eBay's Fake Louis Vuitton To Cost It $61M

PARIS -- EBay said it would appeal a French court's order that it pay 38.6 million euros ($60.8 million) in damages to the French luxury goods company LVMH, the latest round in a long-running legal battle over the sale of counterfeit goods on the Internet.

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, a maker of high-end goods and fashion and luxury products, successfully challenged eBay for a second time in the French court, arguing that 90 percent of the Louis Vuitton bags and Dior perfumes sold on eBay are fakes.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[TellTheTruthPeople]

Hey how about this for a company that sells more stolen goods than any other site on the web. We make ebay's customers list all serial numbers (where there are) on all items being listed. I guarantee 1. fewer stolen items around the world. 2. fewer fees being paid to eBay. I know it will do a lot for crime in America--!!!

[Destin]

The guy that bought the Harley for $18,000 but all he got was a photograph of the said Harley, did eBay ever give him his money back?? And what about this guy??......

http://www.local6.com/money/2569798/detail.html

Stolen ebay accounts used to make money. That's the problem with auction sites. Money is given before the item is.

[Destin]

eBay gets what it deserves, lol, i love that ruling. Now if only they could punish them further for all the harm that eBay has caused to consumers who were ripped off, swindled, and generally fleeced right in front of Meg's eyes.

[falco]

This is just the beginning. Did you know about this, dated June 19th - Senate Housing Bill Requires eBay, Amazon, Google, and All Credit Card Companies to Report Transactions to the Government :

"Hidden deep in Senator Christopher Dodd"s 630-page Senate housing legislation is a sweeping provision that affects the privacy and operation of nearly all of America"s small businesses. The provision, which was added by the bill"s managers without debate this week, would require the nation"s payment systems to track, aggregate, and report information on nearly every electronic transaction to the federal government.

FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey commented: "This is a provision with astonishing reach, and it was slipped into the bill just this week. Not only does it affect nearly every credit card transaction in America, such as Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express, but the bill specifically targets payment systems like eBay"s PayPal, Amazon, and Google Checkout that are used by many small online businesses. The privacy implications for America"s small businesses are breathtaking."

I've heard nothing about this in mainstream media. But how could I, I don't read it.

[JoeBlough]

What ever happen to - "let the buyer beware"?

[Destin]

That saying is as obsolete as "supply and demand", which was supposed to be superceded by "competition drives down prices", but since we have tons of supply and zero competition, well, have you bothered to check the price of oil lately?? Oh yeah, let the buyer beware. Only we have no choice about it. Remember?? ;)

[MyOwnPerson]

Having been a victim of fraud on eBay I can tell you they do as little as possible to combat the sale of fakes on their site. I sent them a list of more than 30 items I knew for a fact were fake and they did nothing. They also have some of the most incompetent people working for them. I filed a dispute over my fakes...WHAT A FIASCO!!! It took months to get my money back, then eBay took it out of my account and suspended my account. They denied my dispute! When I questioned them about it, they claimed the seller never received the items I returned. I gave them e-mails from the seller stating he received the items and sent me the refund. I was told I could not get my money back because I didn't send the items back requiring a signature. I had proof of delivery via the postal receipts and the e-mails, but they would not give me my money. We went round and round for weeks. I finally filed a complaint with the CA Attorney General and my money was returned. There are all sorts of horror stories on www.ebaysucks.com. I'm amazed at what eBay's gotten away with. I think an investigation for fraud and other things is long over due. Step up California! I know you've received more than enough complaints to move forward.

[francoise]

Oh well, don't feel you're the only one who's acted naively.

So did my kid, who bought for a couple of euros some supposedly Dior jewelry, and got some rotten cheap earings and necklace sent from China !

As I told her, the chinese kids who slaved on manufacturing the crap and on making the parcels were needing her money more than she did.

In a way there's some morality when children in need succeed in taking advantage of children who are overspoiled.

[loki]

Maybe they should start looking into all the items being fenced on ebay too. Its the best thing that ever happened to the petty theft criminal ever, and I know people who have actually found their own stolen goods being sold on ebay. There was an FBI report a year or so ago on how criminals steal things in one city , advertise them on ebay from another city, In this case it was Detroit and Miami where most items were being auctioned from, and then drop shipped from the city it was stolen from. American Capitalism at its finest.

[loki]

couldnt happen to a more deserving company, though I am sure they will pass this cost along to their customers 1000 fold. They will use it as an excuse to increase their profits beyond what they do now. After all, its not about the customer, or the company, its all about how much you can reap from them.

[biglover]

You took the words out of my mouth. I despise that b _ t _ h that founded the company.

[marymansour]

I consider EBay one of the biggest frauds on the internet. If you want honesty go to Amazon.com and shop.

[loki]

love Amazon, they dont ream you on shipping and handling charges like ebay sellers do. Buy a book for $3 and pay $10 shipping handling on ebay. Not on amazon,

[LiberalBuzz]

Ebay has long been uncaring about fraudulent listings, or people who routinely use shill bidding, or items that are listed by people who have no idea of what they are talking about.

Their primary interest is collecting fees at any cost. They will take forever IF at all to return a mistake but one buck you contest and you are banned for life. I have no sympathy for ebay, but on the other hand a court ruling that says ebay cannot sell LEGITIMATE items from the owner is going far to far.

[Kyuzo]

Pfffft. $61 million? eBay will just raise their fees another nickel per listing to cover that.

[wadenelson1]

The rich suing the rich over their overpriced handbags and gladrags. How quaint.

[carlgt1]

good -- for all the money ebay rakes in surely they could afford to hire people to monitor the auctions and remove all the fake ones. they only do it when something gets publicity, i.e. a woman trying to sell herself on ebay etc.

[jtjsrch1]

I never understood what people saw in some of this stuff, and I have worked at Tiffany's, Saks, etc. The fact is that many of the LV items sold in the US are produced at the French Company (Makers of luggage) in Fountain Valley, CA. A jewish gal I worked w/ had about a dozen LV handbags. She was always bringing them into Saks to be sent out for repair (Handles unstitched and broke off ALL THE TIME!). One day she said to me "Do you know what LV really stands for? It's LOUSY VINYL!!!!! "I started to cry I laughed so hard! We had extensive training on pilfering. The film they showed ALWAYS had the thief carrying a big LV OPEN TOTE....ALWAYS!

[mandalaina]

Hmmm...I wrote a post that seems like it was 'scrubbed' by the censors; I guess they didn't like words like "brothel" or "darned." Oh well, let's just say that though I agree with the caveot emptor line of thinking, I do think that ebay should be held responsible for the content of their site.