Buffalo Games uses WHITELIST Did You Get a Policy Violation VERO Takedowns
Hello All, this is a new thread, a follow-up to Buffalo Games Illegal Takedowns Using Vero.
Today, 13 new Policy Violations, add that to my other 2 last week. While still awaiting a reply from Buffalo Games.
I contacted them through Customerservice@buffalogames.com, I am adding this to help all other 100,000,000 sellers who will possibly receive these violations.
This is the message I received back today after I sent my 2nd Counter Notification, for the 13 new violations, under Counterfeit, I should add.
"Thank you for being a valued member of the puzzle community and for your continued support of Buffalo Games.
Recently, we’ve seen an increase in fraudulent websites and fake sellers—some even leveraging artificial intelligence—to distribute counterfeit products or fail to deliver puzzles altogether. To protect our brand reputation and ensure customers receive authentic puzzles, we’ve taken proactive steps to monitor and enforce our presence in the online marketplace.
Our goal is simple: remove bad actors so trusted sellers like you can confidently buy and sell genuine Buffalo Games products.
We understand this may have caused inconvenience, and we sincerely apologize. If you’d like to continue buying, collecting, and reselling Buffalo Games puzzles, we’d love to work with you. We can establish an authorized partnership and whitelist your seller account so you can continue selling with confidence.
Please reach out to our Brand Protection team at brandprotection@buffalogames.com, and we’ll coordinate the authorization process.
Thank you for your understanding and for helping us maintain the integrity of the Buffalo Games brand.
Best regards,
Buffalo Games Brand Protection Team
Buffalo Games Seller FAQ
1. Why was my listing removed?
We’ve recently seen an increase in counterfeit Buffalo Games puzzles and fraudulent sellers. To protect customers and our brand, we are enforcing stricter listing policies to ensure only authentic products are sold.
2. Am I accused of selling fake puzzles?
Not necessarily. Our enforcement is proactive and applies broadly to prevent bad actors. If you are a legitimate seller, we want to work with you.
3. How can I continue selling Buffalo Games products?
We offer an authorized seller program. Once approved, your account will be whitelisted so you can confidently buy and resell authentic puzzles.
4. What does “whitelisting†mean?
Whitelisting means your seller account is recognized as authorized to list Buffalo Games products without risk of removal.
5. How do I apply for authorization?
Email our Brand Protection team at brandprotection@buffalogames.com. We’ll guide you through the process.
6. Why is Buffalo Games doing this now?
Fraudulent websites and fake sellers—some using AI—have increased significantly. Our goal is to protect customers and ensure trusted sellers thrive.
Thanks,
Buffalo Games"
What do you all think about this policy? I wish they had it listed Under VeRo members Faqs. I will follow up with you all regarding the Takedowns. I am still moving forward on having my items reinstated. One way or another, I will go to the DMCA, and start my claim.
grann-4629
·10 months agoMy son loves doing puzzles. Last week he bought one from a thrift store and it turns out one piece was missing. No big deal for him, but could this be a reason Buffalo doesn't want their products re-sold?
Serious puzzlers/collectors would probably rant all over the place if a piece was missing and the Buffalo name could take a hit for something beyond their control.
kibble-net
·10 months agoYou could say the same about literally anything that is resold from a thrift store.
Thankfully Hasbro hasn't outlawed the sale of used board games.
dhbookds
·10 months agoI doubt most buyers would blame the company for a USED item lacking a piece or two............
bearstonebilly
·10 months agoI have now had 40 Buffalo Games Puzzles taken down for the totally false allegations of being counterfiet / fake etc. I have so far contacted the following clowns in the US over this and they all give the same answer, no they cannot tell me how they came to their conclusions. All my puzzles are sourced directly from the US from reputable companies. I take all my own photo's and do my own description and do NOT use the rubbish Ebay AI. Still waiting for a respose from the following email addresses in the US
brandprotection@buffalogames.com
tobaccocardyahoo
·10 months agoSome of these brand protection companies file lawsuits, and they win those lawsuits against hundreds of unauthorized resellers. Lots of unauthorized resellers settle these suits and see a hit to their checkbooks.
