Then just don't buy it....

[eidetica]

This whole section amazes me! And always has- the amount of inaccurate information is just weird. The dreaded Scotch tapey labels!!!! Those are Pro colors, kids. The LE's you seek are Pro colors released for a short run with Store labeling.

I've bought twenty piggies on Ebay and never got a fake. I used to have a first class dealer, momroxxs- but harassment on this site and a few others got her reported and booted. Because of her "Scotch-Tapey" bottle labels. Those were the fresh, authentic pro stock the rest of us so love..... So thanks weenie girls. Ruin it for everybody! Take it to MAC, say it was a gift- find out the truth before you twist off. 99.6% feedback over 5k sales of strictly MAC means- drumroll- NO FAKES HERE.

My new dealer lives two blocks from a CCO that's a two hour drive for me. I'm not telling. Somebody will go psycho on her.

Half the people asking questions here are counterfeiters finding out how to make better garbage, and you all just play right into them! Come on.

I suggest you put this energy into reporting obvious fakes, like all the made up from imagination Hello Kitty garbage from China that will blind some high school kid. The more people reporting the trash off Brush 111 or whatever it's called this week, the more Ebay might do to police fakes. MAC doesn't care- because if you expect to buy on what is actually a black market they aren't responsible. MAC has things to do, like make safe, best there is make up at actually an excellent price point.

So just suck it up, go to MAC, and pay the extra three bucks you might save on Ebay. If you can't spot a fake because you've never bothered to use the real thing, then consider this. Maybe you deserve what you get.

If you won't pay for MAC, buy NYX. Two very reputable sellers on Ebay have Pearl Pigments and Chrome Shadow at great prices. I use 'em- so do the pros. Some colors are iffy, but at $2 each you can take the hit. Miss Kel has the deal on those.

MAC is the only make up with out of control counterfeiting, because people think they'll get something for nothing on Ebay. So they wind up with laughable garbage and a friend has to explain that "MAC Hello Kitty Paw Prints" eye shadow pallets are fakes and not even copies. Well you don't get MAC for 30% of list. Life doesn't work that way. I you want MAC, go to the store and learn. And pay. Look at Urban Decay's prices for copies of MAC colors before you whine. The Black Market is for the educated. You can play that when you've passed on food and heat for make up. A lot of us do.

Go NYX- or go to MAC. But don't complain when you can't recognize what you won't familiarize yourself with because you won't put out a twenty. Been in Sephora? MAC is very well priced.

 

[angi]

Actually, the information posted here, when read in it's entireity and appreciated as such shows an extremely high level of accuracy. There are some aspects of counterfeit items which make them instantly identifiable, however, beyond this, aspects of counterfeit items should be used together in order to make a conclusion.

Sometimes, features of items are debated as counterfeit, which later turn out to be potentially natural variation - however, with a few exceptions, I personally think that this board is fair in it's consideration of items, and of sellers, and works to treat everyone as equitably as possible.

With particular regards your reference to mommroxx, there are a number of threads on here looking at items people have purchased which can be found through the search function. Items pictured clearly show counterfeit items, which relate in no way to the 'scotch tape feature' of which you speak. It's also quite clear from a number of threads, and from experience that ebay feedback in no way relates to authenticity of items sold. If you have purchased 20 pigments and never received a fake, then you have been genuinely lucky, however, I would suggest that you read the pigment guide fully, and in detail to ensure that this is the case, and that, as you suggest, you compare what you have to the real thing.

In terms of your statement that this board helps the counterfeiters - this has already been debated in great detail - with, the conclusion that counterfeiters are always going to improve. Discussing counterfeit features might help counterfeiters improve quicker, but not discussing breaks communication, and some of the biggest scale fraud can take place when lines of communication break down. Therefore, the importance is placed on helping who you can, when you can. The finding of the 'good' fakes is therefore extremely important because these are the ones that are more likely to fool than the obvious fakes that you speak of (although granted, people still buy these). However, even though they are 'good' fakes - they are still fake. Also, MAC is not the only heavily counterfeited brand. My life would be easier if this were the case!

I don't wish to rise to the apparent hostility of this message, I simply wish to defend a board that has provided me with much information, and has allowed me to contribute to the Specktra community. I take significant amounts of time to research all information, sellers and items. I have researched some of the statements you have made in your post prior to responding, and can only say that from the information available , some of these statements are incorrect based on full information.

