OT: Help - Been Wronged on eBay - What Do I Do Now? (UPDATE - Need More Input)

[Tinkaroo]

I'm embarassed to admit it, but I believe I've been had by a seller on eBay. I purchased an "authentic Louis Vuitton petite bucket bag" from a seller on eBay with 100% feedback for a significant fraction of what would be the retail price. (A bag like this would typically retail for almost $800, and I paid $117 with shipping.) I saw pictures, and from those, it looked real to me. However, in person, it's obvious that it's not the real deal.

I could kick myself for not listening to my own personal logic - if it sounds like too good of a deal, it's likely so. Now, I'm stuck with an obvious knock-off, and I don't know what to do. I did pay with PayPal.

This is only the 4th item I've ever purchasd off of eBay, and now the only 2 items I've purchased from anyone other than the Disney site have been nightmares! (The other wasn't significant enough to fight over.)

For those of you who are eBay savvy, I could use some advice on how to proceed from here. Any help would be much appreciated!!

 

[tlbwriter]

The first thing you should do is contact the seller and explain why this is not an authentic bag. An honest seller will be willing to listen. You must decide what you want - do you want to return the bag for a full refund? Do you want to keep the bag and get a partial refund? (This one is tricky, since some unscrupulous buyers use it to get a better deal on an item they planned to keep anyway). Ask for what you want.

If the seller refuses, the next step depends on how you paid. If you used a credit card or Paypal, file a grievance.

 

[thelionqueen]

1st of all be sure it is a fake (very easy to tell). If it is one of the classic lines of bags (sounds like it is) the easiest way to tell is the inner fabric of bag. Must be red (cowhide I believe). If beige (or any other color) it's a fake. Also, handles are a rigid but clearly made of quality leather. If it feels rigid but more "pleather" it is also a fake.

If you are sure it is a fake (which I'm sure it is if paid $117. Even the cheapest wallet that has come out in the last 5 years was over $300) contact the seller and demand (don't ask) for a refund stating it's quality. If they give you any run around at all, tell them that you are going to contact ebay's fraud department (safe harbor/security) and report that they are selling imitation items. Ebay will yank them off so quick it'll make their head spin. They have an entire department totally devoted to designer bags, Louis Vuitton heads the investigations in this dept.

If they don't give you a resolution, contact ebay immediately, then file a complaint with PayPal. You will be getting your money back almost definitely.

Don't beat yourself up though, I've bought a few "too good to be true" items. Good news, 2 of them were the real thing, the other 3...shame on me. Live and learn... Hope it helps!

 

[Tinkaroo]

Thanks for the advice thus far. I'm going to go to my local LV store tonight and ask to look at this bag to confirm my suspicions. But, some of the stitching is off in places, the "dust bag" it arrived in wasn't the felt-type LV uses, etc., etc. As I told my husband, I'm sure even he'll be able to tell it's a fake!!!

Once I'm sure that I'm holding a phony, I'll begin contacting the seller. Has anyone had any luck with this, or does it get escalated to eBay/PayPal pretty quickly? This seller hasn't responded to the 2 e-mails I've sent them during the purchase, and I seriously doubt I'm going to get much of a response when I tell them I want my $$ back!

 

[scorpad99]

they sell really good imitations at a flea market near me for about 20-30 bucks. I have quite a few, I could never c spending so much on one bag (just my opinion) Ive even gotten good prada fakes for that price too!
Most people would still buy the fakes, if they were advertized as so, but 100 is a little steep for a fake, what greedy sellers! Sorry you got taken

 

[AlexTina]

As soon as your certain it is a fake just file a complaint with paypal. I personally wouldn't bother to e-mail the seller again because they probably won't respond anyway. Just go straight to paypal and file a complaint for item not as described. You will have to wait approx. 10 days for them to "investigate" but they will without a doubt give you your money back. Good Luck

Tina

 

[Alice's Mom]

did the seller guarantee authenticity with a money back guarantee? Normally somewhere in the auction they acknowledge that the item is indeed fake.

It is actually illegal to knock off purses, here in Los Angeles they do bust people in the garment district.

 

[DMRick]

I personally, would go straight to Paypal, once you are sure it's a fake. If you write her and give her warning, she may empty and close her Paypal account, and if nothing is in it, or she isn't connected to her checking account or credit card, you would be out of luck. If it's a fake, she sure knows it, or she would have started the price higher.

 

[Brier Rose]

See this is what scares me about buying something like that on ebay!
I've been looking for a LV backpack style for my DD for Christmas.

I almost bought one last night for $500 (normal retail from best I could tell is around $920), so that would be a decent deal, but I chickened out.

I'm just scared to death to spend that kind of money, and wind up with a fake.

