Are You Selling Fake i Phone Otterbox Cases?

Be careful when buying OtterBox Defender cases to resell on eBay. iPhone accessories have fallen the way of designer handbags, designer jeans, and designer sunglasses in that they are being cheaply reproduced and sold as "authentic." You want to be especially careful of buying fakes when shopping at garage sales, flea markets, thrift stores, or selling items on consignment for other people. If  you are caught by eBay selling a counterfeit item like this, you can be suspended. eBay's Vero program is watching so be very careful to authenticate easily faked items like designer handbags, jeans, sunglasses, perfumes, and Apple devices and accessories.

Kate of the "That's So Fake!" blog has a great video on YouTube to help you determine if the OtterBox case is authentic:




You can also see tips about spotting fake OtterBoxes on Kate's blog here. If you come across a fake Otterbox, take a few moments to report it to the Otterbox Fraud Investigation Team.

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How eBay VERO Protects Online Buyers and Sellers

If you are selling online, you've probably fallen in love with Etsy, eBay and Amazon. Selling online is convenient and easy. One of the downsides to selling online is that there are lots of counterfeit items out there. Some are very obvious but others, not so much. I think we all know the $20 couch purse at the flea market is a knock off, but the $75 wholesale bargain you find online can be much harder to judge.

To protect online sellers eBay has create VERO. VERO stands for verified right owner. This also protects online buyers for getting taken advantage of by buying counterfeit products, in addition to protecting sellers from getting their intellectual property stolen. Keeping the online world of shopping a safer and happier place. As a rights owner it can be very frustrating having your product copied.

To prevent counterfeit listings eBay quickly removes suspicious items, will remove and items reported as counterfeit, actively prosecutes offenders and provides free tools for rights owners to protect themselves.

Online buyers can help by not buying counterfeit items, by using PayPal for extra protection, reporting any suspicious items and leaving honest feedback. With a little effort you can help stop the sale of fake items.

Some may think that counterfeit items are no big deal, but they hurt both buyers and sellers. This is also unfair to the millions of people who depend on online sales to make a living. Online stores provide economic opportunity for people around the globe. Just think of all nonprofit organizations that fund themselves through product sales.

The important things to remember is that we all have a social responsibility to watch out for counterfeit items, not just the sellers. For more information on the eBay VERO program, please click here.

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Counterfeit Items on eBay – What Every Seller Needs to Know

Designer clothing and accessory sales have risen recently. Unfortunately, sales of knock offs have risen as well. It’s difficult to determine just how many fake items have been sold. Organizations such as the International Chamber of Commerce have made estimates, but are unable to calculate exact figures.

The president of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, Jean-Daniel Pasche, believes that each year more than forty million fake watches are sold. That’s more than one for each legitimate Swiss watch that is sold.

Replicas may seem harmless at first, but they take away from legitimate companies’ sales. Plus, many counterfeiters avoid taxes and are tied to organized crime. One attorney, Ted Max, says that counterfeit products even helped pay for the first bombing at the World Trade Centers.

The internet has made cracking down on product counterfeiters much more difficult. However, new laws have helped somewhat. Bigger brands have been able to take legal action to seize websites that deliberately chose names similar to theirs. LVMH has also acted against eBay and Google to get them to crack down on sellers and sites offering fake merchandise. eBay especially has taken action to help prevent knock offs from being sold through their site.

My advice for selling designer brands on eBay? If you are not 100% sure of an item’s authenticity or you did not purchase it yourself from a reputable dealer and have a store receipt to prove it, do not risk selling the item on eBay. Not only can you be suspended from eBay, but you will be helping the counterfeit underground by perpetuating the sale of these items. Use common sense!

Coach and Gucci handbags found at garage sales and thrift stores are not going to be authentic. This issue comes up almost on a daily basis with my clients, readers, and members of my Facebook Group. Don’t believe everything you see. There are many, many other safer avenues to take when choosing merchandise to sell on eBay. Avoid items than can possibly be counterfeit.

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