I suspect that there has not been a class action because no lawyer sees an opportunity to profit from one and therefore will not enter into a contingency agreement.
a_c_green
·10 months agoWhat's interesting here is that the WHOIS registration for buffalogames.com (the original company site) is dramatically different from that for buffalogames-enforcement.com, which appears to be a throwaway domain name registered in Finland.
Just as a guess, I would say that some clueless individual at Buffalo Games was fooled by a patent troll company (e.g. redpoints.com or similar) into thinking that there's some big counterfeit jigsaw puzzle industry lurking out there (which would no doubt explain their own dismal sales) from which they need protection, and for some modest fee, this patent troll company will chase all the ne'er-do-wells that are making and selling fake Buffalo Games puzzles on sites such as eBay.
It does not occur to Buffalo Games that no one is interested in making fake copies in the first place, but they're getting all these glowing reports from the patent trolls on all the supposed takedowns they've accomplished, for which they would like to be paid via the attached invoice. 😄
gardencity_tradingpost
OP10 months agoAfter all the trouble of trying to get my listings reinstated, I donated my entire inventory to Saint Vincent Du Paul.
Matt Krueger, is the correct contact with spelling, mkrueger@eastpointsports.com
Matt works for Mason Wells, the company who owns Buffalo Games, LLC.
Ben Holbrook is the designated service agent for Buffalo Games.
bholbrook@masonwells.com
you can get a Counter Notification on CCB.gov, they have a Prefill, Read:
serve this directly to Ben.
You can start a case on CCB, after 10 days of servicing your Counter Notification.
you can file a claim for misrepresentation under 17 U.S.C. 512 (f)
there is more information on regards to this type of claim, and how to by copy paste google for an entire document of by CCB.gov
Ai vs Ai, and eBay sellers.
I just want to say, to date, no reinstatement of any of my 25 policy violations, 25 emails back and forth with Matt, I have a letter that I was Whitelisted, then I got 15 more policy violations.
I know a lot of sellers have 100s of Vero takedowns. This only started back on November 12, 2025. I’m not giving up on my notice, I’m just not willing to let eBay AI take down my account for it. If I can’t get 1 policy reinstated, how would I ever get my 25 year account back?
albertabrightalberta
·10 months agoWho believes that Buffalo Games puzzles would be faked? I'd never even heard of the brand until this thread came up.
onefootflipper
·10 months agoA lot of game companies do outsource to China and they have indeed learned that can mean that the Chinese factory will overproduce the orders and the extras will get exported via other channels. However these "fakes" are indistinguishable from the real thing as they are made right along with the authorized production.
However there is little reason to bootleg actual puzzles as the Chinese puzzle factory can just stamp out any old design they want and sell them without the possibility of losing the business from the US company using them for production. Normally the overproduction thing happens with the expensive board games, not $10 puzzles.
onefootflipper
·10 months agoOriginal poster, you are wasting your time here. Buffalo games is a floundering company desperately trying to hold up the value of their products while unwanted covid era overproduction clogs the clearance channels and distributors and retailers are desparate to get rid of it. Their products have a terrible sell through rate measured in years and many are shipped out at a dead loss. What you are fighting to try to sell isn't even good in the first place.
I would dump the stuff on marketplace as a lot and be glad to have it gone.
tobaccocardyahoo
·10 months agoThe policy is reasonable and commonplace.
Many companies report all unauthorized sellers as selling product which "may be inauthentic". Marketplaces like Ebay have differing methods used to remove the threat of product which "may be inauthentic". Removing existing listing is the primary method Ebay uses. It may permit a seller to provide "proof of authenticity" but even when it does, the seller may be unable to provide acceptable documentation, like wholesale invoices.
Other marketplaces, like Amazon and Walmart, preauthorize sellers based on manufacturer authorizations and wholesale invoices before allowing them to list the products.
