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eBay Describes the Scale of Its Counterfeit Goods Problem

Posted by Soulskill on from the how-to-sell-a-box-of-rocks dept.

Ian Lamont writes "As the Tiffany vs. eBay lawsuit winds its way through a federal appeals court, eBay has trotted out some numbers that show how many sellers attempt to sell fake goods on the auction site. Millions of auctions were delisted last year, and tens of thousands of accounts were suspended after reports were made to eBay's Verified Rights Owner program, which lets trademark owners notify eBay of fake goods being sold on the site. eBay says 100% of reported listings were removed from the site last year, most within 12 hours, and the company uses sellers' background information to make sure that they don't create new accounts to sell delisted items. Tiffany brought the suit against eBay in 2004, alleging that eBay was turning a blind eye to counterfeit luxury goods and demanding that eBay police its listings for bogus goods. Tiffany lost the case last July and will shortly present its arguments to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York. A similar case in France cost eBay $61 million."

8 of 124 comments (clear)

  1. Sure... by russotto · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...but how many of those items were NOT counterfeits, but merely real items that the trademark owner wants to illegitimately prevent from being legitimately resold? Like that GAP promotional CD a while back.

    1. Re:Sure... by TinBromide · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Some counterfeit products stem from overruns. I.e. Lee commissions an order for 500 pairs of jeans from a factory, the factory gets sent 600 logos and makes 600 pairs of jeans. They get paid for the original 500 count jean order and then turn around and sell the real deal (same factory, same material and techniques, same quality, real logo) to the black market. Except the additional 100 pairs are counterfeit (Legally so).

      Sounds like a perfectly reasonable excuse to prevent a legit buyer of a pair of the original 500 jeans from reselling their product... Lets lawyer up!

      --
      Is it sad that I am more likely to recognize you and your posts by your sig than your name or UID?
    2. Re:Sure... by MoonBuggy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Quite possibly. There's no good solution, and there are vested interests on both sides. eBay makes a cut of every sale, so they want as many as they can, no matter what the legitimacy of the items being sold. Tiffany makes nothing from second hand sales, so they'd love to destroy any market for them. Counterfeiting probably is more damaging to Tiffany than a legitimate resale market, but if they weren't angling to stop all 'unauthorised' sales of their products I doubt they'd be bringing a lawsuit where the only real solution is to ban any Tiffany products from eBay.

      eBay can very easily be written off as assholes for a multitude of valid reasons, but for once I think we've got a situation where they can't be blamed. Short of manually approving every single auction there's not much more they can do to keep out the obvious fakes. Now add to that the ones that can't be spotted a mile off by anyone with a bit of experience and it's like asking them to send a team of experts to your house and confirm that the item you just listed is indeed genuine. Good luck with that.

    3. Re:Sure... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Because they know that x of the labels or jeans that the labels are sewn to are going to be imperfect, and it's more cost effective to ship an extra percentage point of raw materials the first time, than have to deal with shipping another small batch if the shop couldn't meet their quota.

      The figures aren't going to be as exaggerated as in GP (100 spare per 500), but if a factory makes 10,000 pairs of jeans, it's natural that there will be spare stuff laying around.

    4. Re:Sure... by commodore64_love · · Score: 5, Informative

      >>>how many of those items were NOT counterfeits, but merely real items that the trademark owner wants to illegitimately prevent from being legitimately resold?

      That happened to me one time when I was trying to sell a store-bought DVD of a movie. Ebay told me who complained, and it was some lawfirm in California that is tasked by the Hollywood corporations to take-down ebay sales. I called and asked why they took down my auction, but they refused to say anything except that if I relist it, I'd be taken to court.

      I ignored them and relisted the item anyway. The second time it sold, but it was still frustrating because the second auction did not go as high as the first auction. Stupid fucking lawyers. They shouldn't be able to randomly take down legitimate sales.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
  2. The VERO Customer Support is terrible!!! by kangol69 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I was selling some Monavie Active on ebay. Monavie Active is basically a health juice drink that is sold exclusively by Monavie Inc. so it is in Monavie's interest to stop people from selling Monaive active on ebay because they have a monopoly over the product. So they report every listing they find on ebay as Infringing on their copyright and ebay automatically takes it down. Now this wouldn't be so bad if ebay had good support but ebay in my opinion is lacking in that area. You can do the whole live chat thing but the reps on that have no influence over the VERO program. You have to reach them by a hidden form on their site and then you get an email address (rswebhelp@ebay.com) All you'll get from talking to them is that you have to contact the company that filed the infringement (Monavie) to resolve it. Now remember Monavie has a monopoly over their product and so their is no way they'll resolve this with me peacefully. Now I admit that ebay is just trying to play nice with everybody but they should really do more to support the little guy when he starts getting squished by the big Corps.

  3. Re:Everyday goods as well by Evan+Charlton · · Score: 5, Funny

    If you want to create a programming language, grow a beard.

    Fixed that for you.

  4. The problem is actually much worse... by coldwatergator · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It is very difficult for a purchaser to effectively file a counterfeit item report with Ebay. Realistically, they must get the assistance of the manufacturer to do so. I got stung when I purchased what was listed as an OEM part that had been out-of-production for a couple of years. The manufacturer was not interested in pursuing the matter. I would have had to pay for a qualified expert witness to examine the item and report on the item. The seller had admitted to me that they were having the items manufactured in China but labeled as being made by a reputable multinational firm in Japan. Even with my status of being a licensed PI and having some "Expertise" in the field of this part, Ebay refused to take substantive action. Paypal reversed the charges but that was it. Pursuing the matter with Customs and USPS is difficult without the assistance of the legitimate manufacturer. But they weren't interested in working a part that has been out-of-production for a couple of years. The Ebay power seller is still in operation. A close examination of his feedback shows that some others have been unhappy with the quality of his items, but "Happy" because he did refund the money when they complained and returned the item. I didn't want to ship contraband back to him as it is illegal to do so. I still hold the item and plan to sue him in civil court.