Best course of action for competitor using photos and titles of my original items and sending fakes
We have been selling engraved items on Ebay for years. It's kind of a niche product and the engraving is done in a way that is 3D and reflective. For the past few years, a competitor (using two separate accounts) uses our photos and titles but passes off laser engraved items that are nowhere near the quality of ours. He's relatively successful (96-97% feedback) but I am suspicious that he uses other accounts to boost his feedback. Most recently I had a customer order 10+ items a day with different shipping addresses and found that customer had only left feedback for the competitor (and a ton of it). I found a website where my products were listed for double what I sell for, so assumed he was drop shipping and blocked him.
I've received countless messages from potential customers who have fallen victim to his bait and switch, asking if they purchase from me, will I actually send what is pictured. After a deep dive into the competitor's feedback, I found where he is blaming "the manufacturer" when customers call him out on the bait and switch. The competitor sells more of my product than I do since his price is about half of what mine is.
I am not VERO since my product isn't trademarked. I've reported the products multiple times but nothing happens. I've spoken to an attorney who advised going after the competitor since he is damaging the reputation of our brand and filing DMCA notices with Ebay. Would filing these notices do any good? Would there be any backlash from Ebay? If the competitor were actually selling what he advertised, I would chalk it up to his laziness but the fact that he is passing off crap with using my titles and photos is getting old.
simply-the-best-for-you
·1 year agoRight now b/c of the bug where you can't see description if you're using Adblock+, I cannot see your descriptions, but 2 things come to mind, 1 is be your own competitor. I see this a lot with sellers who have a lot of competition, they have multiple accts & become their own competitor, kind of like Kellogs & General Mills do. Maybe you're already doing this & if you're not, it's going to take a while to build up other ID's, but it can be a good strategy.
The other idea is to call out your competitors. For example, I bought these stickers from this guy:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/152581885602?itmmeta=01K0385VBEH5FA9B4JTCDZ87V3&hash=item238696cea2:g:E3YAAOSwqu9VKnQ6
Right now I can't see his descriptions either, but I assume he still has a LOT of verbiage explaining why his are so much better & longer lasting & his service is better than competitors. IIRC he used multiple colors & repeated it in a lot of places, but it worked on me. I paid more for his & you know what? It's been several years & they've held up amazingly, he was telling the truth, his product really IS better. If you can't see descriptions, you'll have to add eBay to the Adblock exempt list.
stuff4divas
·1 year ago@shammett29 did u do what your attorney advised? or what others advised? on your previous post with the same problem on 11-20-24
shammett29
OP1 year agoI did what others advised but didn't seem to make much difference. Just trying to figure out if the DMCA notices that my attorney is advising will work with Ebay.
onefootflipper
·1 year agoHere is your ultimate problem, which is always the same with copied images.
Eliminating the images does not eliminate the competition, they will take new photos or will otherwise pop right back up under another name, perhaps with your images again. You will find that any legal remedies are basically meaningless as whoever is behind this is likely either overseas or has no money.
However you might want to add an engraved nameplate or something to the background of your photos that says "The Original Shammett, High Quality Since 2002".
Then make the first line of every description say this.
There are several sellers on ebay selling second generation copies of my designs here on ebay, using inferior equipment. Make sure you are only purchasing from the original Shammett29.
You might even want to buy one of your competitors items and show a quality comparison in each listing.
ryry-jj
·1 year agoLooking at your items...pretty cool...and from you statements your quality is above your competitor. So, I modify my earlier suggestions, I'd go with a sticker placed on all the items, saying the same thing, but easily seen in photos and acting as a QA sticker. Play the value added up! Maybe even add "Made in USA"
I'd also add a custom line in details, titled "photos" with the description : All photos are actual Shammett29 photos, sold by Shammett29 only. That way if anyone "sells similar" off of your listings, and they don't pay attention, that line appears in their copied listing
ittybitnot
·1 year agoMaybe even add "Made in USA"
@ryry-jj
Not sure if I would use that one LOL... "Made in USA, USA Shipper, American Flags, phony US item locations, etc." are the red flag signals the item is actually coming from China or the seller is a drop shipper for same. Many buyers know this now, and might just pass it up. eBay has made it even harder to get to a seller's actual feedback page where you could see the seller is from Shanghai..LOLOL Go to a few active listings, click on feedback, and see where it gets you.