 

[dizagain]

As soon as your certain it is a fake just file a complaint with paypal. I personally wouldn't bother to e-mail the seller again because they probably won't respond anyway. Just go straight to paypal and file a complaint for item not as described. You will have to wait approx. 10 days for them to "investigate" but they will without a doubt give you your money back. Good Luck

Tina

Hi! I just want to say that you shouldn't automatically assume the seller was aware...it almost happened to me!!! I had one of my first auctions "removed" by vero and had no idea why. Still don't know, but am assuming my Kate Spade was a fake. I had no idea....should I have known? Probably, but I honestly didn't. My sister-in-law (quite wealthy and always getting hand-me-downs from her style-crazy mom) gave my girls the bag. It never crossed my mind it wasn't real. So....I say give the seller a chance first. Then, if you don't get the proper response, take it to ebay and fight for your $$!! Good luck!

 

[Tinkaroo]

Here's my update. I sent the seller an e-mail through eBay last night, stating that the purse he/she sold to me was a fake, not "authentic" as stated in the title of their auction, and I wanted a full refund of my cost, plus shipping. Based on all that I read on the eBay and PayPal sites, it looks like I needed to make a good faith effort to contact the seller first, plus not file a claim until 10 days after the auction ended. I stated in the message that I preferred that we resolve it on our own, but would be prepared to involve PayPal, eBay, and American Express if necessary. I gave him/her the deadline of this Sunday (10 days after the auction ended) to respond to me, then I would begin the grievance process if things weren't resolved.

I seriously doubt this seller could think this bag was real - it is such shoddy work in person. I went and handled the actual bag at my local LV store last night, and there's just no comparison.

I agree - this has really deterred my interest in ever doing anything through eBay again. I'm sure there are many honest and reputable sellers out there (there has to be, or eBay wouldn't continue to exist), but it's sad that this has put a damper on my faith and trust that an item is being truthfully presented. Some people are just unconscionable.

 

[tlbwriter]

See this is what scares me about buying something like that on ebay!
I've been looking for a LV backpack style for my DD for Christmas.

I almost bought one last night for $500 (normal retail from best I could tell is around $920), so that would be a decent deal, but I chickened out.

I'm just scared to death to spend that kind of money, and wind up with a fake.

Have you seen this website? There are fan websites decidated to help find fakes of many different bags.

 

[3disAddicts]

Don't feel so bad. Same thing happened to me about 2 weeks ago. But seller had only a 98.9% positive feedback. Purchased an "authentic" Louis Vuitton, but when I received it, the workmanship was so shoddy, there's no way it was the real deal. I contacted the seller immediately, requesting a refund. I didn't say anything about it not being authentic, but the bag did not come new with tags like auction said. He agreed to a refund if I would leave a positive feedback first. NO WAY!!! Now I'm just trying to decide what to do next. Turn him over to ebay, or what. Unlike you, I'm only out 58.00 Could have been a lot worse. When I read his feedback prior to bidding, many people complimented the bags he was selling, so I felt "safe". Bad thing is, those who critized his merchandise(only one negative comment about a purse) and left negative feedbacks,(other types of merchandise) he does the same to them. This should have been a deterent to me bidding. Dumb Dumb me!!! Lesson WELL learned.

 

[tlbwriter]

I contacted the seller immediately, requesting a refund. I didn't say anything about it not being authentic, but the bag did not come new with tags like auction said. He agreed to a refund if I would leave a positive feedback first. NO WAY!!! Now I'm just trying to decide what to do next. Turn him over to ebay, or what.

Contact eBay. Feedback extortion is against their TOS. Selling fake bags is, too. Actually, you're allowed to sell fakes as long as you disclose that they are fake, and as long as they are knock-offs and not real fakes (i.e., a bag that looks like a Kate Spade, but does *not* have a fake "Kate Spade" label). You are allowed to say it "looks like a Kate Spade bag" in your description, but I beleve you are only allowed to mention the "inspiration" once. He'll probably be booted. Of course, to make sure you get your refund, you could give him positive feedback anyway, knowing it won't be an issue after he's booted. I'd say "Cheerfully gave refund after selling obviously fake bag!"

 

[Tinkaroo]

I received an e-mail from the seller this morning. Here is the response I got:

"This bag was a gift and was purchased at a Saks Fifth Avenue. I am sorry you do not like it but it is the bag from the photo. I dont really know what I can do about it."

I am obviously responding back, telling them exactly what they can do about it - refund my money as requested, and upon receiving a full refund, I will return the bag to them via UPS ground and provide them with a tracking #. I am also pasting in links to eBay's policy against counterfeit goods, claiming authenticity when they cannot personally verify, etc., and pointing out that they could very likely be removed from eBay, amongst other things, if I move forward with my claim. I have also told them if I don't receive a refund, I will begin the grievance/claims process on Monday.

