Power Sellers Unite

JohnnyMax · Joined: 26 Mar 2010 Posts: 53

First time ever for me. Some manufacturer contacted eBay about one of my listings and claims I may be selling a fake product, so eBay pulls it down. Contacted the company and they say I have to buy it from them otherwise I cannot sell it. My items are purchased at auctions which I told them and then hung up. Jerks! How can they make a determination like that from just looking at my listing? I have sold these items many times before and know the difference.

mauritron

That's what Ebays about nowadays. You won't get any of that hassle or problems selling on the other sites.
We had so called Vero stuff removed by them a while back.
Same stuff is still listed and selling on the other sites so can only assume the so called Vero owner doesn't like ebay for some reason.
Can't think why anyone would not like ebay, can you........lol

Stockmiser · Joined: 03 Jun 2006 Posts: 1169

Yep, I've had plenty of items brought down by VERO. Some rightly - many wrongly.

If a VERO holder sends legal docs to ebay and claims your item is in violation, then ebay has to remove it or face potential liability themselves. If your item is not in violation, then your argument is really with the VERO holder - they are the ones restaining your trade and causing you damage.

Look at it this way - when someone makes a VERO claim against you - true or false - it puts your sale in legal jeopardy until it's resolved. It doesn't matter where you are selling - even at a flea market - if a complaint like this is filed with your selling venue, the venue is going to drop your items. Same also with a website - if someone makes a DCMA claim against you, your host provider is going to drop you before you can even respond. All for the same reason - they have no interest in sharing your liability. Dropping you is the most economical decision.

You also have little to no recourse against the venue. If the VERO claim is fraudulent, then both you and the venue were harmed by the VERO holder, who is wholly responsible. So long as the venue has reasonable evidence that the VERO holder has legal rights to the property, they are obligated to stop facilitating the sale.

In fact, it's the VERO holders that are constantly suing ebay for not doing enough to stop infringement.

JohnnyMax · Joined: 26 Mar 2010 Posts: 53

When they pulled down your listings did you ever contact the manufacturer and try to fight it, or accept it and move on. When I contacted the manufacturer he started all type of threats like federal lawsuits, fines etc, a bunch of scare tactics to find out where I get my products, so I just hung up. Just curious how you handled it. Thanks.

Stockmiser · Joined: 03 Jun 2006 Posts: 1169

@johnnymax - Really only once. I had a product for the low-carb crowd and mentioned the atkins diet, and atkins VERO'd me. They basically ignored my email.

By far though, the most interesting one I ever got was for a product with a poorly drawn picture of "godzilla" (on my website, not ebay) and I got a very long cease-and-desist email from a corp in Japan that owns all rights to the name "godzilla" and any likeness of the creature.

8)

seewhatimsellingnow · Joined: 29 Feb 2008 Posts: 1254 Location: Ohio

Years ago, I listed a children's reader book. In my description I stated "Book is illustrated with 'Dick -and-Jane- like' drawings....LOL- it was pulled immediately as I had violated copyright laws- when the people who own the 'DICK, JANE & Sally' book rights.

I guess, in reality, any brand name we mention on Ebay- in our title or descriptions, COULD be pulled unless we are certified sellers for those companies? (Such as vintage AVON- etc.) ? Betty Lou

Schistosomiasis · Joined: 19 Jan 2010 Posts: 192

I got a lovley cease-and-desist letter from Tropicana for using images from a Dover "royalty and copyright free" collection of fruit crate art. Dover was unresponsive.

luckyalive · Joined: 27 Apr 2008 Posts: 590

I was duplicating templates once in GarageSale and accidentidentially left the word "copy" on the end of one title and GarageSale gave me awarning about ebay maybe removing the item.

LOL, if you go to the computer categories you can see plenty of sellers with photos directly taken form the manufacturer's web site for their used part. That right there is a copyright violation. Of course I guess its o.k. since it alsmot as bad as ebay puting up stock photo in their catalog for selelr now to use rather that getting off their bum and taking a pic themselves - what that takes 1-2 minutes if you don't what you are doing.

mauritron

Any chance you could reduce the picture of the beast for us luckyalive.
Every time I see it I'm tempted to put my fist through the screen.

seewhatimsellingnow · Joined: 29 Feb 2008 Posts: 1254 Location: Ohio

Don't reduce it! ENLARGE it- so I can put it on the front of my dart-board! :) Betty Lou

Rediscovered Shooting Tre · Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 10:48 am Post subject:

I have had several VERO problems on Ebay. Several times it has been with cranks perporting to be a company (2:30 AM on Saturday night) some from real company representatives. In my case when it has been with a real person at a real company I have been able to get the complaint removed after getting the person to listen to me. They think they know the law but do not know they are usually wrong. I reproduce old owners manuals. They know that anything they write, find, or discover are company property. What they do not seem to learn in law school these days is that did not go into affect until 1978 and it was not retroactive. Thus the pre-1978 never copyrighted items I do are "public domain" under the law. I only do never copyrighted pre-1978 items for that reason. Even those that were copyrighted and or fall under the 1978 law had copyrights that did expire but they are hard to track so I just never do those. The funny thing is that the ones where it was a real company representative have listened and then gone to the effort to remove the complaint even thought that is MUCH harder for them than issueing the complaint was. Several of these folks have commented on how hard ebay is to work with. On the one ones where it is crank in the middle of the night I have never had any luck and still can not relist those items. Sad isn't it?

Rediscovered Shooting Tre · Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 10:56 am Post subject:

I shold have added. Some of my items do carry the companies logo's or trademarks. That can also cause confusion. As long at those are only used to "reflect a product they made" it is legal to use them. Just like an advertisement for their goods in newspapers or magazines sometimes does. If you make a poster or a belt buckel with them you are violating their rights but if you show it to reflect their products you are not. Thus having them on the cover of the manuals is not a violation of there registered trademarks or logos.