You are probably following a red herring with your interest in pursuing copyright violations. No claims, even when there are copyright violation claims, need be filed with the copyright office. Enforcement is the responsibility of the rightsholder and is usually done through their lawyers and the courts, Some manufacturers use companies whose sole function is brand protection, who file lawsuits with hundreds of defendants, most of whom either settle or fail to reply to lawsuits, losing by default.
Do not assume that being an incorporated business will protect you from liability. Lawsuits often name the officers of the corporation, along with the company as defendants.
A motivated rights holder can cost you a lot of money defending yourself, and most lawyers will tell you that your worst case risks in this situation are greater than $2k in inventory is. Few lawyer would take your defense on a contingency basis.
Survival as an Ebay seller of certain types of item may require you be totally aware of what is being counterfeited and avoidance of owning or offering any of those products, unless you can provide "proof of authenticity".
Ebay is not doing anything illegal. The rights you may think you have under the "First Sale Doctrine" are not absolute, and do not compel Ebay to allow you to sell any item. They are primarily case law and there are conflicting precedents. They are often muddied by warranty policies, trademark rights and other intellectual property rights.
admoreno3526
·10 months agoI had the same thing happen to me today. I contacted Buffalo games and I'm doubting I'll hear back. I will no longer be buying these puzzles. I bought them for myself in 2020 with the pandemic and never used them so thought I would sell them. This is bad business.
albertabrightalberta
·10 months ago@gardencity_tradingpost
I hope you win your fight. I really do.
If word of mouth is the best (or worst) advertising a company can get, this word of mouth advertising isn't going to help them!
recordsetter
·10 months agowhat whitelist means is you can only resell new unopened puzzles that you purchase from them ... no more used or open puzzles
gardencity_tradingpost
OP10 months agoWell that does not make sense? Under the Free sale doctrine, it states that if you buy an item, used or new, the patent holder, can not dictate the next sale. Or prove me wrong?
gardencity_tradingpost
OP10 months agoSo, should these puzzles go to the dump? Is that, the irony of eco friendly puzzles companies in America should do?
kibble-net
·10 months ago-Sell on Craigslist
-Sell on Facebook marketplace
-Donate to a thrift store
Why throw them out?
gardencity_tradingpost
OP10 months agoI donated them, after buying them from a donation center, that literally was the last chance, in bulk, by the pound, that goes directly to the dump, it’s sad, really how much of our donations do go to the dump.
inhawaii
·10 months agoThey suck.
They are an inconvenience.
But they are NOT illegal.
gardencity_tradingpost
OP10 months agoTaking down a listing under false pretenses is illegal, I state under penalty of perjury, my items are authentic and they don’t even provide any proof, they are not. They use excuses of AI generated photos, mine are real, I offered the puzzles, they did not care. This is my livelihood, not a hustle. But, thanks for contributing
christworks
·10 months agoAll this over some $15 used puzzles? Insane.
You could spend a ton of time fighting, or you could find another place to sell them where the prying eyes of Buffalo aren't lurking and claw back your money.
If a company does not want me selling their stuff, fine. I'll sell their competitors instead. I'm certainly not going to risk my eBay account over it. eBay doesn't want to be involved in any legal messes.
So yeah, go get an attorney and fight it. eBay will be dragged into it. Then, when you win, eBay will tell you they don't want you selling on their platform and shut you down. Then what?
gardencity_tradingpost
OP10 months agoI don’t need an attorney, I research the law, and follow through. My cause is for the unjust, unlawful takedowns. Me being a victim of this, only fuels my 🔥
gamersbaystore
·10 months agoYou should talk to a lawyer. "To protect customers and our brand, we are enforcing stricter listing policies."
