In light of the recent legal ruling in France resulting in a $63 million fine against eBay for selling counterfeit luxury goods, the global issue of addressing product authenticity among online auction sites has been brought sharply into focus. Cybercrime and "e–fencing" are serious in the US as well, costing consumers an estimated $4 billion annually. A judge in the US is due to rule at any time on a similar case brought by Tiffany.

If you strip away the smoke and mirrors, this is a simple argument about whether online auction sites should be pro-active in policing the property being sold on their sites, and this issue is not going to go away. No system is ever going to be perfect at identifying all questionable items, but you have to start somewhere.  A simple online search (or ‘check’) can allow auction sites, consumers and manufacturers to quickly validate the authenticity of a product and have piece of mind.