eBay Backtracks on Promise to Counterfeit Whistleblower

Despite reports, dangerous products remain and buyers are duped.

November 19, 2014,  Los Angeles, CA – After eBay publicly admitted to altering feedback, blocking accounts, changing resolved disputes and removing counterfeit comments and warnings protecting consumers, eBay publically offered the olive branch, but privately snubbed the whistleblower, The Counterfeit Report^®, a popular consumer protection website.

The facade offered to appease inquiring reporters quickly vaporized in just a week when Director of Global Policy, Gary Fullmer, and Senior Manager of Global Brand Protection, Daniel Shapiro backtracked on their commitment for reform to protect consumers. The Counterfeit Report received a less-than-minimal effort email with a web link to 'Report This Item' and most account issues remained unaddressed.

A nine month investigation and over 250 counterfeit products were purchased from eBay sellers and reported to eBay by The Counterfeit Report. Instead of embracing the results and protecting the eBay community, eBay retaliated by blocking The Counterfeit Report’s corporate eBay accounts,  altering feedback, changing resolved disputes  and removing counterfeit comments and warnings protecting consumers. In contrast, the counterfeit sellers remained on eBay and transaction fees continued.

Consumer trust and safety is the issue. Confirmed counterfeit and fake product purchases included over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, fragrances, phone chargers, auto accessories, sporting goods and more. Even when dangerous counterfeit products and the sellers are identified, prior buyers are not notified by eBay that they may have purchased a dangerous counterfeit, or may have been duped and eligible for a refund.

Office-of-the-President John Donahue spokesperson Alynna Wesley stated that “eBay receives 1000’s of item reports a week,” and that the removal of counterfeit or prohibited product listings on eBay could take months. “Once through the system, we’ll get to the listings as soon as possible” said Wesley -- hardly a confidence builder or foundation of trust for the eBay consumer.

Quick to respond to the media inquiries, eBay presented the claim that The Counterfeit Report, was “mistakenly identified as an abusive buyer” when it blocked the corporate accounts and even the publisher’s unrelated personal account.  The Counterfeits Reports history of contacting and reporting to eBay just doesn’t support that claim and the eBay counterfeit quagmire grows.

eBay offered reporters that The Counterfeit Report and the company “are fighting the same fight” against counterfeits and publicly vowed to work together with The Counterfeit Report, which works with companies to stop the proliferation of counterfeit goods on the internet.

Examples of actual counterfeit products purchased from eBay sellers;

	Counterfeit Apple iPhone® USB Chargers have damaged equipment, caused injuries, fires and one death, yet are common on eBay. eBay sellers may claim an authentic Apple iPhone charger, but send counterfeits. The counterfeit UL mark shown here further deceives consumers, but counterfeits are not evaluated by UL for safety. The Counterfeit Report purchased various counterfeit "Apple Chargers" from eBay sellers and submitted complaints to eBay, yet, the sellers remain and the dangerous counterfeit product listings continue.
	Labeled as a SanDisk® 64GB microSDHC memory card, this product does not exist in the SanDisk product line, and confirmed by SanDisk to be a fake. Look closely and you will see the package is marked SDHC, but actually contains an SDXC labeled memory card. While an obvious fake, eBay inexplicably ruled in favor of the seller in the counterfeit product dispute case and removed the counterfeit feedback for the seller, who remains active on eBay. Consumers are easily deceived by counterfeit memory cards which are difficult to detect without test software and are often much lower memory capacity than stated. Counterfeits may damage equipment or destroy user data.
	Counterfeit fragrances are common on the internet and eBay. Consumers would be alarmed to know that counterfeit fragrances and cosmetics have been found to contain hazardous ingredients including arsenic, beryllium, DEHP (a plasticizer with health risks) and cadmium (known carcinogens), urine and antifreeze, along with high levels of aluminum and dangerous levels of bacteria. Several supervisors and an eBay manager acknowledged the dangers in the fake fragrances profiled in the Counterfeit Product Alerts, yet passed on taking corrective action
	Counterfeit versions of the very popular children's Rainbow Loom® craft kits are unsafe for children, may shatter into sharp edges and have not been tested in accordance with U.S. Toy Safety Standards (may contain lead and other dangerous substances). Counterfeits do not comply with any ASTM, CPSIA, EU, or Japan's toy safety standards.

The Counterfeit Report reported the offending sellers to eBay, the manufacturer and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) or US customs for non-US eBay sellers. Disputes on the counterfeit purchases were initiated and per eBay’s policy, the counterfeit products were not returned. Trafficking in counterfeits is a crime, and while the eBay sellers conceded to the dispute claims, occasionally admitted to the fakes, and refunded the purchase amounts, eBay allowed counterfeit sellers and product listings to remain on eBay.

Counterfeiting is a $1 trillion global criminal enterprise and e-commerce websites are an ideal platform to distribute counterfeits directly to the consumer. Over 90% of consumers look to e-commerce websites for good deals on nationally branded products, and e-commerce websites will reap billions from revenue from consumers who place their confidence in these websites.

The eBay Community would be much better served if eBay put consumer protection before profits with aggressive proactive research, harsh penalties for sellers and appropriately staffed anti-counterfeiting efforts. Consumers unknowingly purchase hazardous or deadly products that are deceptive and difficult to identify and it's the consumer who ultimately gets hurt.

Consumers can easily submit information to TheCounterfeitReport.com website for the appropriate notifications, but eBay’s response is the real issue.

Website: www.TheCounterfeitReport.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Counterfeit-Report/131568053660579
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