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Can evidence be any plainer than this? This photo sums up pretty well the whole situation. Fake, counterfeit, fraud - its as simple as that.
What on earth can eBay do about unscrupulous sellers who peddle fake goods? Not much, it seems. Well, now its my turn to get duped. Seeing a slip billed by eBay seller specialju38 as a ‘Kayser Bondor’ and at a fair price for the brand, I went for it and won.
I should have known better. Our seller used up her full quota of photos in the item description, but I missed the fact there wasn’t one of the label. If there had have been, there is no way I would have touched it with a bargepole and I would have immediately reported it to eBay as an obvious fake. Sadly, it wasn’t until I received the slip in the post that the scam came to light.
Click on the image for an enlarged, clearer, photo
The bit that really rankles is that the seller takes her buyer as a fool. This is such an amateurish attempt at a fake it beggars belief. Crude stitching the likes of which I haven’t seen since my own attempts at needlework at primary school – plus the fact our erstwhile scammer couldn’t even be bothered to sew it on straight to the seam. It has even been sewn in the wrong place – clearly a collar label, it has been stitched halfway down a side seam. You’ve got to see this sham to believe it, as photos on a blog can only describe the situation to a degree.
Click on the image for a larger, clearer photo
Somebody needs to make a stand against these shoddy practices and right now I am so angry that the longer it takes me to get a full refund, the louder I’m going to shout. As an established seller of vintage lingerie myself, I thank God I am honest enough to never even consider hurting my customers in this way and if I never get a refund off specialju38, the £8.99 I sent her for this sham will be worth every penny to expose this disgusting and illegal practice. Nobody should have to fight to get their money back after this kind of thing happens.
OK, now lets give specialju38 the benefit of the doubt and lets assume she has merely ‘moved on’ a fake slip she didn’t actually ‘make’ herself. Well, firstly, I would be truly staggered that such a crude fake would escape even the most fleeting and rudimentary inspection. I wouldn’t have listed it, thats for sure. Secondly, if this were so and the seller innocently ‘shifted’ said dodgy slip, then a full refund should be instantaneous and without reservation. I think competent online sellers call it protecting one’s reputation. Instead, I had to open an eBay dispute case against the seller as I now have absolutely no confidence that I’ll ever get my money back.
If you think I am being a tad harsh in my interpretation of a fake and you can clearly see that is how all Kayser Bondor labels were stitched on by their skilled machinists, then please comment on this article and put me firmly in my place. On the other hand, after viewing the photos you came to the same conclusion as I did, I’d appreciate a comment to that effect too. Thank you.
FOOTNOTE: its obvious from the personal abuse I have received from specialju38 that I seem to have had a brush with the ‘murkier’ side of eBay. This character doesn’t represent the values that I stand for, nor the way I conduct business with buyers. So, even though I am the victim of a fraud, I closed the case and in doing so I will let her keep the £8.99 she took from me. Not because I’m weak. Not because I caved-in, but because I have a different set of morals to people like her and I have come to the conclusion that the once vibrant marketplace that was eBay is now rotten to the core. Sorry, but what may seem to you now as some kind of victory will gnaw away at your conscience if you have one, or not if you haven’t. Congratulate yourself on a job well done – you successfully duped someone into buying your fake Kayser Bondor slip!
So sorry to hear about this! You did leave negative feedback for this seller, didn’t you!? Jen
She’s an eBay ‘power seller’ and they make you wait 7 days before you can leave negative feedback. Good, that gives me enough time to assemble the perfect combination of words to sum up what a ‘pleasure’ dealing with her has been!
I hate getting fooled!
7 days?! Wow, talk about protecting their assets!
After looking at the label, I come to the same conclusion you did. If the seller didn’t actually add the label him/herself, she passed on a very questionable item. Power seller? Hope you get your refund!
