Seller used my photo without permission — eBay says no violation?
Hi everyone,
I’d like to get your opinion on a situation I recently experienced as a seller.
I listed a Pokémon card using my own original photos (taken by me). Another seller then copied one of my images and used it in their own listing to sell a similar card — without my permission.
Seller’s listing (now removed):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/206200721390
My original listing:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/318100526247
I contacted the seller directly, and shortly after, they removed their listing. To me, that suggests they were aware the image was not theirs to use.
However, when I reported the case to eBay, I was told that the listing was not in violation of their policy — which is what confuses me.
From my understanding, using someone else’s original photo for a commercial listing without permission should fall under copyright infringement.
To add to this, I’ve since noticed that the same seller may be using other images that don’t appear to be theirs either, which makes me wonder if this could be a repeated behavior.
So I’m curious:
- Am I misunderstanding eBay’s policy here?
- Has anyone experienced something similar?
- Is there a better way to report or handle this kind of situation?
I’d really appreciate hearing your thoughts or experiences.
Thanks in advance!
meme6253
·4 months agoThis has been the policy for awhile now, Other's can use your photos & even descriptions no permission is needed, Myself I do not like this policy but we have to deal with it because it is allowed, The upside to this is a sellers item May not be in the same condition & they use your photos & description, They could be looking at an INAD & that is their problem to contend with.
luckythewinner
·4 months agoeBay policy on this is murky, and their position has changed over time.
But when it comes right down to it, eBay generally doesn't do anything.
inhawaii
·4 months agoSeller used my photo without permission — eBay says no violation?
Ebay is correct. After all it is their website.
They should know what IS and what ISN'T a violation.
ryry-jj
·4 months agoWhat will happen is when the buyer receives the card that isn't as described in photo or description they can return it claiming INAD. To treat individual picture as unique in certain categories is not going to happen...as ebay's MBG takes care of that
ryry-jj
·4 months agoAll of our pictures and listings go into the eBay data base for anyone to use. This is one of the reasons why it is also against policy to put a copyright or watermark over your picture...although people do do it.
the only thing you really can do is what you did and notify the other seller and see how they respond. None of us are allowed to take pictures off of another site and use without permission if that site doesn't list with those pix on ebay
bonanza125
·4 months agoAnother seller using your photo to sell there item is not considered copyright infringement. When you post an image on any website you are authorizing the site to use that image. The buyer may have got the image from stock photos provided by Ebay. So yes you are misunderstanding the policy. There is nothing you can do to provide sellers from using your images which are provided on Ebay.
theteamsetguy
·4 months ago@monsterbox_korea ,
Like they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Other sellers have used my pictures and item descriptions. I have better use of my time than to find them.
kibble-net
·4 months agoIf this happens to you regularly, there's a low tech solution:
Write your user ID in bold letters on a piece of cardboard, and feature that cardboard prominently in every photo you post.
Unavailable member
·4 months agoAnyone can use your images and descriptions without penalty. Permission to use your images is not required.
You can ask the seller to remove the images but they don’t have to. It is also not copyright infringement.
eBays policy on images and text is this:
When you list on eBay you give eBay and its members permission to use your images and text as per the User Agreement
monsterbox_korea
OP4 months agoThanks for your reply — I understand your point about the User Agreement and how eBay may allow reuse of content in some cases.
That said, I think there’s an important nuance here when it comes to graded cards (like PSA slabs).
In my case, the photo shows a visible certification/barcode that is unique to a single card. By copying that exact image, another seller is effectively presenting the same unique identifier in a different listing.
Even if unintentional, this could create confusion for buyers:
From a buyer’s perspective, that seems like it could undermine trust or raise doubts about authenticity, especially for higher-value cards.
So while I understand that reuse of images may happen on eBay, I’m wondering whether situations involving unique, identifiable items (like graded cards) should be treated differently.
Curious to hear how others see this.
fabrics24
·4 months agoYou've got an excellent point there, but the good news is you'll come out smelling like a rose compared to the people just using whatever photos they can find.
Savvy customers will also notice exactly what you pointed out about the unique ID. If they ask you about it, you can get multiple close up shots of your card and send them privately if they have any concerns.
While people technically can use any of these "stock photos" that get uploaded to eBay, this is one of those policies that sort of self-resolves; a customer can (and probably will) open an INAD charge against the photo thief. Just because someone can use your photos doesn't mean they should.
If you're still concerned, I'd heed Kibble-net's advice about the cardboard thing with your username. It's not a watermark and it can technically be removed by cropping, but that's a lot of extra work compared to someone just buckling down and taking their own photos. The fact that you're worried about this speaks volumes, and that's going to be a huge asset when making these kinds of sales.
gone.c-33
·4 months agoIf they were to be treated differently, how would eBay determine who is the original owner of the picture?
That’s where the Authenticity program comes in useful, unfortunately, it’s not available for items from Korea.
tarotfindsandmore
·4 months agoExactly! This is the real crux of the matter. Any seller using another seller's pictures will eventually end up gone either 1) because they can't deliver at all or 2) the item will fail authentication.
OP, if you have the card, you're fine. Don't waste your time worrying about what other sellers are doing. In the end, these crooks are doing you a favor. Legit buyers always end up being forced back to legit sellers for legit products. Lots of them have to learn some very expensive lessons along the way, but that's not our concern the as sellers.