EBay Counterfeit Lego Minifigs and Similar Scam Info-IMO

[Mrcoolnup]

I wasn't looking closely, as these were listed in the Lego category, USA only...anyway...I received them today and already got my full refund without shipping back. Against eBay listing practices to list items intentionally in wrong categories, locations, etc.

Seller violates all sorts of laws...trademark, copyrights, counterfeit. Happyfam, on eBay. This was a first for me as far as this type of Lego fraud goes...

I told him I don't want to even waste my time returning them and he never responded but issued refund. I also reported to eBay in case they care.

What should I do with them? I don't want to put them back in circulation, but if a mod wants them for reference, or to display at a Lego convention, clearly marked as counterfeit, I'll mail them, sure!

[vynsane]

Were they not listed as Sheng Yuan "LEGO Compatible" (read: bootleg) minifigures? There are quite a few Chinese companies that reproduce LEGO minfigure designs and sell them in a similar fashion to the official CMFs. I'm actually quite tempted to purchase a set of the DeCool or Sheng Yuan Iron Man figures since they created quite a few designs that aren't available from LEGO themselves.

The seller may have violated eBay policy, but I don't think they've violated any copyright or trademark laws unless they themselves produced these figures. They're just buying something available in one place and selling it in another. There may be an issue of transporting counterfeit goods, but that's about the only thing that can legally stick on that particular seller.

[Mrcoolnup]

Maybe...they were just listed as minifigures. Had I looked at photos closer, should have seen. I read eBay policy and it said something like, one can't sell things in a category to deliberately deceive...they were listed in Lego, and not say, action figures...and as counterfeit, or unlicensed items by Star Wars...and not sure, but perhaps other infringement. If these were legit, with China's current might, they would be sold as cheap as they are, worldwide in honest stores, by honest merchants.

For my purposes, they were listed in the wrong category by location and item type, as not Lego in Lego category. Even if seller didn't manufacture, I think it is still a violation to sell counterfeit goods and/or unlicensed goods, knowing so or not...but not super sure.

Lego cannot stay an average of $0.10 per piece forever and perhaps this type of infringement contributes. People are already complaining, rightly so for some sets, at the price per piece. There is a possible loss of market, and European and American jobs, or wherever they're manufactured...plus the likely conditions for the workers at wherever these offending sets are produced in Asia.

I would sell on eBay, as have tons of pieces, multiple cafe corner, green grocer etc from buying collections...but tired of reading about sellers who have dodgy buyers and vice versa.

I enjoy Lego and this forum...I post when I think there is a good deal or something to be aware of I wish I had known. I should have been more diligent and aware...however, as a general rule, I resent having to be on edge about scams and acts of deliberate duplicity, which is what this was. My eBay link is the same and saved...had they not listed it in Lego, USA only, against eBay policy, (and the law most likely, as are fake on many levels) I never would have seen it.

I can now see drop-ship scams...this one was new to me.

For those new, the drop ship scam is when you see new Lego, listed on say eBay.com, at a super low price, all things considered, from a seller with few ratings if any, or many recent sales but new to eBay by date the screen name joined, (within a few months usually,) they use stolen credit cards to fulfill your eBay win, directly through Lego. The credit card number and name they use is stolen, you'll get item, with a receipt showing someone you have never had any dealings with, (doesn't match eBay seller info in any way)...who OMG, sent you Legos at full price according to Lego receipt you'll get with item.

I hope this is helpful, as I only found this board, on a search engine, when investigating my initial experience with a drop-ship scam on eBay when I started collecting Lego as an adult. I think it is always nice to have a fresh message as a reminder to the experienced and eye-opener to the new collectors.

Please post your scams, concerns, bad experiences as well...here, or in a new post.

Either way, just wanted to share and inform in case anyone else just tap, tap, taps and buys on eBay. I'll be more careful

The perils of collecting Lego, LOL!

PS- If a mod or at this point or other forum member sells and shows at conventions...and would like a conversation piece on fake/counterfeit Lego...to discuss, build trust and perhaps sell one your genuine Lego, PM me, I will easily consider sending to you, for free, as long as I believe these fakes won't be sold willy nilly. Am Lego purist, not fond of Mega Bloks and Kre-O. My apologies to collectors/fans of those, sincerely.

[gopalkrishnan]

Well, I'm placing orders for Lego Figures from many websites including eBay, but hadn't come across any such issues so far. This may be once in a blue moon kind of thing.

[vynsane]

Maybe...they were just listed as minifigures. Had I looked at photos closer, should have seen. I read eBay policy and it said something like, one can't sell things in a category to deliberately deceive...they were listed in Lego, and not say, action figures...and as counterfeit, or unlicensed items by Star Wars...and not sure, but perhaps other infringement. If these were legit, with China's current might, they would be sold as cheap as they are, worldwide in honest stores, by honest merchants.

For my purposes, they were listed in the wrong category by location and item type, as not Lego in Lego category. Even if seller didn't manufacture, I think it is still a violation to sell counterfeit goods and/or unlicensed goods, knowing so or not...but not super sure.

Oh, I totally understand your situation and hope you didn't think I was trying to downplay your experience. I just wanted to express that it could be surprising at how little recourse there is in a situation like this, particularly if the seller is out of the country.

Please post your scams, concerns, bad experiences as well...here, or in a new post.

That's a good idea, perhaps I'll rephrase the title of the topic to be more generic for this purpose.

[Mrcoolnup]

Sure, I don't mind if the topic is changed.