eBay Restricts Shoppers' Ability to Solicit Advice on Fakes

by: dimes

Sounds to me as if the eBay purse board posters should be recommending that anyone with questions should ask them at the Purse Blog forum.

It seems eBay still fails to understand that when it promotes anti-consumer behavior on its own site, it results in people going elsewhere.

You'd think that by now they'd have bought a vowel and gotten a clue.  Apparently not.

by: Marvin

I still find it incredible that ebay has done its very best to destroy the community that built it. This latest "edict" is just further proof of that statement :(.

by:

Overall this is another ebay failure. They can't or won't do anything about all the fraud except TRY to hide it.
If they even tried 1/10th as hard to stop it, they could save a hundredfold on censorship, monitoring, PR and of course the dirty tools they have to try and stop people from speaking their minds.

So people can make blogs and video about the fakes and ripoffs. Fill the internet, in particular the toobs with complaints and warnings since fascist ebay won't allow free speech.

Don't stop there either. tell everyone in real life that ebay has a lot in common with Hitler, Stalin, Big Brother, and using it is anti-American.

Give them what they want until they never want it again!

by: buyernseller

Griff comments "Posters are also free to discuss eBay items off line. " however... ebay doesn't appreciate off-ebay transactions, isn't that contradictory?  He can BET on it that there will be a lot more off-line, and off-ebay communications because if we can't authenticate an item on ebay, and ebay can't ensure they remove the reported legitimate fakes quick enough to prevent their customers from buying them then it's going to be a short run.

by: crysus

Not only is this a very stupid corporate move, it places rules and restrictions on one board that isn't being applied to the other eBay boards, which also provide authentication help. In addition, Griff is recommending taking photos (cropping out the ID) and posting them for reference when doing so is a copyright infringement. And all this started when a seller of a counterfeit Coach was advised it was not real, started amassing fake IDs to get even,  reporting solid posts and complaining to Griff and his team she was being picked on!!  She posted names and photos of members on line and took this vendetta and psychotic behavior to many boards. Griff and his team decided in her favor and against the group who has been dedicated posters, sellers and respected members of the Purse community helping eBay with fakes for years.

The fakes have already multiplied in the last 6 weeks this mess has been developing.  Ebay has always had a bum reputation it has valiantly fought, but now it's over.  It's now going to be another selling site known for rip offs.  And if you look carefully, eBay still gets their money, fake or not.

by: A Former authenticator

Ina asks: ''Why single out this particular board? ''

As in ''indefinitely sanctioned'' boardie, I'd like to comment.

With so many fake handbags on ebay, many buyers and sellers are aware of the need to authenticate the items they either want to list for sale or want to bid/buy.

Unfortunately, we often have to give the sellers information that they don't want to hear, i.e., your bag is fake.

Or we tell buyers who have received fakes that their seller didn't comply with federal law and authenticate the item first because if they had done so, the fake wouldn't have been listed and sold.

Often, too, we'll suggest that the buyer direct the seller to the post so the seller can get clarification why their item is fake.

Thus, many of us have been targeted by posters and sellers who don't like what we have to say. While it's understandable that they're unhappy, that's not our problem; we didn't list or sell the fake.

Some sellers assume the ''experts'' are out to get them but that isn't so. We want to make ebay a safe marketplace. We want buyers to feel comfortable in knowing that their purchases are authentic and most honest sellers APPRECIATE an educated buyer.

Fortunately, there  are other forums where buyers can post to ask authenticity questions, seller reputation questions or other general buying and selling questions. And on those forums, those who know the line can even tell the buyer that the item is FAKE!!

(On the ebay boards, we couldn't use ''fake,'' ''counterfeit,'' etc. We had to use euphemisms like ''Foach, ''Fouis Fuitton,'' or ''XXXX company didn't make that item'' in order to get the message across.)

Isn't it sad when a company the size of ebay has to stoop so low in order to protect and pad its bottom line?

by: boardie

I'm so sad that is has come to this level. The board in question had provided me with so much knowledge and experties regarding fakes, that I wouldn't have gotten reading 100+ articles on the internet. Those ladies volunteered their free time to do whats right. They didn't ask to be compensated in any other way but to take down the counterfeit auctions... However, their compensation by eBay resulted in sanctions and plain idiocy with the new "Griff" guidelines. I am disgusted by the situation and will probably not buy from eBay anymore.

by: Patricia

Ebay:

First you say you do and then you don't.
Then you say you will and then you won't.
You're undecided now so what are you gonna do?

