Bought a couple of items then eBay removed the listings.

Jim431

Last week I bought a couple of similar items from sellers in different parts of the UK. ( with BuyNow)
The first item arrived arrived OK and I went to leave feedback and discovered that both transactions were missing from my eBay purchase record.
Then I had an email from eBay saying the first item had been de-listed. That seller has now disappeared from ebay altogether.

I then found that the second item had been de-listed by eBay with the message "This listing has been removed, or this item is not available."
The seller is still on eBay but all his items have been de-listed.

I have started a dispute with PAYPAL for the second item but find it strange that eBay didn't notify me as they did for the first item.

Both sellers had very good feeback records with many transactions. I imagine this is some kind of fraud but I don't understand why a seller with a very high feedback score over the past year would put that at risk. He is listed as a "Top rated Seller".

There was a sentence in the descriptions that makes me now think that both sellers may have been one and the same. One down South the other in the Midlands tho.

Maybe a fraudualent seller has in some way hacked eBay to put up an untrue feedback record.

Anyone know what this is all about.

soolin

Two things come to mind- either the item itself was not allowed on ebay, or maybe the seller was shill bidding if he had mutiple accounts.

Alternatively the seller might just have got too many ebay warnings to continue selling.

It is not possible for the feedback to have been hacked but Do you recall whether the feedback was all as a seller and for this product as it is more likely that the seller built up good feedback selling different allowable products.

Jim431

soolin wrote: »

Two things come to mind- either the item itself was not allowed on ebay, or maybe the seller was shill bidding if he had mutiple accounts.

Alternatively the seller might just have got too many ebay warnings to continue selling.

It is not possible for the feedback to have been hacked but Do you recall whether the feedback was all as a seller and for this product as it is more likely that the seller built up good feedback selling different allowable products.

The items are widely sold on eBay so that isn't a factor and the items I bought were "BuyNow" rather than "bid for".

The feedback I looked at was as a seller and is still up on eBay tho the seller is recorded as "not registered".

1400 positive, 4 negative feedback in the past month stopping on 12 October.

forgotmyname

But are the items dodgy? Quick 1 day BIN listings to avoid long drawn out auctions
that get cancelled before they end?

Lots of the dodgy people selling fake console games and chips do that. By the time its been reported
and ebay look its sold.

Jim431

forgotmyname wrote: »

But are the items dodgy? Quick 1 day BIN listings to avoid long drawn out auctions
that get cancelled before they end?

Lots of the dodgy people selling fake console games and chips do that. By the time its been reported
and ebay look its sold.

I just trawelled through some of the negatives and some people have claimed that he was selling fakes... didn't see it before.

The seller has 10,000 positive and only 39 negative over the past year so not everyone agrees.

Maybe that is it... but the items and packaging that were delivered from the first outfit look very convincing if they are fake.

Update:
Now done a bit of research and found that Oral B brushes, which is what I bought, are widely faked and have looked at the pictures of what to look for. There are a couple of "tells" so I am convinced that what I got are (very good) fakes. So I have now opened a second case.

http://reviews.ebay.com/Beware-of-Fake-Non-Authentic-Braun-Oral-B-Brush-heads_W0QQugidZ10000000003186234?clk_rvr_id=274032448166&afsrc=1

forgotmyname

Some people are happy to buy fakes as long as the price is right. Obviously for that seller 39 people were
not so happy to buy fakes.

After watching some of the shows on TV i wouldnt risk buying anything to do with hygiene from anywhere
other than a proper source.

Imagine the toothbrushes being make in some dirty backstreet warehouse with vermin running around.

Problem is a lot of fake and poor quality stuff can enter the mainstream, Didnt tesco stock fake toothpaste
a while back?

Rusty and poor quality surgical instruments being used by the NHS.

Jim431

forgotmyname wrote: »

Some people are happy to buy fakes as long as the price is right. Obviously for that seller 39 people were not so happy to buy fakes.

OK... I see all this now... but there is a trade in compatible brushes that legally? satisfies the market.

The items I bought were more expensive than the compatibles and made to deceive the buyers. Maybe a lot of other Oral B products on eBay are similar fakes.

It was actually only a few people who were complaining that they were fake. The rest were complaining for different items/ for non-delivery/broken etc.

As eBay has clearly known about this for some time I am surprised that there isn't a prominent warning on the search page with a link to a page explaining what to look for. I think that if more people were aware then the trade would be drastically reduced as people made claims against the sellers.

Anyways it is a wake up call for me. I didn't expect fakes to look so good.

The second seller has just given me a refund:j and I'll be shopping at SuperD**g from now on.

soolin

Jim431 wrote: »

OK... I see all this now... but there is a trade in compatible brushes that legally? satisfies the market. .

Not if they are sold as Oral B

Jim431 wrote: »

As eBay has clearly known about this for some time I am surprised that there isn't a prominent warning on the search page with a link to a page explaining what to look for. I think that if more people were aware then the trade would be drastically reduced as people made claims against the sellers.

.

I think ebay expect buyers to have some common sense and do their homework before buying. Sellers and /or items will be removed if reported- but as has already been said there are enough people who are happy to continue buying fakes to save a few pence.

Selling fakes in the UK is not allowed, but ebay will not remove them unless reported.

Jim431

soolin wrote: »

Not if they are sold as Oral B

They are sold as compatible with and to fit the Oral B electric toothbrushes. But not labelled as OralB. So that may be legal unless they infringe the design.

soolin wrote: »

I think ebay expect buyers to have some common sense and do their homework before buying. Sellers and /or items will be removed if reported- but as has already been said there are enough people who are happy to continue buying fakes to save a few pence.

Selling fakes in the UK is not allowed, but ebay will not remove them unless reported.

OK... I am suitable chastised... but the question is... How much homework CAN you do ?

I looked at the feedback record and it looked very good. The fake reports were several pages/months back and the seller had not been removed.

If I had seen a warning I would have clicked to a (more) trusted source.

forgotmyname

soolin wrote: »

Selling fakes in the UK is not allowed, but ebay will not remove them unless reported.

And if the seller has very good feedback and pays ebay a nice sum then expect the removal to be after the auction ends.

They dont rush in removing or banning good sellers.


I stumbled across a site selling DS cards that allows you to play backup games, You know the ones.

Anyway, Fakes of the best selling one were being sold on ebay. These were dodgy and could blow the internal fuses on the consoles.
I reported these to ebay and most got removed. Except the sellers with high sales and good feedback. Their listings remained.

Thought reporting was pointless after that. Better off contacting the company directly and let them contact ebay.

I have had a few freedbies from doing that. Am i a snakey snitch?

Or is that the MSE way?