Stop Tagging the Good Guys and Start Concentrating on The Abusers & Counterfeits!!!

[standoutstyle]

Good morning and sorry for the vent!

First a little background. I have been in couture retail/marketing for over 30 years and on eBay for 17 years. I sell all high end and have not changed the way I list my postings in 17 years, other then the overall look.

Last week I received notice that two of my item that were listed as Miu Miu Prada were removed for name spamming. I called eBay and explained that Prada owns Miu Miu (The Owners Name Is Miucciuse Prada) and often refers this way in their stores and items. I also pointed out that there were almost 2,000 listings this way on eBay. That said I changed the titles on my listings to remove the Prada.

Then two days ago I get suspended for three days for posting Cole Haan Nike Air shoes. I called again and this time I was told I would receive a call back as they had to go higher up for advice. They called me back and said they would reinstate me but I had to relist them without the Nike Air name. As of last night I had yet to be reinstated and had to call again. Also, as of this morning there exactly 7,152 Cole Haan Nike Air listings.

This morning I Posted a Miu Miu wallet. In the body of the listing it does say Miu Miu Prada. Again, Miu Miu is a Prada company. Shortly after I listed this I was suspended again for another three days. In the meantime, as of this morning there are now 2,049 listings of Miu Miu Prada items. This is absolutely crazy!!

However, last week I reported 6 Hermes bags being sold as Authentic, yet they were fake.  I have spent over 30 years in the Retail business and they were very clearly copies.  As of today, non of them have been removed!  

It is time for ebay to stop tagging the good guys and start going after those that are really causing the issues on ebay! Everyday I go on my ebay facebook pages and buyers complain about false returns that ebay supporter the buyer over, and/or fakes being sold that continue to get sold over and over.  Ebay start going after the bad guys and leave those that us good guys go!  Guess the thousands of dollars I have made for ebay does not count for anything!

[crownnationalindustries]

You are working a lot harder than eBay employees that are drawing a paycheck, but it is not their job to remove fake items, their job is to protect eBay from lawsuits and if there is no threat items will not be removed.

[standoutstyle]

So what is the threat of listing Cole Haan Nike Air - That is the brand and name on the shoes?  Or Miu Miu Prada, which is one of the same company?

[crownnationalindustries]

No idea, are you selling those ?

If so your competition is reporting you to eBay making a false claim that your stuff is fake.

[standoutstyle]

This has nothing to do with fakes, as I have never been accused of selling fakes.  This has to do with Vero Key Word Spamming.  Ebay is saying if you have a pair of Cole Haan Nike Air shoes, you are spamming the name Nike and that is not allowed.  If you have a Miu Miu Prada wallet, you are spamming the name Prada and that is not allowed, even though it is a Prada owned company.  Absolutely nothing to do with fakes.

[klassic*kids]

Have you asked them if it is ok to write in the details "Miu Miu" is a Prada owned company, something like that -- seems you are just clearly defining the brand of the listing.  Your shoppers probably already know it is a Prada owned company but you are just clarifying it.  Doesn't seem to be name spamming if you are defining your widget's brand.  Same with the Cole Hahn Nike shoes.

I agree that eBay should spend their time and resources getting rid of all the fakes out there!  And spend less time on good sellers for "name spamming'.  What a waste of time and energy. 

Good Luck.

[retrose1]

Stop using the parent company name on your listings and you will have fewer problems.   I would not use Banana Republic on an Old Navy item, even though they are owned by the same company.

Once a bot pulls a listing, your accout is flagged and ebay will start pulling everything they think might be a little off.  Just because you call and can successfully argue your case and get reinstated, the flag doesn't come off.  And you might want to check your dashboard to see if the defects still remain for the item removal.

And ebay knows that maybe 50 fakes will sell for every authentic one.  That means more money in ebay's pockets, which might be the reason they are so slow to remove fakes from obvious manufacturers of them.

[crownnationalindustries]

VERO is a program that eBay uses to protect eBay from lawsuits, they are not doing it to protect the manufacturers of these items.

So, they must feel that you are not an authorized dealer of these items, so they just pull them, I guess you need to call eBay and ask for this case to be escalated to a manager in Trust and Safety and ask them how you should list these items.

[standoutstyle]

That is really sad that they would care more about their fake sellers then those that don't do anything wrong.  I have been a premium store member for ever and at one time my sales were through the roof! On the 30th of this month, my contract ends - I am throwing in the towel.  I will downgrade and keep my account open until I find another avenue but after 17 years I am so sad to say bye bye!

[*eponymous*]

Nike has either already - or soon will - sign an exclusive distriburship agreement with Amazon, which will be the only authorized online venue for Nike sales.  Since you got a VeRO notice, it is Nike that does not want you selling their goods.

Maybe eBay thinks you are trying to damage other sellers by reporting their items *shrug*, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for anyone to "go up the chain and get back with you".  eBay is a bureaucracy just like the government - one branch never knows what another is doing.

[couldabeenworse]

This has to do with Vero Key Word Spamming.  

I'm not sure that's a thing.  VeRO should mean the company that owns the rights to a name is taking down your listings for inappropriate use.  eBay is to some extent not responsible for the takedown, but does restrict the seller's account if multiple VeRO takedowns occur.

Keyword Spamming can be reported by anybody (most likely by a competitor), and is policed by eBay.   Since eBay makes and interprets the KS rules, you are going to have a difficult time fighting this.  Good luck...

[couldabeenworse]

That is really sad that they would care more about their fake sellers then those that don't do anything wrong.

eBay cares about what's good for eBay, which is not necessarily what's good for it's sellers or buyers.  

However, it is far easier for eBay to see keyword spamming than to be an expert on whether millions of items that they don't have in their possession are authentic.  

[*eponymous*]

This has to do with Vero Key Word Spamming.  

There is no such thing, and eBay's Verified Rights Owners Program (VeRO) has nothing to do with keyword spamming, which is actually search and browse manipulation policy for sellers. You're selling the brand name so that policy does not apply.

VeRO is a program eBay instituted to ensure that eBay's status as venue-only under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) (the venue is not responsible for what 3P sellers choose to list) remains intact.  IP rights owners file a notice of possible infringement with eBay (and any other online venue) for copyright and/or trademark infringement; and eBay takes the listing down and notifies the seller.  The IP rights issue is between you and the manufacturer - ebay has NO involvement in that!

[crownnationalindustries]

Just like I told him/her, the competition is reporting her listings to VERO to get them pulled down, the seller needs to call eBay and ask for trust and safety supervisors/managers.

[mistwomandancing]

I agree that one of her competitors is trying to take her down.  Worth a discussion with Trust & Safety.