This is an account of my purchase on eBay® of counterfeit razor blade cartridges represented as authentic Gillette Mach3 Turbo cartridges from the seller chatoyaqui or Carlos Valdivia Luna of Golden, Colorado on February 10, 2006 (item number 5665130897). I have confirmed these blades were counterfeits based on phone calls to Gillette® customer service representatives on February 22, 2006 and February 24, 2006. The Gillette® phone number is 1-800-445-5388 and my reference number is 010492625A.
I did not discover these blades to be counterfeit until I began shaving with one of the fake cartridges and noticed how unusually dull it was in comparison to the the Gillette® Mach3® Turbo cartridges I have been purchasing from retail stores during the past 3 years. Upon closer examination of the razor blade cartridges purchased on eBay, it became obvious to me that these cartridges were fake due to visible defects such as uneven blade alignment, uncleanness and different indentations in their plastic frames when compared to authentic Gillette Mach3 Turbo cartridges. However, the most noticeable difference is the performance between the two when shaving. The fake cartridges are clearly dull and not comparable in performance to Gillette’s Mach3 Turbo cartridges.
Upon my discovery, I e-mailed chatoyaqui and allowed him the opportunity to correct this problem by refunding my money and stopping future sales of fake cartridges until verified authentic. Also, I suggested that he should inform past buyers these cartridges were possible fakes. Unfortunately, he refused to cooperate and said he has contacted eBay about my accusation and has threatened to leave me negative feedback.
At Gillette’s request, I have provided them with chatoyaqui’s name and mailing address and Gillette sent me a mailing package to forward to them the counterfeit packages. Chatoyaqui requested that I return his counterfeit cartridges to him for a refund. Since the cartridges were of no value and I did not trust him to return the money after this fraudulent experience plus postage fees, I refused based on the small total of $17.48 I paid for this auction. I did mail two packages of cartridges to Gillette at their request and kept two packages, if needed, for evidence based on complaints filed against chatoyaqui.
After my e-mail message exchange with chatoyaqui, I filed a complaint with eBay under fake/counterfeit items for sale and finally informed after a few e-mail exchanges they do not verify authenticity of auctioned items and could not remove those items based on representations by third parities. Also, I have contacted some of chatoyaqui’s past customers and those who replied have acknowledged counterfeits upon closer examination and verification from Gillette. Buyers who have confronted chatoyaqui have been denied refunds and some have been threatened with negative feedback by chatoyaqui if negative feedback was left for him. As noted in a message to me, chatoyaqui made the same threat and followed through with it. Due to pressure from me including my negative feedback along with this web site, fakeblades.com and other notified buyers, chatoyaqui stopped selling Gillette Mach3 Turbo cartridges on February 24, 2006. On Febrary 27th, Chatoyaqui switched his feedback comments private due to my negative feedback including this web site fakeblades.com.
Chatoyaqui was very prompt regarding communication and provided fast and better that expected shipping times, as well as a very low price for cartridges claimed to be Gillette® Mach3® Turbo cartridges. For many of his eBay buyers, their exuberance of a good deal may have masked their awareness to the true authenticity of these cartridges. You need to ask yourself the logical question — If large mass retailers such as Walmart with their enormous buying power cannot purchase Gillette Mach3 Turbo cartridges for $1 dollar a cartridge to resell, how could this be possible for a buyer to do so on eBay? As for me, I have once again experienced the adage, “If the price is too good to be true, then it probably is a fake.”
After this experience, I contacted buyers from the largest sellers of Gillette Mach3 Turbo cartridges during one week in March 2006. I asked those buyers if they would verify the authenticity of their Gillette cartridge purchase by referencing this web site, fakeblades.com and to contact 1-800-Gillette. Many of those buyers responded and all were surprised to discover their purchased Gillette Mach3 Turbo cartridges were counterfeit. I was not surprised by this result after my experience and because the majority of Gillette razor blade cartridges sold on eBay are counterfeit.
I hope this account of my experience on fakeblades.com will help other buyers determine the authenticity of Gillette cartridges and reduce the purchase of these counterfeit items on eBay. Based on my experience and observations from both Gillette cartridge sellers and buyers, my recommendation would be to never purchase them on eBay.
