National Relief Charities selling pigments- Are these real?

[abbyquack]

Having a hard time figuring out if this seller is dealing real MAC since they are very vague photos:
MAC Pigment, eyeshadow, BRIGHT FUCHSIA, New In Box! - eBay (item 250528380215 end time Jan-09-10 07:53:29 PST)

MAC Pigment, eyeshadow, POLISHED IVORY, New In Box! - eBay (item 250547976066 end time Dec-20-09 10:29:54 PST)

Can anyone spot any obvious signs of a fake? If they are real, they'd be a good deal. I hate to say a charity would sell fake MAC products but I also don't want to rely too much on the fact that it is a charity.

TIA

 

[panda0410]

Neither of those pics are really good enough to see, nothing about them flags them in my mind, but I also wouldnt be willing to take the gamble without better pics.

 

[abbyquack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by panda0410 Neither of those pics are really good enough to see, nothing about them flags them in my mind, but I also wouldnt be willing to take the gamble without better pics.

Thanks! I kinda came to the same conclusion, but I thought I'd check with the experts

There aren't any that I am DYING to have, so I doubt if I'll take the chance...but I just wonder how this charity obtained MAC pigments and are willing to donate 100% of the sale to the charity.

 

[panda0410]

My thoughts exactly

 

[angi]

Although I'm not sure if it works exactly the same in the US, charity sales can be done by anyone on UK ebay, as they are charity donations - not sales through the actual charity.

When you sell an item you have the option to donate a percentage of the final amount to charity, and you then select the charity you want to donate to- therefore meaning the charity gets the money, but doesn't have any control over the listings where donations are being made (or much, I'm not sure what the stance would be if you wanted to list say fur, and donate to an anti animal cruelty organisation). But obviously as ebay assumes that all mac listed is genuine, this listing would not seem like a problem.

I've reported, and had removed, plenty of fake mac listings which involved donations to charity, so I wouldn't for a second take this as an indication the items are genuine.

 

[lilibat]

Quote:

Hello, We have a reputable dealer that we've done business with for some time. We also have many experienced buyers on eBay that buy from us with confidence. We appreciate your interest. Sincerely, National Relief Charities

As we all know there is no such animal as a "reputable dealer", so there you go.

 

[abbyquack]

lol nice sleuth work, lilibat

I will stay away. In fact, I'm just gonna stay away from ebay all together!

 

[chickatthegym]

^I'm so glad you started this thread because I'd been looking at the same auctions and wondering the same thing! I remember a woman selling fakes and claiming to be donating the money to cats or something not to long ago. And there's also a couple fake Coach sellers who say in their listings that the money is going to take their kid to Disney and she's a single mom, blah blah blah... people will say anything to try and sell you their junk. And that's so sad!

 

[abbyquack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chickatthegym ^I'm so glad you started this thread because I'd been looking at the same auctions and wondering the same thing! I remember a woman selling fakes and claiming to be donating the money to cats or something not to long ago. And there's also a couple fake Coach sellers who say in their listings that the money is going to take their kid to Disney and she's a single mom, blah blah blah... people will say anything to try and sell you their junk. And that's so sad!

Ugh, it is really disgusting to think people are so low sometimes! This charity seems pretty legit, though, so it's possible they could be unknowingly selling fake pigments- or hey, maybe they're real. But I think the risk is not worth taking.

 

[tofuglory1]

Wow thanks for letting me know about the charity loophole. I used to think that they'd be more honest about thing since the money was going to charity. Guess not :/

 

[ilexaquifolium]

By the way - they are definitely fakes. (They're from the 'good batch' that are all over ebay). I got one for a few dollars to see, and yup, it's a fake.