Tiffany Takes On Ebay... And Ebay Wins

Don't mess with Ebay
(no really, don't mess with Ebay)
After a 6 years of litigation, the Federal court just ruled against Tiffany & Co. on all counts in their lawsuit against Ebay.
From National Jewlery
Ebay Prevails on Final Claim in Tiffany Lawsuit

New York—A federal judge has again ruled in eBay's favor in its ongoing legal battle with luxury retailer Tiffany & Co., rejecting the latter's false advertising claim against the online auction site.

The Tiffany-eBay case dates back to 2004, when Tiffany first filed suit against eBay charging it with trademark infringement, unfair competition, false advertising and trademark dilution. The allegations arose from the jewelry retailer's own investigations of "Tiffany" pieces sold on eBay in 2004 and 2005. Those surveys found that between 73 and 75 percent of items listed as genuine Tiffany merchandise were counterfeits.

I can certainly understand why Tiffany initiated the lawsuit, but really, did they really think that they could stop the Tiffany name from being used on Ebay?  That would have been like stopping a volcano from erupting.

Still, I do think that when it comes to jewelry on Ebay, caveat emptor.
There are lots of fakes on Ebay. 

And on the subject of Tiffany, do you like the new line of Tiffany leather goods?
This clutch is nice, as it should be for $1,195. 
Of course if I needed this type of look I would buy a much less expensive bag 
and then add a vintage brooch  from Beladora.
But that's just moi. 

To Find Value - Know What You're Buying

Vintage Jadeite Brooch in 18K on Beladora2.com $895

Now that we are on countdown to Valentines Day I want to recommend two excellent posts by our intrepid Canadian blogger, Duchesse at Passages des Perles, on getting value from your jewelry purchases.

Buying Jewelry, part one: The Components of Value
and
Buying Jewelry, part two: What is 'Overpriced'


I could go into a long post about this subject but Duchesse covered all the points beautifully.

Because she has kindly mentioned Beladora.com as one of many quality jewelers in her well written post, her blog has gone onto the Recommended Websites on the Beladora Press page.


If you've mentioned Beladora on your blog, hopefully in a good way, Beladora would like to link to your blog. Please let me know.


Beladora has been working on its in house affiliate program. Yeah we know about commission junction and all the rest of the firms that manage these things but we are reluctant to get into one of these corporate programs because of the costs involved. We would rather pay commissions directly to our affiliates than spend money on the sign up fees and additional charges that would add additional expenses. Team Beladora runs a very tight ship (yeah it's like three people working in an office the size of Jill's closet but not as well designed) because we want to keep expenses down...and keeping expenses down keeps our jewelry prices low.


Also, I want to mention the Already Pretty blog that you have probably already read with the great post on What To Do With Brooches. I'm a huge fan of vintage brooches and wear them myself and I want to encourage you to consider wearing vintage brooches. They aren't just a piece of jewelry for grandmothers.