eBay/PayPal and Counterfeit Sellers

I bought some counterfeits figures (those Yamato Metal Gear figures to be exact) online through eBay. I didn't like how they looked, so I tried selling it through a message board for toy collectors. It turned out, my figures were counterfeit. One collector informed me and sent me photos of his real collection.

I setup a dispute, then claim through PayPal with the two sellers I bought the figures from. One asked me to send photos. No reply. The other kept beating around the bush saying these goods are brand new and blah blah blah. Of course these sellers are from Hong Kong (shame on me).

I'm at the claim stage through PayPal. No replies yet since it's only been about 12 hours. I've threatened to use the Postal Inspection Service and Hong Kong authorities if it comes down to that, assuming PayPal gets no resolution.

I looked up how well eBay and PayPal handles claims of counterfeit goods. The things I found were not reassuring. Basically, they are supposed to be no help. If it comes down to it, it looks like I have to use the BBB to get eBay and PayPal to actually work.

Do any of you have suggestions for getting me a swift and positive resolution?

Swift - Learn to avoid eBay/Paypal purchases.

Did you pay with a credit card? If so, just dispute the charge and get your money back.

Ah. There's a solution I didn't think of. Thank you.

[quote name='lmz00']Did you pay with a credit card? If so, just dispute the charge and get your money back.[/quote]
That's what I did for one my auction. PayPal apparently didn't wanted to help me (which was somewhat my fault for getting careless and passing the deadline date).

My Credit card investigated and gave me credit on my statement. Love my CitiBank card.

I hope my credit card company is friendly enough. People seem to say this always works, but I remember when I disputed a claim and didn't see it work out. My credit card company transferred me to the company in question instead and made me talk to them AGAIN.

That is true. Credit card companies usually send a notice to the vendor and give them 30 days to respond. If they do respond with a valid explanation or resolution, then the credit card company will pass it back to them.

I have disputed one big Paypal payment ($800) and American Express credited me within a month. In their letter, Paypal never responded. I'm not sure what Paypal does to the seller in that instance. I would assume they would take some sort of action to get back their money.