Lessons Learned - EBay seller " kingscrowns "

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karolinec1

O.G.
Jul 5, 2007
1,525
129
Consider this my public service announcement!!

Summary:

I purchased (what I thought was) a Cartier Juste Un Clou from seller " kingscrowns ". It came with a box, and the COA. Fast forward @4 1/2 months later, and I took it in to Cartier to tighten the hinge. The Cartier NY Workshop sends it back, and I now have a letter that says it is a counterfeit. The serial number belongs to a ring. I contact the seller, and he says to send it back for a refund. I sent it back via Fedex, confirmed receipt..... Three weeks later, no refund. He now has the bracelet and my money and is simply ignoring my emails.

Lessons Learned:
1. Despite having been sued (and lost) for allowing counterfeits to be sold on their platform, EBay does not care at Day 31. (I'm only making the assumption that they might have cared before that, but have no proof of such either.)
2. Always use Paypal. They'll at least protect you for 180 days. Your credit card? Not so much.... 90 days at best.
3. Be streetwise. Just because they say they're delayed because they're on "Spring Break", or "sick", or are "getting the money together", doesn't mean that they actually are. I am disappointed in the seller for his lack of integrity; I am disappointed in myself for my naivete.

$6000+ is a very expensive price to pay for this lesson in counterfeiting and fraud... and human nature. :crybaby:
 
2. Always use Paypal. They'll at least protect you for 180 days. Your credit card? Not so much.... 90 days at best.
How did you pay this seller? I presume you didn't use PP from your post?

Can you file a police report?
Oops, I missed that you hadn't used Paypal.

I'd still go to your c.c. company. Let them know that you didn't get documentation from Cartier until x-months after the transaction so you weren't able to file your dispute sooner. And include tracking showing that the item was returned to and received by the seller.
 
Thanks everyone for your support. You don’t know how much that means after these weeks of energy draining arguments, and a lack of sympathy everywhere else that I’ve turned. I can’t even wrap my head around legal recourse - it’s a fight I’m not sure I have the energy to pursue. The seller and I are in different countries, so I don’t know if legal recourse is an option.
 
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This seller specifically does NOT offer Paypal (check out through ebay no Paypal)--is this the norm now?

In looking at a couple of the VCA items (especially the $75K diamond necklace), the pics are pretty bad, some are blurry, and I didn't see the serial numbers that VCA marks their pieces with. Something seems fishy ...
 
Most credit cards have some sort of buyer's protection. You really need to call them and escalate the case to a supervisor if necessary. I can't imagine my credit card saying tough luck after 4-5 months!
 
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Thanks everyone for your support. You don’t know how much that means after these weeks of energy draining arguments, and a lack of sympathy everywhere else that I’ve turned. I can’t even wrap my head around legal recourse - it’s a fight I’m not sure I have the energy to pursue. The seller and I are in different countries, so I don’t know if legal recourse is an option.
How did you pay? People might be able to offer support if you can advise. Even if you used PP as a guest, there is still protection in place.
 
The seller did not accept PP (which I did not notice until I won the auction), so I paid directly with my AMEX. And yes, I spoke to three different reps at AMEX, and they each said I was out of luck. They only provided assistance for transactions up to 90 days old. By the time I called, the transaction was @ 135 days old. They did not care about the reason, even though it was proven a counterfeit.

I asked AMEX and EBay to each come up with suggestions on different ways to tackle this- item not as described, report an issue with a seller, policy violation, etc. etc. None of those were fruitful to circumvent their respective 90/30 day policies.
 
One auction even ended at over 29K, starting at $99! Is there any way to see if the seller used a reserve? If he didn't, that's a huge red flag right there.
 
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