Old song lyrics - seem to fit them perfectly.  As my mom would have said "bunch of air heads".  :-)

by: Former trusted reporter

There are over 250,000 active handbag listings on eBay at this moment.  This is not an insignificant issue.  It begs the question of whether or not Griff was acting with the full support of eBay's management by selectively reinterpreting board policies, or if this is the action of an over-the-hill employee engaged in an internal power struggle with a department that relies on member assistance to reduce the number of fakes that are listed on the site.

I'm just sayin'

by: FlyinBish

Good Ole Griff has shown yet again how out of touch he is with the marketplace as well as the specific needs of discriminating buyers of high dollar designer goods.

Why?  It all started with one of Ebay's (cough cough) power sellers getting bent out of shape.  She was Flyin high posting on Ebay's purse board as a self-proclaimed expert on Coach bags.  She was consistently giving wrong information to potential buyers and when called on her posted misinformation she went postal.  Then she was found to have listed a fake Coach bag under one ID and to have listed a fake Dooney under another of her ID's.

The fit really hit the sham when she posted pictures of a Coach she owned and had a question about.  When comments were made about the year the bag was made she insisted no one could tell that from the pictures she'd posted.  She then stated she'd spent 2 hours checking the bag with a magnifying glass and had been unable to find anything indicating the year of manufacture.  The real experts had quite the chuckle that someone pretending to know Coach inside and out did not know you could determine the year of manufacture simply by reading the number at the bottom of the bag's creed.

She began emailing Ole Griff innumerable times with her sob story of being mistreated.  Of course she neglected to mention she'd been caught listing fakes and posting false information that was purported to help potential buyers determine authenticity.  

She also failed to mention that the Coach Guide she had written and posted on Ebay was actually created by stealing information from actual long-time Coach experts from Ebay's purse board.

She enlisted the aid of a few others and began reporting hundreds of posts on the Purse board, the majority of which were in no violation of any posting rules, knowing the moderators simply pull posts without reading them.  This continued until a number of long time respected posters were sanctioned, and the majority of those still able to post simply walked away from the boards in disgust.

Our hands have been tied and we are no longer able to effectively assist those looking for our help on the boards.  

The reporting of thousands of counterfeit purses and accessories we find listed on Ebay will not stop, but the reports will no longer be filed with Ebay to end up in their corporate cyber trash can.  The reports will now be directed straight to the legal divisions of Coach, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Chanel, etc.

by: Linda

It looks to me like ebay is just enforcing rules that have been in place for years. On the flip side of this coin, there were many legitamate sellers that were being harrassed by this board. There was a certain 'clique' that totally manipulated that board, and they clearly made any other handbag seller that tried to give advice or opinions very unwelcome. They used that board to promote their own sales and items, and didn't always provide accurate information. Their 'opinions' were biast and predjudice towards their own promoting of themselves. They very often posted other sellers items and actually made fun of them. Accused them falsely of every ebay violation possible, for the sole purpose of discrediting thousands of other sellers on ebay. They would say things like "I wouldn't buy from that seller, even if the bag is authentic, because their pictures are blurry, or they have one bad feedback, " or countless other rediculous reasons. Then they would recommend another seller (probably themselves in a different user id) Many sellers just got sick of being SLANDERED this way and did something about it. Yes there are sellers selling counterfiets. And yes, they should be reported. There is a report button in each aution to serve this purpose. If these boardies are truly on a mission to end the sale of counterfiet bags on ebay, they can continue to do so. They are just not allowed to SLANDER every other seller besides themselves, on the ebay purse forum anymore. Griff is just asking them to use more caution and be more considerate of others.This is not an unreasonable request. He even stated that ebay appreciates their help in eliminating counterfiet sellers. He is just asking them to do it accoring to the guidelines that have been set up and in place, for years.Their rebuttal and threats just prove that their mission isn't really about reporting counterfiets. It's about eliminating the competiotion to promote their own sales. Boo hoo, this is no longer allowed.Now they'll just have to find another venue to manipulate. Ebay has been, is and always will be, the number one auction site in the world. They can protest all they want. It won't change a thing. Very few buyers ever accepted their 'expertise' as valid anyway.Believe it or not, there are MANY intelligent buyers that can tell real from fake on their own and don't need or want these forums.Those that do need them can still ask for help. They jusst have to follow the rules and make sure they are not SLANDERING anyone in the process. It's called 'manners and etiquette'   What's wrong with that? Also, ebay and Pay Pal have a fabulous buyer protection format that allows buyers to return any questionable item. Most long timeebay buyers know this, and will continue to shop on ebay. This purse board is a flea on ebay's butt.If they think they can buy and sell else where for better deals??? go for it.

