Anyone successfully reported fake compinents on eBay?

[nali]

They don't make it easy. In a moment of haste/madness I decided to order a couple of MSGEQ7 for a small maker type project I'm doing for someone. Chose UK location (yeh, right) and placed my order knowing I should have buyer protection if not by eBay then my c/card.

Chips arrive after a while in a flimsy polythene bag, no mechanical or static protection. Hard shiny epoxy surface exept for the abraded top face with a freshly printed part number. No work. Fake as fake can be.

I report the listing. It took a bit of searching around to find the link, select "IP Infringement" which is the closest option and start typing. But eBay automatically rejects the form with "invalid reason" if the text contains words "fake" or "counterfeit"  In the end I wrote the text into a PDF and uploaded as a supporting document along with photos of the chips. That generates an auto "thanks we're looking in to it" reply, the listing is still active.

I did get a refund from the seller after a couple of attempts. First response was Dear Friend very sorry, we will offer you partial refund for your inconvenience. Second response after I refused was We will gladly refund you but please promise not to leave us any negative feedback.So I got my refund and I left them a really shitty feedback.

So, I'm curious, has anyone actually successfully reported/removed a listing?

[factory]

It hasn't worked for a long time, they only seem to actually remove listings that evil Fluke lawyers pay to get removed and those hacked accounts (after they have been active for too long) with 10k+ fake listings.

David

[thm_w]

Don't waste your time. You got the refund, move on.

[nali]

Don't waste your time. You got the refund, move on.

I wouldn't say I've wasted any time (outside of making the original purchase and this thread), I'm just curious.

It is a bit annoying that these people exist but, I know nothing I do is going to change that. I guess a large proportion of those who buy this sort of stuff are "makers" and when things don't work they give up / don't bother / assume it's their lack of expertise so don't ask for refunds. In 20+ years of using eBay this is the 1st time I've ordered an IC from there, it was just for convenience which backfired but there you go.

[Muttley Snickers]

Don't waste your time. You got the refund, move on.

I also agree with the above statement, unfortunately the time wasted waiting for crap to arrive can never be compensated and the revenge process is also time consuming. You could perhaps name and shame the dodgy seller as a warning for others but these unscrupulous scum simply don't care and generally just blame their suppliers. In one case I left negative feedback first, negotiated the refund second then broadcast the transaction so as to warn others.
Dodgy Dealer

[magic]

It hasn't worked for a long time, they only seem to actually remove listings that evil Fluke lawyers pay to get removed

Every listing removed is a potential sale lost.
Beancounters aren't stupid, won't allow it for no reason.

Same thing everywhere, including AliExpress or a (formerly) Polish eBay clone site.

[hwasti]

Don't waste your time. You got the refund, move on.

Thank you for spending the time on this. It is greatly appreciated. You are saving their next victim from them, or at least trying to.

This is called having a sense of civic responsibility.

[nali]

Well there we go. Not suprised.

Thanks again for reporting the listing(s) you found. We wanted to let you know that we closed your report for the below referenced listing(s). These listings have not been removed. This determination was made using automation or artificial intelligence.

[shabaz]

Fake ICs are extremely common, but people tend to learn that on their own, after being burned once or twice. I think even if it were reported to eBay, people would just try to purchase these vintage ICs, or ICs that are normally priced far higher from distributors, from other low-cost sources such as AliExpress, and get burned there instead.

One can try to lead a horse to water, but beginners will still assume they are getting a bargain from other sources, that's just natural to try to grab a perceived bargain until they have gone through the time waste of trying it out, sadly spending time troubleshooting thinking it is a fault in their circuit.

[thm_w]

Thank you for spending the time on this. It is greatly appreciated. You are saving their next victim from them, or at least trying to.

This is called having a sense of civic responsibility.

- It will likely accomplish nothing. The important part is the feedback which is already given, maybe that will show up in the listing maybe not.
- The seller may be aware they are selling fake parts, or may have no idea.