 

[shatteredshards]

I have gotten fake pigment on eBay. I purchased it from a seller who had over 99% positive feedback and who appeared to sell MAC regularly, and who, amazingly, had no feedback saying she sold fake MAC that I could find.

If not for this forum, the helpful people, and the information they provide, I wouldn't have thought to doublecheck the pigment I bought for authenticity, and my sister would be putting unknown ingredients on her face. I could have given her an infection for her birthday, all because she wanted a Pro store pigment when we don't live near one.

I'm sorry that you don't feel this forum is legitimately helpful, but I do.

 

[Eleentje]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eidetica So just suck it up, go to MAC, and pay the extra three bucks you might save on Ebay. If you can't spot a fake because you've never bothered to use the real thing, then consider this. Maybe you deserve what you get. .... MAC is the only make up with out of control counterfeiting, because people think they'll get something for nothing on Ebay. ... The Black Market is for the educated. You can play that when you've passed on food and heat for make up. A lot of us do. Go NYX- or go to MAC. But don't complain when you can't recognize what you won't familiarize yourself with because you won't put out a twenty. Been in Sephora? MAC is very well priced.

When you say that, I believe you are forgetting that not everything by Mac may be available from their website/stores, so sometimes we don't have any other option, other than to buy stuff from a private person. Mac is shooting off one LE collection after another at us, and some people (like me) have just got into Mac, but still would love to have some items from earlier collections...

Stuff on Ebay is very often not that cheap, esp. the very thought after items. Yet, even paying a high price doesn't protect you from buying a counterfeit item. I agree, it's the risk we all take, when we buy something outside of official channels, and it will always be. When you're buying something on the internet, not even 1000 detailed guides will give you a guarantee that you won't be tricked. As long as you cannot take the item in your hands and have a close look at it, you fully rely on the seller's honesty. I mean, even if you ask someone to send you close-up photos of the items, nothing prevents them from picking those pictures up off somebody's flicker account with examples of genuine items.

It's also true that we may be giving information away to those producing counterfeits, but... they will keep improving, whether we give them information or not, and we won't be able to fully stop them. All they need to do is inspect a genuine item closely and then produce a cheaper copy of it (they will only go to a certain extent, as improving on the similarity will mean they'll be losing profits...its easier for them to produce a zillion fakey HK compacts and shift it to people who haven't even dreamt about the existence of Specktra, rather than keep on improving to sell it to a selected bunch of more "educated" people). For that reason we have come to a conclusion that it would be the best to educate people about our findings regarding counterfeits, to at least reduce the impact of the "black market".

Regarding this board's judgment, people do really need to understand that the findings of its "experts" are merely based on collective observations, but not necessarily 100% facts. I've seen genuine items from Mac that could be classified as fakes by the guidelines of this forum, because they were missing some bits and pieces in the packaging (no printing on the plastic lid, missing numbers on the lid, somewhat thick printing on the jar). This knowledge came to me with time and experience. So I always use the information on this forum as something to add to my own judgment.

However, there are people on here who don't have enough experience to make their own judgment, and it's very lucky that there is such a forum to give them those heads up!

I am definitely really greatful to all the active members of this forum, who kindly share their opinions with all of us. I know for sure, they have helped me immensely to avoid the unlucky purchases of fakes and to build up quite a nice collection of genuine Mac I really love!

 

[abbyquack]

First off, your entire rant comes off just a tad bit defensive, even snarky. Are you just mad that your supplier is chased off eBay? Because I'm pretty sure that no one on here is trying to get rid of reputable sellers (in fact we wish there were more of them!), so if she was booted, it probably means she was a big faker, and you should probably check those pigments again.

Secondly you're getting mad at others for going to eBay, but you claim to purchase off there yourself? So is that not a bit senseless? And did you ever consider that not everyone is buying to save a couple bucks; rather, most are looking for HTF items. I don't go to eBay to save money, I go there if I can't find a product anywhere else.

Finally (and certainly not the last thing I could say, but I will make it so), this forum is designed to help Specktra members watch out for each other. While some members habitually report the counterfeiters on eBay, we don't have the time to report all the fakers (as you know, there are plenty). I mean unless eBay is paying me to find the fake MAC, I am not going to devote my free time to that process. But, what I will do, is advise my fellow Specktrettes on their potential eBay purchases to the best of my ability. It's just a nice service provided to fellow makeup lovers. And anyone is welcome to participate.

Anyways sorry to hear you are so disgruntled. I am not responsible for the loss of momroxx, but if I had purchased a fake from her, I'd be pissed, and I'd report her, so I don't blame anyone else for doing the same.

