Be very wary when ordering DVDs from eBAY. eBAY allows pirated DVDs to be sold on their site.

[elkspindle-0]

Be very wary when ordering DVDs from ebay.  Ebay allows pirated DVDS to be sold on their site.  Even when it is brought to their attention  they will not refund the purchase amount for the DVD.  Apparently there is nothing they can do. Ebay does not care if they lose customers.  They even told me this over the phone after I discovered I purchased a pirated DVD from eBay's website. 

[reallynicestamps]

You bought a DVD.

It turned out to be pirated.

Did you open a Not As Described dispute with eBay?

If you do, an entirely robotic option in the Resolution Centre below, the seller is required to send you return postage.

If he doesn't, you are refunded.

If he does, you return* the unwanted product, and when it shows as received,you are refunded.

Phoning eBay is complaining to your colleagues.

Opening a Dispute, escalating it to a claim, and being refunded, is calling the police.

If you missed the 30 days after delivery deadline that is eBays' Buyer Protection, you can still use Paypal's Buyer Protection, which cover 180 days after payment.

PP does insist that the buyer returns the purchase, with tracking, on his own dime.

That's the offset for the longer Dispute period.

The PP Resolution Centre is at the top of your PP account page under Tools.

*EBay does not concern itself with he said/she said. They allow the financial penalty to discourage crooks.

[musicyouneed]

A few years ago I purchased a DVD set that was pirated.  I just returned it to the seller and got my money back.

[ypdc_dennis]

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@elkspindle-0 wrote:

Be very wary when ordering DVDs from ebay.  Ebay allows pirated DVDS to be sold on their site.  Even when it is brought to their attention  they will not refund the purchase amount for the DVD.  Apparently there is nothing they can do.  ...

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You preferred site also has counterfeits and fakes for sale (and it is difficult to get those pages removed from their catalog).

Your other site also handles ALL the money so they are set up to deal with refunds. Although, I am surprised eBay support did not tell you how to get your money back from the seller.

1. Contact the seller an complain that it is a counterfeit.

2. If that does not work, then on eBay you open a case to get your money back (time limit 30 days from last arrival date).

3. Or if past that, you have 180 days (6 months) from time of payment to open a case on PayPal to get your money back.

-..-

[momcqueen]

If an item arrives that is Not as Described, all the buyer (you in this case) has to do is open a Not as Described case in the ebay Resolution Centre and then send it back (at the seller's expense) for a full refund. Was this an item that arrived so late that it went past ebay's MoneyBack Guarantee timelines? If so, paypal's rules are slightly different over which party funds return shipping.

A better lesson learned I would think is to not buy CDs or DVDs from anyone outside North America that cannot get your item to you in less than 30 days. 

[amcdc79]

Great advice from all the regular forum posters, you are correct, many items sold on ebay are counterfeit, and yes, ebay does take their sweet time in taking them down.

If buyers follow proper procedure they can get their money back. Sadly way to many buyers think it's too much work or a hassle to report the slimy sellers, and the penalties are not stiff enough, to prevent them from listing fakes in the first place.

Rule of thumb is if the item is cheaper than all the others, there is probably a good reason why.

I do have a question regarding "not as described", if the seller says the DVD, video game or whatever is a "burned" copy, can you still get your money back? Would ebay say it was as described and back the seller?

I really do feel sorry for the buyers these days, as the number of counterfeit items on the site, is out of control. Another reason why the buyers are leaving/avoiding ebay.

[ypdc_dennis]

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@amcdc79 wrote:

I do have a question regarding "not as described", if the seller says the DVD, video game or whatever is a "burned" copy, can you still get your money back? Would ebay say it was as described and back the seller?

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https://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/replica-counterfeit.html

[amcdc79]

Thanks dennis, good to know.

Sadly, even with this policy in place, it's still a minefield for the buyers, as any rule not enforced, is not really a rule. 

[marnotom!]

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@amcdc79 wrote:

Sadly, even with this policy in place, it's still a minefield for the buyers, as any rule not enforced, is not really a rule. 

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A rule can't be enforced without the backing of the community, though.

I've seen my share of counterfeit DVDs in secondhand shops and liquidation outlets.  It's not just a minefield for buyers online.

[reallynicestamps]

In theory, some words like 'burned', replica, and perhaps* copy, should alert the robots who index listings.

Copy is the tricky one, since I can buy a copy of today's newspaper and it will be completely authentic.

[momcqueen]

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@marnotom! wrote:

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@amcdc79 wrote:

Sadly, even with this policy in place, it's still a minefield for the buyers, as any rule not enforced, is not really a rule. 

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A rule can't be enforced without the backing of the community, though.

I've seen my share of counterfeit DVDs in secondhand shops and liquidation outlets.  It's not just a minefield for buyers online.

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There was a case in Winnipeg a few years ago that still blows my mind. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-businessman-fined-550k-for-music-piracy-1.2470815

[amcdc79]

I wonder if he ever paid the fine(s), I tend to doubt it.

The fact he didn't get jail time is also troubling.

I'm pretty sure he did not do it alone, and only $150,000 in profit over 3 years is pure hogwash.

Yes it was a plea bargain, but they had him red handed, he(and the others) should have gone to jail.

There are times to set an example, this was one of them.

Also, I'm sure the whole ebay community wants the counterfeit, fakes, etc off of the site.

The issue, is that ebay through their VeRO program(which works) do listen to the companies, but the report button used by the sellers who spot illegal items does not work at all.

When the ebay community members have to contact the folks who are having their products copied, in order to have the listing(s) taken down, something is wrong. The bots are not programmed well enough to even see the word burned in the Title.

On another site, buyer feedback left for a seller thanking them for not sending a fake, can get the seller suspended, maybe even permanently, and you only get one seller account per lifetime there.