They have no legal authority to do any such thing.
gardencity_tradingpost
OP10 months agoI know, thankfully I have a degree in Criminal Justice, studied law, and worked as an investigator for many years, private and for attorneys
pls-consignments
·10 months agoThis is what happen when a company uses AI to seek and destroy its competition. Once a seller on eBay's is targeted, eBay's own AI is set to deflect accountability towards their sellers in order to avoid being legally complicit.
ltldpr
·10 months agoI'm pretty sure that ai was used to write the email that OP shared with us from Buffalo Games, and I find that a bit ironic lol!
See the em dashes? Ai uses those A LOT. Some people use them too, but they've become a bit like an animal track in the bush for sniffing out artificially compiled content.
albertabrightalberta
·10 months agoI'm curious @gardencity_tradingpost
Are the pictures in your 93 current listings your own pictures? Or did you happen to use images found elsewhere?
I think you're working with a bully of a company and I would NEVER consider buying puzzles made by the company who is bullying you.
gardencity_tradingpost
OP10 months agoAll my own photography, and content, I even take photos of the upc codes, I never use AI on eBay to describe my items. 25 years selling, this is crazy. Yes, when I got the first 2 policy violations I immediately put all BG puzzles on auction, tomorrow’s the end date on the one’s still up. Today I lost another 13, some with bids. I have no plans of buying anymore. Which, I buy at thrift stores.
a_c_green
·10 months agoGiven the amount of stock you said you have, I would at least look into BG's whitelist offer to see what it is they want from you in exchange. You can always hit the Back button. Let us know what you find.
dhbookds
·10 months agoWere the items listed as "preowned".........?
gardencity_tradingpost
OP10 months agoYes, all pre-owned, all uncounted, or complete, depends on the item. I don’t have multiple of any, one offs
tobaccocardyahoo
·10 months agoI noted that you have had sold lots including BG puzzles which claimed to include some new puzzles. I did not bother to check which puzzles were new.
AI or low paid human, these would be likely to set off action.
grann-4629
·10 months agoIt reads, at first glance anyway, to be a good Policy. I don't know how many members have signed up to the VeRo program, but it's probably enough so that providing a detailed FAQ, like this one, for every member would not be reasonable.
As for you, you haven't really lost anything, you have the ability to become an authorized reseller, you have learned a lesson, and you have helped other sellers of puzzles to understand the rules.
Big time hassle, but if you know or have heard from others that the item you are selling has a history of being counterfeit, do your research first (contact the maker?).
As far as the DMCA, this is only going to frustrate you more. You made your complaint and won your case, so my advice is be happy and move on.
gardencity_tradingpost
OP10 months agoBuffalo Games has not responded to the email I sent to become “whitelist†I think moving on when I am sitting 🪑 n $2000 in inventory, is a bit hard to do. Plus 15 policy violations, and possibly my account being blocked
albertabrightalberta
·10 months agoAlthough I agree with others that the Buffalo Games reply appears to offer hope to @gardencity_tradingpost , it shouldn't be necessary to take those steps.
Even if the puzzles were purchased from yard sales or thrift shops, as long as they're legitimate (aka authentic) items, the ebay seller doesn't need to become a "partner" with the manufacturer. General statements claiming that there are lots of fakes out there doesn't give the manufacturer the right to remove any listing just because the seller isn't "authorized."
Methinks Buffalo Games needs to read up on First Sale Doctrine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First-sale_doctrine
chapeau-noir
·10 months agoI think BG is getting around that by claiming 'counterfeit', forcing the reseller to have to engage in their 'program' in order to be whitelisted.
a_c_green
·10 months agoI don't find it very convincing, first the claim that there are "counterfeit" puzzles out there (some evidence of that would be helpful), and saying "fake sellers—some using AI" just sounds like puffery or an attempt at bolstering a weak argument. (Using AI for what, exactly?)
That aside, they do appear to be promising to whitelist you. Where I still have suspicions is that part of their "whitelisting" process may be to have you give them your supplier's info (if you have one). That's the usual demand in the common bullying letters sent out by companies who are all honked-off about someone selling their products here.
