Hi all,
I've been asked to post my story here because I've been incorrectly posting on the Hermes authentication subforum (and sorry again for that!).
I've bought a lot lately, esp Hermes, on Ebay, and so far, I've been lucky, had great experiences, and collected some beautiful things, including a Kelly and Evelyn from Triatheleteseller, and another Evelyn from Docride, and a vintage Kelly Sport I'm in love with from Toshie at Luxury Exchange--I hope to buy from them again. I had done the research, and it was all good.
My issue with an Ebay seller began yesterday, when a craftsperson at Hermes called me to say that they could not work on the Vintage Mini Croc Kelly I had sent them for spa/new strap because it "was not made by Hermes." She was really nice about it, but I was horrified, especially because it cost me a big chunk of change.
The bag was purhased last week. I received it on Monday, sent it right out in the mail to Hermes, and the craftsperson at Hermes called me on Wednesday to tell me the bad news. She is now mailing the bag back to me.
I contacted the Seller first, by phone, email and Ebay message. Then, a few posters (thank you!) in the Hermes forum suggested I open a dispute, as you can still wait for Seller response while at least documenting a problem. So I did: this was only last night. I have to say, I've received a lot of support on this issue, in a short time--I mean, from this Purse Forum. Thank you! I'm posting here in case some of you might be able to suggest something else, or if I've missed something I need to do.
Okay, the Seller keeps insisting that I provide her with a letter of authentication from Hermes, on Hermes letterhead--hello, I know from my reading here on the Forum, that they don't do this. Also, she is quite interesting, in that she claimed that her husband bought her the bag in the 80s, with all the "hermes accoutrement, box, sleeper, etc." (which was not included in my purchase, btw), but that she had lately gotten the bag authenticated at an Hermes. So I asked her, if you did that, can I have a copy of YOUR letter of authentication? Obviously, there are no letters. Plus, it's confusing to me as to why she would need to authenticate a bag if her husband had bought it for himself. She keeps saying, she "has no reason to believe the bag is fake." Then she says she phoned Hermes NY this morning, and was informed that Hermes NY is the ONLY place that will authenticate in writing--all satellite stores, she says, will only give verbal yes or nos. I feel confident in the verbal assessment from my source--it was not a salesperson, but the craftsperson at a flagship Hermes that we all know and love.
Out of curiosity, I had asked her how much she had paid for the bag in the 80s. She said 16 thousand. For those of you in the know about these things, wouldn't that be incorrect for 1980s prices? (This is a MINI 20cm croc Kelly with no strap.) I suspected that she had only called Hermes NY to ask them the price so she could answer my question as to how much SHE (or her husband) had originally paid.
So, my case is being Reviewed right now, at Paypal. They have asked the Seller her side, and she has responded. However, they skipped over my side--they haven't contacted me for any info. Is this a good sign? I have never filed a dispute/claim, so I don't know how long it takes, and like I said, I just filed yesterday, so believe me, I know I need to be patient. But in the meantime, I just wanted to be sure that I am not missing anything. Anybody have any suggestions, or have I covered myself? I also notified my CC company (paid thru Paypal using CC), that I might be filing a claim through them if Paypal does not work.
I'm also worried about sending the bag back: how can I be sure, other than signature conf and delivery conf, that she won't try to further mess with me?
Also, I saw on the bidder history that two separate bidders, each with 0 history, bid at crucial moments when the bidding had stalled. THe Seller had informed me that her reserve was a certain amount, and interestingly, the 0 bid history bidders managed to get it to that exact amount.
Lastly, her shipping cost was over 70 bucks for overnight: I paid on Feb 3 and didn't recive the bag until Feb 8th. We r both in the US. She's mentioned three times already that she is in hospital, but why schedule your ONLY auction while you're going in for a scheduled hospital visit--if she really is.
Oh so much information--hope I was clear enough. Any thoughts? How will Paypal be able to figure out that this bag is fake? Do they have experts to refer to? Do they know that Hermes won't put anything in writing? And will they take my word that the craftsperson at Hermes refused my bag, and actually told me that the bag was not made at Hermes? Will a postal receipt showing I sent the bag to Hermes be useful?
