eBay system issue when listing item
Summary: gthemasterj shared an issue with eBay's system where a listing for a Pokemon game was removed for allegedly violating the counterfeit policy, possibly due to mentioning that the game was not a reproduction. Despite appealing, the listing was not reinstated, and attempts to resolve the issue with customer service were unsatisfactory. albertabrightalberta suggested using terms like "authentic" instead of mentioning "reproduction." pickapaper warned against relisting after an appeal is declined, as it might jeopardize the account. The discussion highlights frustrations with automated processes and inadequate support systems.
Just wanted to mention this recent issue in hopes that someone in eBay development might look into it. A couple weeks or so ago I put up a few different listings of Nintendo DS games, including one Pokemon game, and in the description section of each mentioned that the game was not a fake copy or reproduction. Just about a minute after the Pokemon listing went live it was taken down with a counterfeit policy message sent to me saying:
"We had to remove one or more of your listings for not following our Counterfeit policy. We understand that this must be frustrating. But don’t worry — we’re here to help!"
Not being a seller of fake games, and knowing the Pokemon game was definitely not fake, I thought about what could possibly have caused eBay to remove the listing and surmised that the system must have scanned my description and found the word "reproduction" or the string of words saying that the game was not a copy or reproduction, and, not actually processing the context, flagged the listing as being just that. I went through the appeal process right away and a little later received a response saying the appeal was declined due to the counterfeit item policy but someone would be looking into the issue and contacting me about it. No one did contact me though and I called a number of times on different days and basically the agents either said to call back later or told me what I needed to do to correct the issue though it was obvious they were just guessing and going through a scripted checklist since I was told things like I needed more pictures, even though I already had 15 clear pictures of the game in my listing, including cartridge & case close-ups. No agent could be specific about why the game might have been flagged as counterfeit so on the 6th day, after listening to another checklist of non-applicable removal reasons and suggestions, I just told the agent I would take things into my own hands and relist the game omitting the information about it not being a reproduction and he said ok. That is exactly what I did and then the listing published just fine and remained up. So basically, what seems to have been the issue was by mentioning that the game was not a reproduction, it got flagged as one. My other DS listings which at the time also had the mention of not being reproductions actually did not get flagged, though I'm guessing that was because games like Pokemon are more on eBay's radar as possible counterfeits so the scrutiny level might be higher. Either way, having the listing flagged as counterfeit for what seems to have been a system design flaw and not receiving accurate or relevant help with it is something I really hope eBay can look into correcting and improving for the future. Thank you.
pickapaper
·3 weeks agoAs a rule, when an item is removed, whether rightly or wrongly, and the appeal is still declined, it is not a good idea to try to relist it. You are now on eBay's radar and if you persist, it could put your account in jeopardy.
An unfair "lesson", yes, and whether we agree with it or not, eBay using AI to do a lot of its work is here to stay. I've had a few things removed that should not have been. I don't fight it. I just sell them elsewhere.
eBay has millions of sellers selling billions of items every day. They have neither the time nor the manpower to "process things better" or individually go over a problem to see if it is correct or not. Everything is pretty much automated now and they have cut way back on the ability to contact them. The CS agents they have now are mostly just script readers and tell callers what they want to hear instead of the facts.
gthemasterj
OP3 weeks agoI don't know, I've spent many an hour on the phone with eBay and from my experience some things just need to be brought to their attention in order for changes to be made. The system testers don't always run through every possible scenario to find bugs and problems and that is where user input comes in, which is beneficial to eBay in many ways. Results may not be instant but letting them know about issues can at least help get the ball rolling for the future. You can't expect things here to be perfect but I'd like to think there are more options for sellers than just giving up when there are very obvious and non-subjective flaws in the system. Also, billions of items sold a day sounds a little drastic, and the fact that I can easily spend half an hour or more on the phone with an agent, typically without feeling any pressure to wrap things up, tells me that they aren't so pressed for time as to not be able to be willing to work with what they have to help solve an individual problem. Unfortunately being able to speak with an agent who has the right kind of access for the situation is a lot more few and far between than it used to be.
royalbargains1
·Sep 10, 2026 at 9:27 AMjust change the listings like add in listing that this is branded and add overall discription in listings than i will be resolved
albertabrightalberta
·Sep 10, 2026 at 6:26 AMI'm guessing that AI saw "fake" and "reproduction" and triggered the removal.
Since every item is expected to be authentic and sellers aren't allowed to list fakes, there's no reason to even mention it.
But if you want to assure authenticity, you can state that all items are "genuine," "authentic" or a similar adjective.
gthemasterj
OPSep 10, 2026 at 7:33 AMIt still shouldn't be flagged for stating what it isn't and making it clearer to customers what you are selling, especially when there are so many reproduction games for sale here, and since "AUTHENTIC" in a title doesn't always keep buyers from asking me if the game is a reproduction or not. My comment is for eBay to improve their system to be able to process things like this better, and for seller support to more accurately be able to help when these types of issues arise.