eBay recently sent out a petition to everyone who ever bought or sold something on their online marketplace within the European Union. The petition is called: “Demand an end to unfair trade practices”.
In this petition eBay is asking people to sign the petition in order to have the EU competition law amended to stop these so-called “unfair trade practices” so that brands will no longer be able to block the sales of their products at online marketplaces and other websites regardless whether these products are new, second-hand, authentic or fake.
However, eBay did not mention that these brands had decided to take these drastic measures after unfruitful requests to eBay asking them to take appropriate measures against the sale of counterfeit products.
Also, did you know that eBay has been involved in numerous law suits in the past couple of years?
In France, eBay lost a counterfeit lawsuit filed by LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy), which is the owner of Louis Vuitton , amongst others. According to LVMH, eBay did not take appropriate action against fake Louis Vuitton bags, accessories and fake perfumes being offered on the eBay website. In this case the judge decided that eBay had to pay a fine of 40 million Euros for the sale of counterfeit products of LVMH to LVMH.
Hermès also successfully sued eBay for the sale of two fake Hermès handbags. Both eBay and the seller were sentenced to pay 20,000 Euros to Hermès.
Brand owners Tiffany and L’Oréal were also involved in lawsuits against eBay for the alleged sale of fake products in the past.
And finally, last week, footwear and accessories designer Steve Madden sued eBay for fake watches being sold on their online marketplace. According to Steve Madden eBay has not only failed to remove all watches with the Steve Madden trademark from their website," the Long Island City-based company said. eBay also "has failed to take any steps to police the eBay auction site."
Would you as a buyer not want to have the security of buying an authentic product instead of having the risk of buying a fake? Would it not be much better to know that you can trust online marketplaces for taking all the necessary measures to prevent the sale of counterfeits on their site, giving consumers the confidence that they can safely purchase products on their website?
Before you decide to sign this petition, please think clearly about the consequences of doing so! It looks like brand owners are trying to make it as difficult as possible for us consumers to simply buy and sell stuff online. However, this is not the case. After trying to find a solid partner in online marketplaces to prevent the sales of counterfeit goods with no success, the brand owners find themselves in a position where they apparently have no other options left than to take much more drastic measures.
Therefore buyer beware! If you sign this petition, you might just increase the risk of buying a fake online!