Before you bid on any high end handbag or other designer item, there are some bidding procedures you must keep in mind to ensure that you will in fact receive an authentic handbag, as opposed to an illegal, trademark infringing fake that was probably made in a factory using child labor. Yes folks, CHILD LABOR. One of the many reasons not to buy fakes.1. Only bid on designer merchandise if you have a way of authenticating it. You can do this either by taking it to your nearest Saks or Neiman Marcus, or by sending it to a boutique. Usually you can find the phone # of a designer boutique or corporate office in New York through the yahoo yellow pages. Call before you bid to make sure they are willing to authenticate an item from ebay. 2. Only bid on items that are guaranteed authentic. It is against ebay's rules to sell counterfeit items, but at the same time, ebay cannot police the listings. When you list an item in the accessories category, you have to pass through a screen affirming that your item does not violate anyone's intellectual property rights and does not violate ebay's rules. Nevertheless, thousands of unscrupulous people list their items anyway. If it says "Guaranteed authentic Chanel purse," then you can think about bidding (see tip #11 for further info). Make sure you email the seller and ask if the purse is returnable if found to not be authentic, if they don't have a return policy in the ad. If the seller will not allow you to authenticate, don't bid! Someone selling real merchandise has nothing to worry about. 3. Don't forget that you have 60 days only to file a fraud and insurance claim with ebay, so get the authentication process started right away if you have doubts about the item's authenticity. 4. Don't file a fraud claim until you give the seller a chance to make it right! Email them, and calmly tell them in a non-accusatory tone that you are sending the item for authentication and if it turns out to not be real you will be returning it. Many sellers may not even realize they have sold a counterfeit and will be happy to refund. Fraud and safeharbor are last resorts. 5. Always keep the lines of communication open. ASK QUESTIONS! If the ad says authentic but you're not sure, ask where they bought it, if they bought it themselves, etc. If the seller is unsure of its origin that's probably a red flag not to bid. 6. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. A low starting price is not indicative of a fake, but a low buy it now price is HIGHLY suspect. For example, anyone who would offer a "buy it now" price of $40.00 on a brand new Kate Spade handbag is either crazy or selling a fake. You can get great bargains here, sometimes up to 50% off the retail price on authentic bags, but you will almost never find an authentic $400 bag selling for $50. 7. Beware of auction titles that say "Genuine leather XXX bag." Yes, the bag may be genuine leather, but it's not genuine XXX brand. This is a wording trick that some sellers use to make the buyer think it's authentic designer merchandise. Be careful! 8. Beware of sellers who steal pictures from other website, such as Neiman Marcus or eLuxury. If the picture looks way too "studio" or looks like it's from a catalogue, it probably is. A seller who steals a picture from a website is not only violating that website's copyright, he or she might also be selling fake merchandise and hoping you don't know the difference. Or maybe the seller doesn't have any merchandise to photograph at all! Do not buy from sellers who don't take their own pictures! 9. Especially beware of items that are not described as authentic, but come with an "authentic" bonus item, such as an "authentic shopping bag" or an "authentic dust bag." While the shopping bag or dust bag might be authentic, the handbag is NOT!! 10. If the item is "NWT" (new with tags) make sure the tag is from an authorized retailer. One trick some counterfeit sellers use is to say the item is new with tags, but they don't mention that the tag is from a consignment store. Here's a picture of a fake Kate Spade to show you what I mean:
11. Please do not bid on merchandise with which you are not familiar. There are unscrupulous people who will sell their fake items as "guaranteed authentic." I have seen so many fake Kate Spade bags that are OBVIOUSLY fake go for high dollars because the seller said they were authentic. Try to know your product. Get a second opinion. Follow the previous tips EVEN if the seller says the bag is authentic. Post a thread on the Clothing & Accessories message board and see if an expert can authenticate the bag. Don't go into this blind, and don't just rely on the seller's auction ad. Find out for yourself if the bag is authentic! Many companies and
trademark owners are members of ebay's Verified Rights Owner program.
Frequently they will end counterfeit auctions, especially Chanel and Louis
Vuitton. Ebay cannot end the listings on its own; it relies on copyright
and trademark owners to police their own listings. It is absolutely
illegal to sell a counterfeit bag. And, despite what sellers would have
you believe, it is also against eBay's rules. Again, when you list a
handbag, you have to pass a screen indicating that the item doesn't
violate any eBay rules and doesn't violate anyone's intellectual property
(trademark) rights. This is what the warning says: So, when the seller tries to tell you "all sales are final" and "you should have asked if it was authentic" that's absurd! To find out more, go to |
