eBay seller - could I get a second opinion on this?

[Okami08]

The seller's name is sams127 - it looks to me like he's selling counterfeits. The dazzleglass bottles look wrong to me (no visible clear container around the sides or at the base and the Dazzleglass logo on the bottle looks too high up the bottle, I think) and he's got a ton of Fafi and Barbie glosses, and none of them have labels.

He also has palettes with sponge-tip applicators and a creme shadow palette.

Am I right in thinking these are counterfeit?

http://cgi.ebay.com/MACs-Dazzleglass-1-New-Never-used-or-tested_W0QQitemZ300302838865QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_ DefaultDomain_0?hash=item300302838865&_trksid=p391 1.c0.m14&_trkparms=72:1205|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:131 8|301:1|293:1|294:50

http://cgi.ebay.com/MACs-Dazzleglass-9-New-Never-used-or-tested_W0QQitemZ300302839581QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_ DefaultDomain_0?hash=item300302839581&_trksid=p391 1.c0.m14&_trkparms=72:1205|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:131 8|301:1|293:1|294:50

http://cgi.ebay.com/MACs-Dazzleglass-7-New-Never-used-or-tested_W0QQitemZ300302842541QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_ DefaultDomain_0?hash=item300302842541&_trksid=p391 1.c0.m14&_trkparms=72:1205|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:131 8|301:1|293:1|294:50

eBay Seller: sams127: Health Beauty items on eBay.com

 

[miss-lilly]

Please stay away from this seller! Everything is so obviously fake!

I don't even know where to start : the Dazzleglasses are so very wrong, they don't even have any sparkles in them!
And what is with the Fafi palettes? They don't even look like anything MAC has ever made!

 

[Okami08]

Does that mean I can suggest this person to the "don't buy from these sellers" thread? Go ahead and call me crazy, but I'd love to be able to contribute by adding to that list. I'm also really new to MAC (I just started really buying from them a month ago!) so I'm happy that I was able to spot these as fake!

 

[miss-lilly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Okami08 Does that mean I can suggest this person to the "don't buy from these sellers" thread? Go ahead and call me crazy, but I'd love to be able to contribute by adding to that list. I'm also really new to MAC (I just started really buying from them a month ago!) so I'm happy that I was able to spot these as fake!

Sure! They are 100% fake so go ahead

I'm glad that you recognized that they're fakes and didn't buy from that seller

 

[Okami08]

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Exotica]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Okami08 I'm also really new to MAC (I just started really buying from them a month ago!) so I'm happy that I was able to spot these as fake!

good on you for recognizing they're fakes!

 

[NeonKitty]

I reported him. I hate counterfeit peddlers!

 

[Okami08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exotica good on you for recognizing they're fakes!

Thank you!

 

[Okami08]

I really hope these get pulled soon - he's got bidders on those dazzleglasses, and I hope they're ended before people actually pay for them.

 

[splattergirl]

reported him a day ago and it's all still there. it makes me wonder though, those dazzles look so fake, don't people who are prepared to spend some money on them actually bother to browse and see how the real ones look like? this counterfeits are so bad, I can't see why would anyone buy except to try and resell or for a gift and pretend they thought it wasn't fake :/

 

[Okami08]

Some people, I think, don't pay much attention to it. They figure that what it says in the title or the listing is what it is and don't consider whether someone would be listing a fake item. Some people are oblivious about the risks of eBay, but some people (the ones I feel worst for when they get ripped off) it just doesn't occur to because they're honest people and they don't think like that - it wouldn't enter their mind that someone would deliberately set out to screw someone else like that.

 

[NeonKitty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by splattergirl reported him a day ago and it's all still there. it makes me wonder though, those dazzles look so fake, don't people who are prepared to spend some money on them actually bother to browse and see how the real ones look like? this counterfeits are so bad, I can't see why would anyone buy except to try and resell or for a gift and pretend they thought it wasn't fake :/

I'm a huge MAC addict and even I can't tell a real dazzleglass from a a fake one, because I've never actually seen one before (its a new obsession), so it's not outside the realm of possibility. Also, it is truly amazing how many people are completely unaware that such items are counterfeit, it would just never cross their mind. I never put much thought into it until I got my first pair of fake designer jeans from ebay. Then I got pissed, joined an authentication board and trained myself to recognize fakes. I report them when I can, but there is just so much of it reporting it is not going ot solve the problem. There needs to be better regulation because when it comes to cosmetics, its not just fraudulent dupes, its a public health concern. Unfortunately, it seems nobody wants to do anything about it, for whatever reason. But honestly, if you removed all the fakes from ebay I guarantee all that would be left is 5% of the normal volume of listings. Thats just how pervasive the counterfeit market is. And all the proceeds are supporting the arms trade and terrorism, so you'd think somebody would give a $hit.

 

[Okami08]

If MAC is a VERO member, they can have listings pulled without delay or question, but keeping up with all of it would be really hard - they'd have to add a whole new division of people to even try to keep up with it, and I don't think many companies are willing to devote the resources to try because it's a losing battle for them, and even if they could keep eBay clean of counterfeits, they can't really police the internet - for every site they'd be able to pull down, that same scammer could start a dozen more. I think it's that probable outcome that keeps most companies from doing more than they are - they could throw millions of dollars a year at it and they still might not have a significant impact on the sale of counterfeit products.

It's great that sites like Specktra exist that show consumers how to watch out for themselves and be able to spot counterfeits and have wonderful people who are willing to educate others and share their own knowledge.