ryry-jj
·1 year agoI see those, too, and think that same thing, lol But that is mostly the ones with a USA Flag watermark added to the pictures corner or something. I'm thinking on his sticker that he places on the actual product...kinda like
QUALITY ENGRAVING
by SHAMMETT29
made in the USA ©Shammett29 2025
Could also replace USA with the State, too...just an idea. As with everything, I can think of dozens of reasons why something wont work, just trying to figure out the one idea that could work
ittybitnot
·1 year agojust trying to figure out the one idea that could work
@ryry-jj
Understood, and your input is most appreciated!!!!
shammett29
OP1 year agoYes, I like that idea! Technology is definitely not my forte, how do I make a good looking sticker and then apply it to my photos? Is there a service for this? I’m thinking anything I create will probably make it look less legit lol
a_c_green
·1 year agoAgree with all the above. Actually, if you're going to place a label in the photo identifying you as the seller, it doesn't even need to be a sticker (i.e. adhered to the item); you can just print something clear and concise with your ID on it that's legible and positioned to make cropping it out difficult. (Do not put in any off-eBay contact info of any kind; your eBay selling ID is really all you need there.)
If you did want to add a sticker of any kind to the product, I would suggest maybe using thin vinyl as a backing, which adheres without adhesive so the buyer can peel it off with no harm. Our local town switched to peelable vinyl for their annual vehicle registration windshield decals after too many complaints about how hard it was to get the adhesive ones off.
meme6253
·1 year agoIt has been happening for many years, It is a shame that these types are allowed to do what they do!
ryry-jj
·1 year agoYou can report anything you want, what becomes of it, no idea. I don't think you will get any backlash for reporting.
I'd change up my photos and listings, add a manufacturing tag to your listed items like "Original Engraving by Shammett" to go along with each item. Watermarks to photos are technically not allowed but an artist's tag on the item can be part of the listing and sold along with it
ittybitnot
·1 year agoI am not VERO since my product isn't trademarked. I've reported the products multiple times but nothing happens.
@shammett29
While it used to be a policy violation to copy another seller's photos and text, that is no longer the case. Once you post a listing to eBay now, any other seller is allowed to plagiarize.
Even if you became a VERO member, eBay would not entertain your complaint once the photos are used by you to post a listing for sale. Though this sort of goes against the old VERO takedown messages where eBay proclaimed "it was a VERO member and nothing we can do" mantra, they no longer will do anything.
However, if you are a VERO member, and your photos and text are lifted from YOUR WEBSITE, and you never used them on eBay, then you may have some recourse.
shammett29
OP1 year agoGood to know about the website photos! My attorney said Ebay is required by law to comply with a DMCA notice.
albertabrightalberta
·1 year agoMany years ago I applied and became a VeRO reporter.
Although I sell on ebay, I sell on another site also. When I submit my NOCI (notice of claimed infringement) report which is Ebay's version of a DMCA takedown request, for the section where they ask the source of the pictures (where they were stolen from), I show the listing(s) from that other site. That the same item is on ebay is irrelevant.
Ebay does remove the infringing listings.
stainlessenginecovers
·1 year agoHas your overall $$ in pocket been affected?
My pics and items are being sold by all sorts of people; here, websites etc.
I stopped caring years ago.
shammett29
OP1 year agoConsidering he sells more from my photos than I do, I would say most definitely yes. Assuming the customers who fall for it would buy from me if his weren't an option, it equates to several hundred dollars per day. And has been going on for years. I truly wouldn't care if he were actually sending the same product, but what he sends (based on the photo reviews he gets) are nowhere near the same product.
stainlessenginecovers
·1 year agoThen it may pay off (although it will still cost you more $$ now) to hire a lawyer and that lawyer may start with sending a letter (have someone buy something from them to get the address?) which may work, but probably not much more can be done as stated by others, your pictures are my pictures, and I can sell what I want, in any condition I want and the 'buyers' will be the one to determine if I survive.