Power Sellers Unite

psunite · Joined: 27 Jan 2005 Posts: 6213 Location: Columbus OH

It appears that Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior are following the path that Tiffany took a while back, and are suing eBay for facilitating the sale of counterfeit products. For more detail, see this Financial Times article. Rather than comment on the merits of their objectives, I prefer to share with you an op-ed piece I wrote on the subject matter earlier this year. It is as relevant a message to Vuitton and Dior today as it was to Tiffany then.

Tiffany Actually Loses if it Wins eBay Lawsuit

As Tiffany’s lawsuit against eBay gets closer to trial, it has inspired many a doomsayer to challenge the continued viability of eBay’s business model. If eBay facilitates counterfeiting, Tiffany argues, they should be held accountable or not exist. Like many companies with lofty pedigrees, Tiffany is acting on fears of more than counterfeiting. They want to clamp down on the online trade of their branded goods - both counterfeit and real - because they fear losing control over the distribution of their products in the face of a growing secondary market. But strategies based on fears never work.
more.. link to news article

Patty00 · Joined: 13 Dec 2005 Posts: 1018

This is kind of like saying I have an awful toothache but don't want the tooth pulled because I'm still using it. Ebay needs to lose these suits. They need to change their way of operating whether we all like it or not. If they don't then we're all doomed to put up with lousey sales, high fees because of the lousey sales and a site full of fraud. Its disreputable and buyers shy away from a disreputable business once its way of operating is publicized. I spoke to a neighbor who bragged about buying some items on overstock. I said why didn't you look on Ebay for them? She said "oh...no...I've heard too much about Ebay. I won't shop there."

I say pull the tooth!

mojavelyn · Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 3:51 pm Post subject:

Agreed! but the down side of that is those fraud sellers will hit all the alternative sites then. But trust me, we have ways of dealing with them.

terryp · Joined: 06 Sep 2006 Posts: 540

But trust me, we have ways of dealing with them.?

sounds very interesting ...do you have a very large cash reserve.

What ever your views on fake items etc is, the facts are that ebay and a great many other online sites know all too well that many of their so called Genuine..Authentic...100% real etc etc are FAKES.

The people who buy a $1.99 shirt expecting the $399 original fuel the sales of these items...and sorry to say create a demand..so more listings of the fakes, it goes around and around..and the Auction companys get the fees.

The likes of LV and Dior are really just making a smart business move..free PR, for both their items and their company names and logos...the cost of the law suit will not even come down to the PR buget for 1 years advertising..and will get massive media because of the words "ebay" & "lawsuit"

They know that the factory worker who buys the $15 wallet is not going to go and buy the $600 original item and likewise the guy who wants the $600 wallet is not going to pay $14.99...You would not see the business man with his $10,000 Rolex buy the $50 fake.

One of LV's designers came out last year and said that replicas actually helped the sales of the genuine items???/ and sometimes improved on the original design

All this nonsence about IPR is rubbish as the 3rd world labor that produces most of these crazy overpriced originals will agree .

What is the saying...you get what you pay for?

.99 cent Channel bag.. totally original (yes original Fake)

Just a crazy idea but...what would happen is selling replicas were allowed... if this was made very clear in the listings....I bet in the long term more sales of the originals would take place