I don't know how they would respond if you told them that you found their products at an estate sale or similar. Whether they would agree to whitelist your selling account without a clear explanation of where you got your products from is something you may need to find out.
albertabrightalberta
·10 months agoAnd to @a_c_green's point, I suspect that in order to be "whitelisted," it'll cost the OP some amount for the "privilege."
grann-4629
·10 months ago'an estate sale or similar'
Like the Death Certificate of the original owner and a detailed Will stating the disposition of the puzzle?
I wonder if they would wrap your garage in yellow crime scene tape if the puzzle was sold there?
Crazy ideas, but the owner of the copyright has the authority to come up with any idea, including threatening letters, to stop or reduce the unauthorized sale of their product. Who is authorized? Contact the copyright owner and ask.
I'm not trying to protect these guys ... just trying to warn sellers about listing 'iffy' items to avoid the hassle the OP is going thru.
a_c_green
·10 months agoHeh... 😠Well, I'm wondering if they would accept the OP's response if he said he purchased it on the open market someplace as opposed to getting it from a supplier.
I like to get to estate sales early enough that there is still a pair of legs sticking out from behind the couch.
grann-4629
·10 months ago(From above post): Using AI for what, exactly?
(From original post): Fraudulent websites and fake sellers
Answered and asked (Jeopardy?)
Creating fake websites and identities is easy stuff for AI .... even eBay's AI could learn how to do it. Besides, this was happening way before the advent of AI.
a_c_green
·10 months agoYeah, that was sort of my point: you don't need AI to knock together a website at all. There are plenty of third-party tools and programming APIs available to automate the job, and have been so for 20-30 years already. Some folks see AI lurking behind every tree.
In this case I had the distinct impression that whoever wrote that BG reply is trying to use AI as some kind of mysterious boogeyman employed by nefarious ne'er-do-wells in the mighty counterfeit jigsaw puzzle industry.
gardencity_tradingpost
OP10 months agoI did a case check both open and closed through the US copy-write office, not one case ever opened or closed by Buffalo Games.
I believe they just want to end eBay sellers from selling their brand.
1786davycrockett
·10 months ago@gardencity_tradingpost
"What do you all think about this policy? I wish they had it listed Under VeRo members Faqs. I will follow up with you all regarding the Takedowns. I am still moving forward on having my items reinstated. One way or another, I will go to the DMCA, and start my claiThe response which you have received from Buffalo Games actually sounds quite encouraging -- all you need to do is to request to be an authorized seller of Buffalo Games products.
This would definitely give you a leg up against non-authorized sellers -- so why are you so upset?
If the items which you had listed had violated the VeRo policies of Buffalo Games, it is highly unlikely that the legislation inside the DMCA be found in your favor.
gamersbaystore
·10 months agoVero is ebay specific and has NO relevance to actual DMCA and copyright/trademark laws. Furthermore, filing false DMCA take down requests is a violation of the law. If Buffalo Games, or any brand for that matter, is issuing takedown requests without evidence to support their claims, they will find themselves legally liable for it.
The OP could legit file a lawsuit, as no brand has the right to issue DMCA notices because they feel like it, that's not how the law works. If even a single false claim is proven in a court of law, Buffalo Games would be on the hook to pay for any damages to the OP's business, reputation, etc, as a result of their actions.
When you issue a DMCA take down, you are stating in good faith that the material violates your copyright/trademark in some way.
"enforcing stricter listing policies." Buffalo Games has no legal authority to determine how their products are listed by third-parties who have no legally binding agreements with the brand, such as consumers themselves.
ltldpr
·10 months ago"One way or another, I will go to the DMCA, and start my claim."
So, you are not interested in what they say here:
". . . we’d love to work with you. We can establish an authorized partnership and whitelist your seller account so you can continue selling with confidence."?
I thought it sounded like great news and more VERO brands should be so willing to work with resellers. It would keep them from being boycotted.
What am I missing?
gardencity_tradingpost
OP10 months agoThey haven’t given me the reinstatement, they have 2 counter notifications, those words were nice, but I’m still actively fighting to keep up 100 plus other listings.