Bonanza Buyer Claiming I Sold Her a Fake

The buyer has now escalated the dispute to a claim. Here is what she wrote:

10/3/2010 08:10 PDT - Buyer: Hi there, I have looked at the receipt and compared that with the price of these shoes on-line and the receipt is not for the shoes that I purchased as they are completely different prices. I'm afraid that I remain unconvinced that these are authentic and as such ask you again for a refund. I can send the shoes back to you tomorrow morning. If they are, as you say, authentic then you will have no problem selling them to someone else but given that I have been told by a salesperson for Louboutin that they are not authentic and standing next to mine (exactly the same style) is is pretty obvious that they are not. I really don't want to escalate this claim but I may be forced to if you do not agree.

10/3/2010 08:15 PDT - Buyer: I ordered a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes from the seller as I was assured of their authenticity and was not informed of any faults. When I received the shoes I was very disappointed as they have several faults which made me question their authenticity. I took the shoes to a friend of mine who works in Louboutin Mount Street Boutique and she confirmed for me that they are not authentic. I have three pairs of this style of shoe which were purchased from the Louboutin boutique and it is clear from standing these shoes next to mine that they are not real. I have brought Louboutins all around the world and have never seen what the seller is describing as normal. I asked the seller for a refund on these grounds which she declined. She sent a copy of a receipt which is either forged or not for the shoes I brought (Price discrepancies). As such, I feel I have no other option but to escalate this claim.

If I upload the receipt information, will it still serve as proof, even though the prices are different? These shoes were purchased on sale, which is why it price is lower than retail. At this point I am really afraid that she is going to send me back a pair of fakes.
 
Ah,your buyer is a real PITA! I'm so sorry you are dealing with this person. I guarantee she has ONE pair of nasty fakes,hence her comment regarding the tissue paper.

IIRC, if she has opened a SNAD case with regards to the authenticity of the shoes then i am quite sure she has to get an official letter saying they are fake. I know thats what i had to do about 2 years ago. I cant believe that any of the lovely SAs at Mount St would provide a fake document. I would send them an email you know with pictures of your Biancas and im sure someone would authenticate them for you.
 
OP: Just continue to provide whatever info you have to show the shoes are authentic and refute her claims (such as explaining the price difference). That's all you can do at this stage.
 
Her friend would have to write that letter on CL letterhead. Pay Pal requires a business name, address and phone number plus the title of the person writing the letter.

You might want to call Pay Pal at this point, let them know that you are providing a copy of the original receipt, these shoes were purchased on sale and that you are an authenticator on the purse forum.

Pay Pal knows about this forum -- so call and give them something to note on your file. It can't hurt.
 
Her friend would have to write that letter on CL letterhead. Pay Pal requires a business name, address and phone number plus the title of the person writing the letter.

You might want to call Pay Pal at this point, let them know that you are providing a copy of the original receipt, these shoes were purchased on sale and that you are an authenticator on the purse forum.

Pay Pal knows about this forum -- so call and give them something to note on your file. It can't hurt.

Thanks for the advice. I have already tried to call them and it seems that the division that handles claims is not open today so I will have to call again tomorrow. I am pretty sure I can get a letter from a third party but I'm not sure if I can get one from CL because I have heard they do not do that, but I am certainly going to try. I am also going to see if there's any way that NM can look up anything on the shoe based on the info on the receipt.
 
No one can't tell you what PP will do for sure because we don't know for sure. It's all speculation based on PP rules and on direct and indirect experience. All you can do is fight the claim as best as you can and see what happens.

When it comes to SNADed counterfeit items, PP reserves the right to refund some buyers without requiring them to return the items and to ask them to destroy the fakes. But as far as I know that's highly unlikely if there's any doubt about an item's authenticity.
 
If she has bought "so many pairs" of the same style from that boutique, then why didn't she get this pair from there? I think it's pretty clear that she bought these, they either don't fit or just weren't what she was expecting. I'm not too familiar with CL but will the boutiques write letters? If I were you, OP I'd consider calling the mount St. boutique and ask if anyone there will write a letter about authenticity. It can't hurt. But since she has already escalated it she only has a small amount of time to get that letter. And without it she wont win the claim. She's just trying to push you into a refund. Besides, if she's so convinced you could resell them, why wouldn't she??
 
I have asked a third party about obtaining a letter of authenticity, but they said that PP will not take this into consideration, is this true?

I am thinking about sending this reply, any input would be appreciated:

I have included the original sales receipt. These shoes were purchased for a discount, which is why the receipt shows a different price than the MSRP. The receipt simply lists them as "C-LOUBOUTIN," but the price listed is $492.00. If you check the Neiman Marcus store or website or any other authorized retailer, you will see that the MSRP ends in either 5 or 0, so obviously $492 was not the original retail price.

