eBay purchase from overseas seller (fake product)

brgnhntr on 21/09/2014 - 14:44

Hi fellow bargainers,

I need some help here. I bought a product (alpinestar leather jacket) from a seller in china on ebay. The seller had not mentioned that the jacket if fake and the pictures were all looking genuine and like jackets we get in oz. I paid via paypal (good thing). Now I have received the jacket and it is a complete disgrace to call it an alpinestar. I contacted the seller about this and he said that I order to get the refund I would have to send it back, which costs like $50. I paid around $150 for it. The seller says that he can refund $50 if I dont want to return it. I dont want to keep it but also dont want to spend/waste $50 to send it back. I am happy to send it back if the selller agrees to pay for return shipping. I complained about him selling duplicate/fake product and said that I would complain to paypal. His response was ' Hi dearr friend, paypal policy is that you have return the product'. Does this mean that I will be out of the pocket for the cost of shipping or is there a way I can get my money back?.

I have not yet contacted paypal. Just thought I would ask u guys for ur opinion first.

thanks in advance

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Comments

  • ozhunter on 21/09/2014 - 15:17
    +2

    I bought a product (alpinestar leather jacket) from a seller in china on ebay.

    Big mistake

    Does this mean that I will be out of the pocket for the cost of shipping or is there a way I can get my money back?.

    Yes

  • altomic on 21/09/2014 - 15:45
    +6

    paypal claim.
    take photos of the jacket. especially ones where it shows the jacket is fake.
    submit those with your claim.

  • OldBugger on 21/09/2014 - 15:53
    • Firstly, ask the seller that question and see what he says.
    • Check his feedback to gather an idea of his reputation.
    • Get some proof that it is indeed fake (eg. photos, etc).
    • You could also say that you will leave positive feedback for assistance in the return postage costs. See my last post on the topic..
    • If things are not progressing, maybe state that you will forward his details to alpinestar, customs, police. Not that they would do much but it may scare him.
    • Keep correspondence professional and within ebay/paypal message system.
    • Lots of similar threads on this. Here is one recent one from WP.
  • amkssg on 21/09/2014 - 15:56
    +15

    YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SEND THE ITEM BACK!

    To quote from paypal:
    "If you (Seller) lose a Significantly Not as Described claim because the item you sold is counterfeit, you will be required to provide a full refund to the buyer and you will not receive the item back. (It will be destroyed.)"

    from:
    https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/Marketing/popu…

    and based on your description, the seller has admitted that the item is fake.

  • adamren on 21/09/2014 - 16:11
    +2

    More Chinese eBay seller lies, they just take us for mugs. Good on you for doing this and good luck. Update us what eBay and PayPal do.

    • Roney on 22/09/2014 - 11:32

      So far most of my eBay stuffs from China & HK arrived good as described. There are unscrupulous ones eg Funbase who claimed to have delivered my order for 16gb SDHC card but actually didn't. This was judged by number of units available in their e-store. They then took advantage of the 45day Paypal protection by 're-sending' another one which lapsed the buyer's protection period.

  • Shadow54 on 21/09/2014 - 16:30
    +2

    Have you thought of reporting the fake to alpinsstar? They probabbly have the money/legal muscle to get the seller pushed off eBay?

  • Ughhh on 21/09/2014 - 17:45
    +3

    Imo, if its designer/branded product + china = most likely fake. No matter what pictures they use (anyone can copy and paste) or how convincing their description is.

    Even if you get a full refund, this gamble is not worth the time, effort and stress, unless you have lots of money and time to kill.

  • isthisreally_me on 21/09/2014 - 20:27
    +1

    Doesn't the buyer have to prove the item is counterfeit to win such a claim. i.e. a document from recognised body (in this case alpinestar themselves) stating its counterfeit in writing. From initial post seller has simply said to get refund buyer must return item (same as if buyer was unhappy) but doesn't mention specifically the seller said yes its a fake you can return it for refund.

