDDERS, and by the legitimate feedback left by his unusually extremely pleased customers!

http://myworld.ebay.com/sdbranum/
or try here
http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=sdbranum&myWorld=true

Now, do not be surprised if things change as a result of this post, because this individual has noted many mysterious appearance and disappearances in the last two weeks prior to suspension, during which time he was collecting evidence to supply first to his local US Secret Service Special Agent for investigation, and second for eventual distribution to media outlets, and finally which he intended to pass off to several interested class action lawyers. However, I have maintained meticulous documentation of every single assertion in this post.

Looking for to a reply,
Steve Branum

[Alan Van Arsdale]

Hello,
It is not just corporations with patents and copyrights that suffer from counterfiet goods. Globally collectors lose hundreds of millions of dollatrs annually to counterfiet collectables, often the fraud is not discovered until heirs try to liquidate their estates. Fake coins of all types are a serious problem on eBay, and very little has been done about this problem by eBay or law enforcement until now.
Best,
Alan Van Arsdale

[John A]

Interesting. I wonder if this potential change, if inacted, is part of a settlement of the Tiffany's lawsuit against eBay.

[uptempoair]

Honestly, this is a good move overall- but not in the fourth quarter - Ebay has had many years to do something about this problem. so why wait until the 4th quarter? REVENUE! with ebay doing away with the 1 and 3 day auctions will ONLY increase the buy it nows. Also rumor has it this is going to affect such items as Nike and Adidas - any listings with this in them will not be allowed to run a 1 or 3 day auction . Bad move on eBays part. The reason being is more items such as Nike Air Jordans are counterfeited than Nike Air Max, Shox, and other nike shoes. Whats the answer for sellers ? Buy it nows -- and increase in ebays renevues - good idea -- but absolutely the wrong time and the wrong way

below is an example of a counterfiet auction -- and it proves my point -- a buy it now will be used to con people out of there money by these counterfeit sellers

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nike-Air-Jordan-11-XI-Retro-Size-11-Space-Jam_W0QQitemZ200053187994QQihZ010QQcategoryZ1288QQtcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

ebay auction : 200053187994

Just to educate - fair market value for this item is 375-500

[George Trantas]

Q4 changes are never good especially when Ebay gives no notice. This will be going live Nov. 30th at 12:00am PST. Ebay has done it again.

[Fruit Helmet Cat]

Scot, do you think ebay is going to restrict China from selling to the US? Besides LV, Chanel, Tiffanys and the other luxury items there are also the cute Sanrio Hello Kitty anime products that are churned out from China. This is only going to stop the ones who blatantly use the designer "keywords" but if you look closely at the China listings, the ones who get that $499 a month anchor store for only $50 bucks... they just use the pictures and suggest it's xyz, no keyword spamming there. But when you see a handbag and the background image is pulled direct from an ad, it's to say this is a LV bag. They don't have to keyword spam because they are anchor stores, ebay will show them to the buyers before they do the rest of the sellers.

and the China sellers will get out of that cross border transaction also, because they already set up IDs in the various countries and their ad states it ships from the factory in China. How's ebay gonna enforce that!

[Daniel Millions]

I agree it is about time eBay steps up and does something about all the scamers that are on eBay. I for one and happy to see the changes go into affect and hopefully they will make a change for the positive.

make money on ebay

[Daniel Millions]

I agree it is about time eBay steps up and does something about all the scamers that are on eBay. I for one and happy to see the changes go into affect and hopefully they will make a change for the positive.

make money on ebay