I have been a member of ebay and paypal for several years and have sold several other pairs of Christian Louboutin shoes as well as other designer items such as Chanel and Louis Vuitton and I have received positive feedback regarding those sales. I am also not only a well-revered member of The Purse Forum, but have recently been made a moderator. I have over 18,000 posts on there. Prospective moderators are very closely inspected individually and are chosen based not only on participation but reputation. I have been a member since March 2008 and since then have built a very strong reputation as an authenticator of Louboutin shoes and a person who is knowledgeable about Louboutin shoes overall. I would never risk my reputation on there by selling a fake. Not only is it highly likely that a buyer could be a member of the forum that could out me to everyone else, but I know for a fact that many members recognize my ebay and bonanza user IDs.

The buyer, on the other hand, has not bothered to make a profile on bonanza and looks to have purchased the shoes as a guest or joined bonanza specifically to buy them. She claims to have a friend who works at the boutique and therefore if she were to obtain a letter (to present to Paypal) through the means of the friend, it could hardly be considered unbiased. She also has not bothered to try to get them authenticated by the forum as I have suggested. The signs she claims prove inauthenticity are not valid.
 
OP, would it help to add your concerns of the buyers actions to the letter? such as:

1. Shoes may not have fit, so the buyer's only recourse was to file a fictitious claim of inauthenticity SNAD claim
2. Buyer is suffering from buyers remorse
3. Due to the highly suspect way the shoes were purchased as a guest on Bonanza, buyer may be trying to scam Seller. If shoes were to be returned, you may receive fakes in return.

I think PP should be made aware of your concerns also. In the event the buyer is trying to scam you, at least she's put on notice and your concerns have been aired.

Good luck, OP - sending hugs your way.
 
I like your letter. But I agree with restless, it may be worthwhile to mention that that the buyer's reasons for the shoes being fake are not legitimate. Perhaps point out why each claim is not accurate?
 
I like your letter. But I agree with restless, it may be worthwhile to mention that that the buyer's reasons for the shoes being fake are not legitimate. Perhaps point out why each claim is not accurate?

I agree with this. I would respond to her claims point by point. You should certainly mention that you are very knowledgable about Louboutin shoes and can reference your involvement with TPF as well as your commitment to authenticity. But I think it is the facts about the shoes themselves that should be the prime focus of your letter IMO.
 
OP, I am sorry that this has happened to you. I think your letter is good as far as it goes, but I would not stop where the letter stops. You should go on to explain why Buyer's claims are not valid. The more facts/info that PP has, the better.

I would not bother speculating about the reasons why Buyer may be doing all of this. It is irrelevant and is opinion and not something that you can prove. It lessens the strength of your factual arguments. I do think it is fine to point out, as you have, that you have long history selling luxury items and that Buyer appears to have signed up to purchase these shoes on Bonz.

Good luck, I hope that you are successful in refuting the claim!
 
Okay, I am thinking about adding this onto the original reply (I haven't responded yet):

Tissue paper: I have been purchasing Louboutins since 2008 and they have always come with plain white tissue paper, nothing special or unique. You will see many pictures of brand new, authentic Louboutin shoes here:
http://forum.purseblog.com/christian-louboutin-shoes/
The tissue paper is always plain white.

Bottom of heel: While older models came with smooth heel taps, some of the newer models have textured heel taps. This is also a detail that may vary as Louboutin shoes are hand made in different factories, so there are certain details that are not the same from shoe to shoe.

Rough edges: This is another detail that can be attributed to the fact that the shoes are hand made. For darker colored shoes the edges are smoothed and painted black, but for lighter colors shoes (like the red ones that I sent to the buyer), the edges of the soles may look less finished as they are not painted.

Color of insoles: This is another detail that varies from shoe to shoe, season to season, etc. There are many ladies in the above linked sub-forum that own many pairs of Louboutin shoes and they will tell you that the color of the insole can differ between shoes. As it is impossible for all of the leather to be dyed at the same time over all the years and locations that the shoes are made, it is also impossible that all the insoles be the exact same color. Also, there are some older styles that use insoles that are a completely different color, like bronze or black, instead of the nude color that is used currently.

Smell of leather: Louboutins come in many different types of leather that have been treated in different ways, therefore they will in fact smell different. In addition, leather can absorb odors from outside sources so there are a myriad of different, legitimate reasons why two different pairs of shoes would not smell the same.

Any true authenticator of this brand of shoes (or many other designer shoes) will tell you that it is not the miniscule details that prove or disprove authenticity; it is about the overall shape and quality. It is extremely difficult to accurately replicate the exact shape and quality of a designer shoe as it requires time, skill, and high-end materials.