 

[BellaItalia1969]

Quote:

Originally Posted by angi Actually, the information posted here, when read in it's entireity and appreciated as such shows an extremely high level of accuracy. There are some aspects of counterfeit items which make them instantly identifiable, however, beyond this, aspects of counterfeit items should be used together in order to make a conclusion. Sometimes, features of items are debated as counterfeit, which later turn out to be potentially natural variation - however, with a few exceptions, I personally think that this board is fair in it's consideration of items, and of sellers, and works to treat everyone as equitably as possible. With particular regards your reference to mommroxx, there are a number of threads on here looking at items people have purchased which can be found through the search function. Items pictured clearly show counterfeit items, which relate in no way to the 'scotch tape feature' of which you speak. It's also quite clear from a number of threads, and from experience that ebay feedback in no way relates to authenticity of items sold. If you have purchased 20 pigments and never received a fake, then you have been genuinely lucky, however, I would suggest that you read the pigment guide fully, and in detail to ensure that this is the case, and that, as you suggest, you compare what you have to the real thing. In terms of your statement that this board helps the counterfeiters - this has already been debated in great detail - with, the conclusion that counterfeiters are always going to improve. Discussing counterfeit features might help counterfeiters improve quicker, but not discussing breaks communication, and some of the biggest scale fraud can take place when lines of communication break down. Therefore, the importance is placed on helping who you can, when you can. The finding of the 'good' fakes is therefore extremely important because these are the ones that are more likely to fool than the obvious fakes that you speak of (although granted, people still buy these). However, even though they are 'good' fakes - they are still fake. Also, MAC is not the only heavily counterfeited brand. My life would be easier if this were the case! I don't wish to rise to the apparent hostility of this message, I simply wish to defend a board that has provided me with much information, and has allowed me to contribute to the Specktra community. I take significant amounts of time to research all information, sellers and items. I have researched some of the statements you have made in your post prior to responding, and can only say that from the information available , some of these statements are incorrect based on full information.

Way to go Angi!!

Agree entirely and thank you babes!

 

[COBI]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shatteredshards I have gotten fake pigment on eBay. I purchased it from a seller who had over 99% positive feedback and who appeared to sell MAC regularly, and who, amazingly, had no feedback saying she sold fake MAC that I could find. If not for this forum, the helpful people, and the information they provide, I wouldn't have thought to doublecheck the pigment I bought for authenticity, and my sister would be putting unknown ingredients on her face. I could have given her an infection for her birthday, all because she wanted a Pro store pigment when we don't live near one. I'm sorry that you don't feel this forum is legitimately helpful, but I do.

I think that often people who have a negative experience with a seller don't want to post negative feedback because the seller will likely post negative feedback in retaliation when the buyer didn't really do anything wrong.

That IMHO is the biggest problem with the eBay feedback system as it stands today.

 

[Goat Goat Etc.]

You know you're a noob when you __________________.

[post something like this]

 

[effboysinthebut]

Quote:

So just suck it up, go to MAC, and pay the extra three bucks you might save on Ebay. If you can't spot a fake because you've never bothered to use the real thing, then consider this. Maybe you deserve what you get.

This is so ignorant its unbelievable. For your info, I just ran into a fake while trying to find DC Glitters. And sometimes you can't spot a fake. I worked for MAC for a year. And just got duped by a glitter. The glitter texture was right, the plastic disc, the font on the box looks fine.... so there blows your theory.

Secondly be angry at the people that ruin it for the people legitimately trying to buy MAC or DC'd MAC. Most of the time, you pay WAY over retail on Ebay. Sounds to me, like you're a busted seller as bitter as you are. If not. Again. Be angry at the people trying to rip people off, not the people getting ripped off. Sometimes even people who use it on the regular can be tricked. And for the record this is the first time I've bought MAC on Ebay that wasn't from a well known specktra member, yet have often looked and seen the obvious.

And for the record I'm not mad at anyone but myself. I know and I always preach not to buy it on Ebay. And I did a stupid thing. But you better believe if I get the glitter and it doesn't match up to my glitters that I will leave a negative. I'll be the first, but I'm not going to let others who really have NO idea what to look for get scammed.

 

[marusia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by COBI I think that often people who have a negative experience with a seller don't want to post negative feedback because the seller will likely post negative feedback in retaliation when the buyer didn't really do anything wrong. That IMHO is the biggest problem with the eBay feedback system as it stands today.

