(Louis Vuitton) vs (eBay)

Luxury Brand holder, Louis Vuitton, is suing eBay for $65 million. That is a hefty amount, wouldn’t you agree?

The company that represents designer handbag brands, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Givenchy, filed a complaint against eBay for not enforcing strict enough procedures to prevent the practice of counterfeit luxury goods. During 2001 and 2005, Bernard Arnault, the head of LVMH (Corporate Stock Issued Name), claimed that there was a significant loss in sales. LVMH believed that the reason for this loss was caused by the increasing sales of fake designer handbags. LVMH had been cracking down on this case for quite some time—whether it involved arresting counterfeit dealers, closing down warehouses carrying the counterfeit goods, or simply stopping counterfeits coming into the country at the ports, LVMH has investing a large sum of money trying to put a stop to the matter in hopes that their increasing number of sales would return.

Louis Vuitton is suing eBay for two very basic reasons. The first reason being that eBay shouldn’t have allowed for the selling of counterfeit products. And the second reason being that though some of the designer handbags sold on eBay were considered authentic, the bags must be sold through a licensed agency (specialized dealer). So, how does this affect designer handbag brand Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Givenchy?

With the combination of eBay’s low prices and millions of auctioneers every day, these designer handbags are priced too cheaply; therefore, hurting the reputation of designer handbag company, Louis Vuitton and its subsidiaries.