A question for the experts (I really know so little about this) - I want to be specific about how I want to receive my money back. I obviously am not going to accept a check from this person, and after seeing posts about fake money orders, I don't want to do that either. Can I do it through PayPal? If so, how does that work, and what "form" will I get my money back in? I don't want a credit in my PayPal account - I want the actual cash back I paid, so I can send it to American Express. (I also don't know if I need to get "verified" with PayPal to do this - I have an account, but am leery of providing anybody with my bank account # - is this safe??)

 

[HayGan]

If you paid thru paypal via a credit card, the seller can do a refund and the funds will go back to your credit card thru paypal. I'm a bit confused as to how you paid cash thru paypal.

 

[Tinkaroo]

Will it automatically be refunded to my AmEx, or do I have to do something in my own PayPal account to make that happen? (I'm sorry, I know very little about how PayPal works, and though I've been reading their site this morning, it's not very forthcoming with information regarding refunds.)

I did pay with AmEx through PayPal - no cash. I just want to make sure the money either gets refunded directly back to my AmEx through PayPal, or that I'm somehow able to get it transferred to my checking account so I can then send it to AmEx. Sorry if that was confusing.

 

[my3kids]

I can answer some of your questions about refunds through PayPal as i just went through this. The 10 days past auction isn't right. You can file anytime after the sale goes bad, within a certain time frame....maybe 30 days. The 10 days is the time PayPal waits for a response from the seller before making a judgement. If the seller doesn't respond within 10 days to the complaint you files with Paypal then it is automatically found in your favor and you will get a refund.

Go to the dispute area of Paypal and file the claim. You will have a list of items to select...type of complaint; in your case the goods were not as advertised, and whether or not you got the item.. Then there is a box to type all the facts. State that the auction said authentic. State that the representatives of the company have verified it is not authentic, that you have contacted the seller and the seller has declined to refund. State that you want your money refunded in full.

Then PP sends a copy of the complaint to the seller. They have 10 days to respond. If they contest, then PP can take a month or so to have someone review it by hand and make a determination. If if goes to this you may need a written statement from an expert that it is a fake.

In my case the seller did not respond and on the 10th day PP found in my favor. I had paid with a credit card and the money was recredited to my card, not my PP account.

I had spoken with my CC company and if PP had not refunded in full they would have gone against the sellers bank to recoup my money.

But, before ANYTHING can happen you need to go through the official process of disputing the payment with Paypal. There is a link from the transaction listing page on your Paypal summary, I think is where I found it. Don't worry about waiting the 10 days after the auction. File now with PP.

 

[momxx5]

I am sure I would be terribly upset too.....but this is exactly why I do not purchase expensive questionable items on ebay. I purchase items, with the thoughts that if it doesn't work out I can accept that and if it does work out and is the item I really wanted than YEAH for me.

Good luck getting this resolved.

 

[HayGan]

I can answer some of your questions about refunds through PayPal as i just went through this. The 10 days past auction isn't right. You can file anytime after the sale goes bad, within a certain time frame....maybe 30 days. The 10 days is the time PayPal waits for a response from the seller before making a judgement. If the seller doesn't respond within 10 days to the complaint you files with Paypal then it is automatically found in your favor and you will get a refund.

Go to the dispute area of Paypal and file the claim. You will have a list of items to select...type of complaint; in your case the goods were not as advertised, and whether or not you got the item.. Then there is a box to type all the facts. State that the auction said authentic. State that the representatives of the company have verified it is not authentic, that you have contacted the seller and the seller has declined to refund. State that you want your money refunded in full.

Then PP sends a copy of the complaint to the seller. They have 10 days to respond. If they contest, then PP can take a month or so to have someone review it by hand and make a determination. If if goes to this you may need a written statement from an expert that it is a fake.

In my case the seller did not respond and on the 10th day PP found in my favor. I had paid with a credit card and the money was recredited to my card, not my PP account.

I had spoken with my CC company and if PP had not refunded in full they would have gone against the sellers bank to recoup my money.

But, before ANYTHING can happen you need to go through the official process of disputing the payment with Paypal. There is a link from the transaction listing page on your Paypal summary, I think is where I found it. Don't worry about waiting the 10 days after the auction. File now with PP.

This is the case if the seller is going to give you a hassle. Otherwise, if the seller agrees to a refund a dispute does not have to be filed with paypal. The seller can actually go thru the original transaction and provide a refund that way.

You don't have to do anything for paypal to refund to your credit card. It happens automatically if you paid via credit card

Hope everything works out!