eBay
is requiring that buyers destroy items they believe are non-authentic
according to the new eBay Purchase Protection Policy, as reported in
today's AuctionBytes Newsflash newsletter.
But many questions remain over just how eBay will implement the policy
and how it will protect sellers from unscrupulous or misinformed
buyers.
For instance, under what circumstances would eBay
instruct a buyer to destroy an item? (and how would eBay know if the
item was authentic or not?)
Are there cases where eBay would instruct a buyer to destroy an item without having it authenticated?
Does
this provision apply to all sellers? Or will eBay have agreements with
certain trusted sellers so it is understood those sellers would not be
subjected to this particular provision?
A doll-seller on eBay's discussion board raised another point - how will eBay define "authentic":
Authentic
is not even defined! Does this apply only to fakes and reproductions?
Or does "authentic" come into issue any time there is a dispute between
the seller and buyer regarding the doll? If a seller sells a china doll
as a "covered-wagon hairstyle" and the buyer claims it was instead a
"flat top," does that mean the doll is not authentic?
Since
eBay needs to train its customer service representatives on exactly how
to implement the policy, it should have answers to these questions that
can be readily shared with sellers, who are increasingly being forced
to bear more risk in selling on eBay.
eBay
is requiring that buyers destroy items they believe are non-authentic
according to the new eBay Purchase Protection Policy, as reported in
today's 