I've been asked to post my story here because I've been incorrectly posting on the Hermes authentication subforum (and sorry again for that!).
I've bought a lot lately, esp Hermes, on Ebay, and so far, I've been lucky, had great experiences, and collected some beautiful things, including a Kelly and Evelyn from Triatheleteseller, and another Evelyn from Docride, and a vintage Kelly Sport I'm in love with from Toshie at Luxury Exchange--I hope to buy from them again. I had done the research, and it was all good.
My issue with an Ebay seller began yesterday, when a craftsperson at Hermes called me to say that they could not work on the Vintage Mini Croc Kelly I had sent them for spa/new strap because it "was not made by Hermes." She was really nice about it, but I was horrified, especially because it cost me a big chunk of change.
The bag was purhased last week. I received it on Monday, sent it right out in the mail to Hermes, and the craftsperson at Hermes called me on Wednesday to tell me the bad news. She is now mailing the bag back to me.
I contacted the Seller first, by phone, email and Ebay message. Then, a few posters (thank you!) in the Hermes forum suggested I open a dispute, as you can still wait for Seller response while at least documenting a problem. So I did: this was only last night. I have to say, I've received a lot of support on this issue, in a short time--I mean, from this Purse Forum. Thank you! I'm posting here in case some of you might be able to suggest something else, or if I've missed something I need to do.
Okay, the Seller keeps insisting that I provide her with a letter of authentication from Hermes, on Hermes letterhead--hello, I know from my reading here on the Forum, that they don't do this. Also, she is quite interesting, in that she claimed that her husband bought her the bag in the 80s, with all the "hermes accoutrement, box, sleeper, etc." (which was not included in my purchase, btw), but that she had lately gotten the bag authenticated at an Hermes. So I asked her, if you did that, can I have a copy of YOUR letter of authentication? Obviously, there are no letters. Plus, it's confusing to me as to why she would need to authenticate a bag if her husband had bought it for himself. She keeps saying, she "has no reason to believe the bag is fake." Then she says she phoned Hermes NY this morning, and was informed that Hermes NY is the ONLY place that will authenticate in writing--all satellite stores, she says, will only give verbal yes or nos. I feel confident in the verbal assessment from my source--it was not a salesperson, but the craftsperson at a flagship Hermes that we all know and love.
Out of curiosity, I had asked her how much she had paid for the bag in the 80s. She said 16 thousand. For those of you in the know about these things, wouldn't that be incorrect for 1980s prices? (This is a MINI 20cm croc Kelly with no strap.) I suspected that she had only called Hermes NY to ask them the price so she could answer my question as to how much SHE (or her husband) had originally paid.
So, my case is being Reviewed right now, at Paypal. They have asked the Seller her side, and she has responded. However, they skipped over my side--they haven't contacted me for any info. Is this a good sign? I have never filed a dispute/claim, so I don't know how long it takes, and like I said, I just filed yesterday, so believe me, I know I need to be patient. But in the meantime, I just wanted to be sure that I am not missing anything. Anybody have any suggestions, or have I covered myself? I also notified my CC company (paid thru Paypal using CC), that I might be filing a claim through them if Paypal does not work.
I'm also worried about sending the bag back: how can I be sure, other than signature conf and delivery conf, that she won't try to further mess with me?
Also, I saw on the bidder history that two separate bidders, each with 0 history, bid at crucial moments when the bidding had stalled. THe Seller had informed me that her reserve was a certain amount, and interestingly, the 0 bid history bidders managed to get it to that exact amount.
Lastly, her shipping cost was over 70 bucks for overnight: I paid on Feb 3 and didn't recive the bag until Feb 8th. We r both in the US. She's mentioned three times already that she is in hospital, but why schedule your ONLY auction while you're going in for a scheduled hospital visit--if she really is.
Oh so much information--hope I was clear enough. Any thoughts? How will Paypal be able to figure out that this bag is fake? Do they have experts to refer to? Do they know that Hermes won't put anything in writing? And will they take my word that the craftsperson at Hermes refused my bag, and actually told me that the bag was not made at Hermes? Will a postal receipt showing I sent the bag to Hermes be useful?
