Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Illinois

Bought a fake bag through ebay

I bought a Gucci bag which I found for sale in ebay, but I made an outside ebay deal with the seller and I paid for the bag through paypal. When it arrived, I went to a Gucci store to authenticate it and it was fake. I filed a dispute in Paypal, but the seller doesn't reply to my messages. I know that the next procedure is to file a claim in Paypal, but I've been reading stories in a lot of forums and I see no real help coming from Paypal. I also requested bank and credit card information of the seller, because the seller's phone number which was registered in Paypal was bogus, but I was refused any further information without a subpoena??? All I have is a fake phone number, an address and a name - which I am not sure if real and IP address. Can somebody please give me an advise how can I get my money back and how to track this seller? Where can I go and file a complaint? How the law protects me in this case? And what is a subpoena and how can I file for one? Thank you!


Asked on 6/18/09, 12:51 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Patrick Tracy Patrick J. Tracy, Esq, P.E.,

Re: Bought a fake bag through ebay

Challenge this through your credit card company, Mastercard or Visa. Call their 800 number and tell their rep regarding the transaction. You will more than likely have to sign an affadavit regarding the purchase. They have an enormous amount of clout with Paypal and similar services.

Good luck!

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Answered on 6/18/09, 3:18 am
Sarah Grosse Sarah Grosse, Esquire

Re: Bought a fake bag through ebay

Caveat emptor! Let the buyer beware.

You made quite a few mistakes here, which hopefully you will not make again. You:

1. made a deal outside ebay

2. with a seller you do not know

3. from a seller you cannot contact

You did not mention whether the price was appropriate for a genuine Gucci bag -- if the deal seems too good to be true, it is.

You can file a lawsuit against the seller, and yes, you will have to subpoena the seller's records from PayPal in order to know the true identity and contact info of the person who received the money. Judges issue subpoenas. A subpoena is an order of the court to produce something (documents, information, a person for testimony). You would have to check the IL court system (read the website of the clerk of the court nearest you) or with an IL lawyer about which court to file in and the specific procedure of that court.

P.S. This is a consumer law question (not intellectual property).

Good luck,

Sarah

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Answered on 6/18/09, 7:43 am


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