by: Fruity

It's because ebay benefits from the fraud, they want it so they can book it as revenue on their SEC filings. That's how ebay revenue recognition model is, anything that closes with a winner or a BIN & the corresponding Final Value Fee is recorded.

Maybe buyers and sellers should just start posting the counterfeits elsewhere, like right in front of the brand owners. If ebay doesn't want to let the community be a community, then the community goes elsewhere

by: Linda

Ina, how about opening up one of YOUR forums for discussion about fraud? I'll bet it would be PACKED!!

by: pp

hey, ebafia don't want to pull those listings, 'tis a nice little earner

seller>ebay>fake bought>paypal snad
>return to paypal texas>liquidation>fake bought by seller>ebay>fake bought>paypal snad
>return to paypal texas>liquidation>fake bought by seller>ebay>fake bought>paypal snad
>return to paypal texas>liquidation>fake bought by seller>ebay>fake bought>paypal snad
>return to paypal texas>liquidation>fake bought by seller>ebay>fake bought>paypal snad
>return to paypal texas>liquidation>fake bought by seller>ebay>fake bought>paypal snad

whatever happened to that merry-go-round?

by: Pam

I believe the post from Linda, is the poster referred to in previous posts.  Need I say more?  

This isn't the first time Ebay has sided with one of the bad eggs.  We had a situation similar to this on the clothing board about 4 years ago.  This type of bullying is nothing new to the long time posters of the Ebay boards.  I really don't know what ebay is affraid of, other than lost revenue from the fraudulant sellers.

by: snowmen_ck

i've posted on the shoes, purses, and fashion accessories board for years and know the majority of the old timers under their posting and selling names.  i've never seen any of them suggest themselves as a recommended seller.

the only time people giving advice were not accepted at face value is when they were giving lousy advice.

it's not slander when what you're writing is true.  it's only called that by those who have been caught and are angry.

considering there are tens of thousands of sellers of purses and only two or three dozen regulars giving their opinions on authenticity, imo it's beyond idiocy for anyone to state their purpose is to drive sales to themselves.  especially since many of them don't even sell on ebay.

by: buck efay

Fruity, since it's song quote day "You Sure GOT THAT RIGHT" Ebay is more interested in stifling dissenters and experts in a high profit category then in encouraging the kind of fair & balanced & clean marketplace. Isn't it obvious? Ebay makes way too much money from Chinese Fraud bags & wants to keep it that way. One can only hope the former experts will now open a free unmodded by feebay message board & really tell it like it is! Hey girls,
here ya go: http://www.forumotion.com/en/create-forum/
set up a Free board & tell it like it is at fraudbay!!!

by: Marie

Posters on other eBay boards are now being sanctioned for even discussing the measures taken by Griff against authenticators on the purse board.

by: lvprincess16

I agree that it was NOT slander.
Further, if anyone came on that board and accused a seller of selling fakes, they were asked what made them think their item was fake.
Also, boardies were encouraged NOT to report anything unless they were 100% sure an item was counterfeit.
I've read several posts where some thought the item was fake and some either didn't or were unsure.  Someone ALWAYS chimed in asking that noone reported until there was confirmation that the item was fake.

by: A Former authenticator

A thought occurred to me.

I bet that maybe Ebay is taking this action on the boards because they don't want the posters competing with the new service that Trust & Safety is offering it's purse sellers.

It comes as news to me that clearly Trust & Safety is now AUTHENTICATING with professional experts for sellers of designer items.

Check out this LV listing: Item 230435916105.

From the seller's description, she states that:

''this bag was double verified for us directly by the ebay trust and safety department as well as lv authenticators who work for us. it is guaranteed 100% authentic.''

Who knew???? T&S has become authenticators! No wonder we've lost our unpaid jobs!