Thats bad news and its such an obvious fake that she must have known. I hope you get your money back. I checked her out on EBAY and shes convinced shes Queen Victoria. See the warning signs mate – shes got mental health issues. I hope EBAY throw her out but I doubt if they will knowing them as EBAY has long been the home of some serious crooks. Good luck matey.
I have almost entirely given up on vintage eBay. If the item’s not a fake, or broken (but stated to be mint) then the shipping is often horrid. (Shattered items over and over again-haven’t these sellers heard of bubble wrap & peanuts?) For vintage eBay has sunk to the bottom depths. That said, my husband buys & sells high end fountain pens on there and does great. I guess it may just be vintage that’s taken the hit. I’m sorry this happened to you!
I’d give up totally on eBay too, Heidi, but for every bad seller, there are some really kind, decent eBay sellers that I have dealt with and that has certainly been a pleasure. As for this particular case, yes, I have been unfortunate to have become the victim of fraud, but I’m not finished with her yet. Not by a long way. Ebay doesn’t protect buyers against bad sellers and so the decision will shortly move away from eBay and into the safer ground of consumer legislation…
OK, other than the label, how is the quality of the slip. Could it be possible that the label was coming loose at some point and someone tried to secure it? What is the fabric and construction details? Do they tell you that this is a fake? It looks like a very nice slip.
Did you communicate with the seller?
Good points, but I’m afraid it seems it now looks like its possibly a Marks and Spencer design with a Kayser Bondor label stitched to it. Photos on eBay are fine, but on closer inspection the item is not Kayser Bondor quality, nor, as I said, is it one of their designs. I bought it in the belief it was a Kayser Bondor item, as it was thus described on Ebay, and I would not have even considered buying the item otherwise.
Luckily for me there is adequate existing legislation in the United Kingdom to guard against the sale of counterfeit goods and, luckily for me I have ready access to it, so if eBay don’t sort things out then ‘stage two’ should.
I know its only £8.99 and not a King’s ransom, but its still selling fake goods and I hate that.
Oh, I nearly forgot your last question! Yes, of course, plenty of communication with the seller in both directions.
Very sad and frustrating for you. Situations like this make all EBay sellers look bad. I, too have been duped as a buyer—but not just on EBay—unscrupulous sellers can be found anywhere.
Please do not lump all Ebay Power Sellers into the bad apple cart. About a year ago, I attempted to “move my eggs” from The EBay selling basket to other venues. Unfortunately, I took a HUGE cash-flow hit, and have to remain selling on that venue. I am an honest, ethical Ebay Power Seller and will remain one until either the $$$ are elsewhere or the bills go away, whichever comes first.
Best of luck to you as you sort this out.
Hi Nora…….I certainly don’t want you to think all Power Sellers are made of the same stuff. I think I said somewhere in the above article that I have traded with some really nice people on eBay since I joined, and I can’t imagine for a minute people like that are commonplace at all. Ebay have supported me well in this matter, which is gratifying too. I dropped the case in the main because I have a young child who uses this computer and I had to make absolutely sure he didn’t see the vile things that woman was sending me before I had chance to quarantine them. I just don’t want that kind of stuff invading my home, even if they are just emails. Just took a peek at your listings – impressive!
footnote: I see that the seller you are lambasting is “registered as a business seller”. Is that the UK equivalent to a POWER SELLER? She does not have the “Top Rated Seller” designation, which indicates good feedback and adherence to policies.
FTR, my Ebay user id is treasurehuntvintage—and I am both a Power Seller and Top Rated Seller. Honest and ethical. So frustrating that others have no scruples and bring us all down.
Cheers,
Nora
That sucks, Col! At least it wasn’t a lot of money.
I used to buy vintage on eBay (to resell,) but these days it seems like there just aren’t any bargains. I think the last time I bought something on eBay was a couple years ago when I bought some counterfeit perfume. I felt so stupid! I know there are nice, honest people on eBay but it is so discouraging to have a bad experience.
I’ll be back, though – I need to buy a new Cuisinart blade, and it’s the best place I know to buy that sort of thing.