    • amkssg on 22/09/2014 - 12:13
      +1

      Most of the time you don't have to submit anything. Just fill in a dispute for fake item.
      And just so you know, paypal protects the buyer, not the seller.

      (Paypal will refund you the money and charge the seller a commission/fee.)

  • GnarlyKnuckles on 22/09/2014 - 01:54
    +1

    The seller won't actually admit in writing that it's fake (they have nothing to gain by doing so, and everything to lose). Nor will they state that it is genuine; they will simply state that the person they got it from told them it was genuine.
    My advice is just submit a disputed transaction to paypal based on the fact that it's obviously fake. Paypal is unlikely to ask for proof that it's fake. From what I've heard from friends, often paypal simply returns the money to you and instructs you to destroy the item, in cases such as this. A relative of mine went through a similar thing, and that's what happened. She couldn't bring herself to destroy the item (shoes, if I recall) because they were wearable/new, so she neatly crossed out the brand name on the sole with a permanent marker and dropped them into a "clothing donations" bin. You could do a similar thing if instructed to destroy it; i.e., cut the tag off then donate it.
    Don't buy brand name stuff from China in future though expecting it to be genuine. Paypal will probably pay you back once, but if you submit a second claim they will suspect that you are simply milking the system to get free stuff.

    Good luck mate!

  • DEvok on 22/09/2014 - 11:41

    I believe you will be out of pocket for this one for the $50 shipping, in return you have the ability to give him a negative feed back.
    It's up to the seller to refund you the shipping costs which will cost him his feed back being compromised.

  • djones145 on 22/09/2014 - 12:30
    +1

    looking at google, alpinestar leather jacket look like they are usually sold for around 500-600 bucks

    would have though the price would have sent warning signals that its fake!

  • Sshanaz on 22/09/2014 - 12:47
    +2

    Contact the local Alpinestar store and ask them to issue you a letter confirming that they don't have manufacturing store in China or take it to their physical store and ask store representative to confirm that the jacket you received is fake.

    To make it convenient, draft a letter containing all the information including seller name, location, date of purchase and amount you paid and either send it on their email address mentioned on the website or take this letter to the local store.

    I had a similar issue in the past where I received fake product from China and I was able to retrieve my $565 using above procedure.

    Once you have provided the letter, Paypal will ask you to sign declaration to confirm you have destroyed the product however I will strongly suggest to give them call immediately after you have upload letter and this will ensure they make decision on the spot.

  • minty on 22/09/2014 - 13:09
    +2

    ^^^
    Yep, getting a letter from a genuine source is all you need. It's against the law to knowingly distribute counterfeit product, so you cannot legally send the product back to the supplier and eBay is aware of this.

    Get the letter and have store sign it with letterhead, and scan and upload to paypal dispute.

  • brgnhntr on 25/09/2014 - 15:24

    I raised a dispute with paypal and they have asked me to return the item for full refund. I have emailed them back stating that the only reason I use paypal as a buyer is because it gives me the security if there is any problem with the purchase. Awaiting response. not very happy with their way of dealing with problem.

    will keep u guys updated

    • amkssg on 25/09/2014 - 19:39
      +1

      Honestly, I am confused with your complaint.

      1. If it is counterfeit, PayPal will not ask you to return the item. So, it appears that you have not been truthful with us fellow ozbargainers.

      2. If the item was fake, my follow up email would be that, "according to your t&c, counterfeit products must be destroyed, not returned". The fact that your response to PayPal has everything to do with "security of purchase" and nothing to do with it being counterfeit raises further questions.

      • altomic on 26/09/2014 - 08:18

        sometimes their responses are automated. you've clicked this button to raise that problem which results in a certain email

    • drdolphin on 26/09/2014 - 19:12

      It is illegal to post counterfeit products in Australia, so you should not be posting it back. Having said that, the onus is on you to prove it is fake. Sounds like you should be contacting Alpinestar to see if they'll help (ie if they can confirm the product is fake, and out this in writing). You can then supply the letter to Paypal and you'll receive a full refund and won't have to return it.

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