while you were unhappy with your purchase, you shouldn't have left negative feedback that the item was fake when you only had a feeling it was.
eta: sorry though that the person retaliated to you
I appreciate your POV.
I didnt get into details, as it would have taken a lot more writing, but please let me address your comment, as I value your thoughts.
1. After I started to feel an intuitive worry that the item might be fake - I did research. Research on the ebay forum on counterfeits said that signs of a seller of counterfeit goods: private auctions; canceled transactions; the color of the
coach gift box is always a certain combo (don't remember exactly now, as I haven't bought any Coach since) and the seller's item included a gift box that did not match specifications. Every single warning sign talked about on the forum was exhibited by seller.
2. I researched several sites to find pictures of the Penelope wallet on several sites (before this I had no idea at all about Coach): Coach site, Neiman Marcus, Nordstroms, and others. I looked VERY CAREFULLY at pix. The grain of the leather didn't look right. I got more worried. I realized that the seller wasn't selling a wallet that was an older model - but a current model also being sold concurrently at Coach, and all the other major retail stores - at over half the retail cost. There was also more than one wallet - just a couple or a few, but what reason would an individual have to own these new models and sell at such a cheap price when it was NWT, etc?
3. I sent several messages to seller, first very politely voicing my concern - then as the seller did not respond, I got more worried. If indeed this was a counterfeit seller, then what guarantee would I have that they would behave ethically? Seller ultimately responded but it took over the allowed 2-3 days that ebay designates as the allotted amount of time seller has to respond.
4. When seller did respond, the response was - "you have no proof!!" My feeling is - if I was selling an item and someone suggested that they were concerned about counterfeit, my first reaction would be: "Gosh I'm sorry you feel that way - let me tell you where I purchased the item (or was gifted it) and for what reason I am now selling it" or some such reply that would explain why I felt that a counterfeit worry would not apply in my situation. The seller NEVER ONCE offered to show proof or tell me the reason for this current model being sold at less than half retail price - and instead, the first and last worry that they articulated: "You have NO PROOF!!" That sounds like a guilty reply - an honest person wouldn't say: "you have no proof" but rather, they would explain the things I discussed earlier.
5. I realized that there were several other sites selling in a very similar methodology, same exact pix, same exact gift boxes, same type of graphics and similar descriptions.
Based on the overwhelming evidence, I came to the conclusion that the seller was MOST LIKELY selling fakes. And as the saying goes: "Where there's smoke, there's usually fire." True, I had no concrete proof - and I stated that in my follow up message, and felt guilty about saying that it was not authentic as I had not direct evidence because I BELIEVE in honesty.
If I had left neutral feedback, I would have eventually found out, as I did here, that the item was in fact a counterfeit wallet. But I wouldn't have been able to change the neutral. Also, the way the seller behaved was very dodgy - the neg was also for the very weird lack of communication initially - I sent THREE messages before they responded. So I stand by the neg. based on what happened, and how the seller handled the situation - he also called me names and got very weird, and that also went into the whole thought process.
Ultimately, this was a judgment call- and granted, I based my judgment on my personal experiece with people who lie - how they behave, and what they say and do when they're lying, in addition to the other pieces listed above. I know that others will disagree, but I know liars, and ultimately, TPF vindicated what I knew in my gut to be the truth all along.
You can agree or disagree as you like, but this is my experience and I stand by it. Over many many years of experience, I let my gut guide me - and to date, it has never been wrong. I used to doubt it all the time when I was younger, but after so many experiences, I learned to listen and trust it. But of course, I also spent many many hours doing the research as well, and that played a huge part in my decision as well - I would never suggest that anyone else behave differently.
I would also never suggest than any seller's experiences or viewpoints are not valid, as I certainly believe that they are. I trust that they have good reason to feel the way that they do, and I hope that I am conveying my sense of wishing to honor all viewpoints, not just my own. Whether or not anyone disagrees with me does not contribute to my sense of wishing to honor both other people and their experiences - and I hope that this is also coming through in this long-winded response.
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