Buyers can't get negative feedback anymore. For years I'd dreamed of selling MAC on eBay, but once I came back and saw that the market was flooded with fakes, I decided I needed to find different venues for the products. Now I sell on Amazon (because there's more chance of being a reputable business), and on here. I just post a few things on ebay anymore. That site really has gone to s*** and they are charging sellers an arm and a leg to sell on there as well. They are starting to go under, and it's becoming quite obvious.

 

[LMD84]

at teh end of the day you are very lucky to have bought so much from ebay and not gotten a fake. i own lots of mac and even i stupidly bought a fake pigment once. not because i was looking for it dirt cheap - because i wanted a dc'd colour. i paid a normal price for a crappy knock off. and yes i did report the seller. so sorry if your 'supplier' got kicked off ebay for selling fakes - as other posters have mentioned - it's not just the clear tape issue. and for you saying we don't knwo what we're talking about is just untruthful. many of us have collected mac for years and know exactly what we are looking for regarding fakes.

if you find specktra unhelpful then don't post here. it's very simple. but we will never stop posting about sellers of fake products because it's illigal and quite frankly a shitty thing to do.

 

[MizzMelroseMood]

If the booted seller honestly wasn't selling any fakes she could have came up with proof and submitted it to ebay and they would give her the account back. She had to have been listing fake items even if the ''scotch-tapey'' labels were real, or she just didn't bother contacting ebay to clear her name which makes no sense if she was such a serious, honest seller.

 

[kittykit]

I've bought 4 fake eyeshadows on eBay before because they were not available in my nearest store. If it wasn't for this section, I'd never find out they're fake! And I wasn't looking for a bargain on eBay. The sellers sold them at retail price.

There are a lot of people on this board who just gets into collecting MAC, people who can only get MAC online. They come here for advice before wasting their money buying fakes. Members post links to those fake listings so that others are aware of a seller selling fakes. What's wrong and weird with that?

I love Specktra and I've learned a lot about MAC here.

 

[Boasorte]

 

[littlepickle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kittykit I've bought 4 fake eyeshadows on eBay before because they were not available in my nearest store. If it wasn't for this section, I'd never find out they're fake! And I wasn't looking for a bargain on eBay. The sellers sold them at retail price. There are a lot of people on this board who just gets into collecting MAC, people who can only get MAC online. They come here for advice before wasting their money buying fakes. Members post links to those fake listings so that others are aware of a seller selling fakes. What's wrong and weird with that? I love Specktra and I've learned a lot about MAC here.

Well said

I'm relatively new to MAC, only have a few of their products and have only started collecting more recently. It's not readily available to me here so this board is a fantastic resource, people have been kind enough to check out auctions for me and have saved me a lot of $$ from bidding on fakes!

 

[CajunFille']

Quote:

Originally Posted by littlepickle Well said I'm relatively new to MAC, only have a few of their products and have only started collecting more recently. It's not readily available to me here so this board is a fantastic resource, people have been kind enough to check out auctions for me and have saved me a lot of $$ from bidding on fakes!

I would like to second that. I realitively new to buy MAC products as well. I buy from e-bay because I've miss a lot and would like to have some dc item. My girls here on Specktra are positively amazing and always so helpful when this newbie has a question about anything. They don't have that "oh dumb newbie attitude" they just want to help, newbie or oldie doesn't matter. Love ya'll! Keep up the great work.

 

[lara]

Keep it civil, gang.

 

[Nzsallyb]

 

[Honeylust27]

To the person who started this thread. I'm sorry, but here in Australia MAC and most make up for that matter is RIDICULOUSLY overpriced. There is no Sephora where I live and I don't believe I should be put down for wanting to find better price. I have only ever once bought from Ebay and found out it was a fake eyeshadow - chucked it in the bin and vowed never to buy from Ebay again. I have purchased all of my MAC products from a MAC store. And paid the $32 - YES $32 for a single eyeshadow.

HOWEVER...

I have tried to purchase recently from Strawberry net. I believe the eyeshadows I bought are fakes. The packaging is sooooo good, however the colours seem a bit off. I de potted one eyeshadow and the bottom of the pan is smooth, with no indent - there are no clear signs it's a fake, so I am going to take them directly to MAC to get them checked and if they are fake I will take action against Strawberry Net. I honestly think there is nothing wrong with letting people know about the problems of fakes - these people should not be creating and selling fakes and this forum is just helping people identify the fakes.

 

[RedRibbon]

Hmm..