Expert: Marvinator - 6/29/2007

Question
Hi,

 I just started drop shipping some ralph lauren polo shirts. I ordered them
first, thought they were great and went ahead. the first 10 sales were great,
everyones happy. now i am getting some complaints some people think they
aren't real. i asked previous customers and they said they look it, i thought
they were. the whole saler tells me they are 100% authentic, so i dont know
why i would go much more into it. my question is...if someone drop ships
that happens to be illegal...how much trouble does the drop shipper get into?  
thanks!

Answer
First off, I am not a lawyer so anything I tell you is as one business person to another.  If you are really seeking legal advice or legal standing on this issue, I encourage you to ask a lawyer.  

Now, as to the legality of your claim.  You have been told by your wholesaler that they are 100% Authentic.  Unless you have reason to suspect the wholesaler about the authenticity of any item, I would take this as the statement on which to stand.  "My wholesaler tells me that these are 100% Authentic and they have given me no reason to suspect this to be untrue."  Now, unless someone can give you facts which support their claim that the items are, in fact, NOT authentic, it gets down to be what one person says against another.  YOU, being the seller have the backing of your Wholesaler - IN WRITING, which in court would hold much more stead than someone just saying these items are NOT authentic.  

Now, if your accuser had some sort of 'proof' that these items were not authentic, then you can still fall back on the fact that you were informed by the wholesaler that the items WERE authentic.  Until such time as someone can prove unequivocally that the items are NOT authentic, you have no reason to question your wholesaler's statements of authenticity.  

Ebay has a dim and somewhat vague stance on this subject.  Someone can complain about you, and open a dispute, but Ebay will not get in between the two of you until such time as they feel compelled to do so.  Validity of such claims rest on the complaining party, and as I've already stated, it would take some hefty proof to prove you wrong. Just because someone 'THINKS' they aren't real doesn't mean they are fake.  The complainers need proof.  (And someone saying 'Oh gee, they're so cheap they CAN'T be real!' just won't cut it.)

This doesn't mean that nothing can happen. As you say, suppose they DO turn out to be fake?   A couple of complaints and Ebay may close or freeze your account.  The best thing you can do is to create a couple of good lines to answer those who question the validity of the items.  

"I assure you that these items are, indeed, Ralph Lauren Brand shirts, as I have discussed this at length with the distributor.  These are lot ends, retail sell-outs and manufacturer end-of-line items which are sold to wholesalers such as the one I deal with.  They get them cheap, sell to me cheap and I pass that savings along to you."  Salesmanship can turn a lot around in such cases.  In fact, it may be that these 'Naysayers' are merely looking to be given the facts. This is a good time to ask the Wholesaler where these items do come from.   

In closing I'd like to reiterate that, as stated above, for a true legal standing, consult a lawyer.