Counterfeit items and trafficking together countries?

[klm5660]

I am looking for some advice on what to do with a "cell phone" that was shipped by a seller to someone else and was ultimately determined by a tech at an official company to be a counterfeit. 

The problem is that the shipment came from South Korea and the seller wants it shipped to China from the US for a refund, the item Is a counterfeit and checking the laws, there is 18 USC 2320 which makes it federal crime to do that.

I have already reported and taken this up with Ebay but they are of no help. 

[powell-memorabilia]

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@ebooksdiva wrote:

Since the seller is not in the US, In order to return the item you would need to talk with the seller and make arrangements to get your Paypal email address to them to send you funds to return the item so you can be refunded. 
There is no crime in returning the item for a refund. That statute pertains to selling. You aren't selling it. 

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Why wouldn’t the seller be able to send a printable label to the buyer? I can’t imagine that a buyer would be required to open a PayPal account just for a return.  And now that we have managed payments, isn’t this nonsense about having a seller send funds for a return label a thing of the past?

[gone.c-33]

Unless we’re talking about a taser that looks like a cell phone, just return the device and get your money back.

Its not unlawful to RETURN a counterfeit…

[klm5660]

That's  not exactly what happened. 

Ebay community rules prevent us from discussing specific names and seller user IDs for example, that's why I didn't use specifics.

I NEVER RECEIVED ANYTHING FROM THE SELLER, PERIOD.

There was a suspicious device sent to an "invalid address" (that's roughly what the postal employee told me) from South Korea, it was given to a neighbor's in town I knew who the official suspected it was intended to be for.

Note that does not mean it was intended for that person or me. None the less, the device was brought to the manufacturer and (as I mentioned) tested by officials there and determined to be a "counterfeit".

I have not personally touched or examined the device and only suspect it may have been something the seller might have sent from South Korea to get bounced to China.

I haven't gotten anywhere with Ebay so I took it up with the credit card company. So from what I understand its out of Ebay's hands at this point.

As I said earlier, I'm asking for advice on lawful actions I can take at this point. I can't return something not in my possession that may be illegal to export to China.

[klm5660]

From my understanding the device was officially determined to be a counterfeit, during testing it does function but its exact nature and what it possesses or does hasn't been determined.

I am not going to export a potentially illegal item from  South Korea to China, it's just not happening. If you want to sign an contract taking full legal liability including the possibility of federal prison time and fines to return that for us, you're welcome to do so and I would appreciate your help but I would not recommend you do that either. 

[gone.c-33]

How would you end up violating US federal law and in jail for asking someone else in Korea to ship an item back to China?

[klm5660]

Um. The seller is asking ME to traffik the item from South Korea to China 

[house*of*paws]

Hi @klm5660 

Since you say you reported the issue to your credit card company … it no longer matters what eBay may have asked you to do had you continued a claim with eBay.

You now follow through with your credit card company and provide them with whatever evidence they need to show that the item was never delivered to you.

You probably are in the best place to get your refund since you easily can talk to a credit card agent on the phone to explain exactly what happened.  You no longer have to deal with the seller.

[There’s no need to debate whether or not it’s legal to return the item to  China … since you have no item to return.  That was an unnecessary tangent.]

[klm5660]

i hope the credit card company comes through.

I was looking for legal advice on what else I could do to recover my losses and there was a lot of miscommunication, for some reason a lot of people thought the counterfeit cell phone was actually a genuine cell phone and that I had it and I probably wouldn't get caught breaking federal law.

[house*of*paws]

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@klm5660 wrote:

i hope the credit card company comes through.

I was looking for legal advice on what else I could do to recover my losses and there was a lot of miscommunication, for some reason a lot of people thought the counterfeit cell phone was actually a genuine cell phone and that I had it and I probably wouldn't get caught breaking federal law.

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@klm5660 

I understand that you were asking for legal advice about returning an item that was never in your possession.  It didn’t matter whether the item was a cellphone, a counterfeit device, or a banana. You had received nothing … so you can’t return anything.  🙂