Thanks BeenBurned! Theories are made for testing and refinement, and this one probably still needs some polishing so it's useful to kick it around a bit and get some different knowledge and perspective in the mix 😀 Possible there are a few different issues here and we can split them out further as well.
For #1, my eBay knowledge is limited to that of a casual sometimes-buyer so I didn't realize this kind of dropshipping model would be against the TOS - but here's why I think it might be happening anyway in some of these cases. I browsed a bit to see if I could find a concrete example, and putting aside
Coach for a minute (as the sellers seem to focus on a number of bag brands) and the question of authenticity (as the 'stolen' item photos/listings can often also be for auth items) I pretty quickly found some listings that I think are suspicious. Here's one representative example, and I can document a few more if that helps.
Example: Three different sellers from Japan listing a vintage
Prada bag on eBay 11 identical distinctive photos attached. The title for all of them includes the words "Prada Shoulder Bag Beige Leather Used Flap Simple Vintage Side Logo Classic Popu".
- Kuguri, for $429.77 CAD (sorry for local currency!) https://www.ebay.ca/itm/387263348615
- Eclabjapan,who has two identical listings for the same bag (which I'm going to speculate about in a second) for $500.41 CAD https://www.ebay.ca/itm/196585385325 and $454.43 CAD (https://www.ebay.ca/itm/196493498187)
- KarenLotus, who has two identical listings for the same bag for $372.65 CAD (https://www.ebay.ca/itm/176408120189) and $419.22 CAD (https://www.ebay.ca/itm/176408119826)
If I reverse image search that and look at the exact matches for the Japanese resale platform listings, there are two listings with identical sets of photos:
These two Japanese listings are verifiably cross-posts from the same item/same seller on Yahoo/Rakuma - they have their official antique dealer license number posted in both profiles and it matches; looks to be an account tied to a retail resale store "flea market high class operated by Ohinata Shoji Ltd." It seems VERY unlikely that all 5 of the eBay postings across 3 accounts are from the original, legitimate seller and I suspect none of them are.
My best guess is that there are some people who are probably using some kind of either fully or partially automated solution to search the Japanese resale sites by keywords/brands/preferred platforms etc, and then copy and repost photos and listing info that matches into new listings on their own eBay accounts with a price increase. The automatic English translation from my browser for the listing title pegs the original listing as "Prada Shoulder Bag Beige Good Condition Leather Used PRADA Shoulder Flap Simple Vintage Side Logo Standard Popular Ladies Shoulder Bag Women's Bag Leather Bag Genuine Leather Plain One Point Embossed Logo" which, with a better/different translation engine and some automation, could potentially clean up and truncate automatically to the eBay listing titles used in this case. And the fact that the same item was cross-posted to different platforms at slightly different prices could account for the duplicate listings seen for KarenLotus and Eclabjapan: they automatically ripped the two listings for the same item off both sites.
As for #2, I think those larger sellers you mentioned probably are just posting their own stock and not drop shipping - but to your point they are still selling fakes which is frustrating. Not familiar with BrandInnovation at all but eLady is a massive corporate reseller in Japan who has their
own eCommerce site with their stock. If you want a good laugh...or cry...I checked their website as I've never actually shopped there; they have a page on their authentication processes specifying that they employ professional authenticatiors, are a member of the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, and are "a pioneering provider of patent-pending anti-counterfeiting solutions for luxury brand goods"...and they
provide other businesses with anti-counterfiting and authentication training. So at the very least, hopefully they'll be responsive to any eBay listing reports as it seems like it would be extremely embarassing for them to be called out for selling counterfits?
Thoughts? If we're on the right track, is there anything to this that might help with getting at least the counterfit listings/sellers in hot water with eBay?
