Account suspended for 7 days

[needalittlehelpsometimes]

I woke up on this lovely Valentine's Day to an email telling me my account was temporarily suspended due to selling a counterfeit Lime Crime item. First and foremost,  it is not counterfeit. I would not even begin to know how to make a fake item. 

Another line in the email said that the listing violates intellectual property rights, so now I am really confused. Which is it? I used my own photos so that wasn't the problem.

What can I do to to fight this? I am contacting the right's owner to try to find out why they did this. 

In the meantime, I still have 3 Lime Crime listings that are active and I want to remove them but I am not sure I am allowed to do this while suspended. The email said I could still do administrative tasks but I could not list or revise listings.

Will I be safe in ending these items?

Also, I have another account. Does this suspension apply to that account also?

There was nothing in the email about other accounts. I just don't want to make things worse for myself.

If anyone has any advice I would love to hear it. I am beyond upset as you can imagine.

Thanks guys and Happy Valentine's Day.  

[mg152]

You can and should end the other lime crime listings. I didn’t know what that was so I had to look it up. It’s vegan makeup. They probably don’t want there items sold here by resellers. The suspension applies to all accounts. Don’t try listing on other accounts or you might get banned for good. Just wait out the suspension and give away or donate the other items in question.

[house*of*paws]

Hi @needalittlehelpsometimes 

I don't sell ... so am not sure whether you can end items during a suspension.  I DO know that you should TRY to take down those items as soon as you can.

ALL accounts associated with a restricted account are likewise restricted.  DO NOT use your other account until your restriction is over.

As far as 'why' your item was removed ... IF it was a VeRO member who contacted eBay about your item, eBay was required to remove it.  The 'reason' for the removal may not have been stated adequately for you to understand.   Just DO NOT ever relist that item again on eBay.  A 30-day restriction is next ... and permanent selling restrictions after that.

You seem not to know what constitutes a 'counterfeit item'.  You were not accused of MAKING a fake item.  Most sellers purchase counterfeit items inadvertently. 

[gopetersen]

Even if it's a legitimate item (not fake) that doesn't mean you have the right to sell it.

Some companies have registered dealers with certain sales regions and signed contracts that they will only sell the items in certain ways, certain quantities, certain packaging, and up to certain standards.

Manufacturers are particularly wary of non-registered sellers these days because there are many people creating and selling fake products (it has become very easy to mimic labels and containers). Because there are health hazards associated with the production and distribution of creams, lotions and other make-up items, they don't want unauthorized sellers distributing them.

[the_fancy_fox]

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@gopetersen wrote:

Even if it's a legitimate item (not fake) that doesn't mean you have the right to sell it. 

Some companies have registered dealers with certain sales regions and signed contracts that they will only sell the items in certain ways, certain quantities, certain packaging, and up to certain standards.

Manufacturers are particularly wary of non-registered sellers these days because there are many people creating and selling fake products (it has become very easy to mimic labels and containers). Because there are health hazards associated with the production and distribution of creams, lotions and other make-up items, they don't want unauthorized sellers distributing them.

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And if these items were purchased from a legitimate dealer you have every right to resell them. First Sale Doctrine. 

Google up Tabberone. Have to admire someone that took on Disney, the NFL, Mars and a whole lot more big corporations... and Won.  I would assume she made more in settlements than selling here on eBay.

[gopetersen]

I'm familiar with Tabberone, but most small eBay sellers do not have the legal knowledge or resources to fight giant corporations. The first step, if they are to do anything at all, is to know WHY the company took them down.

These companies aren't just trying to protect their revenue streams and their brand recognition, some of them also have health concerns. There are a lot of abuses...sellers who take empty brand name containers (or who create them themselves) and refill them and claim that they are "new". This particularly happens with pricey products like wrinkle creams, but can happen with anything (makeup, supplements, etc.). Since the companies that manufacture these products can't tell which resale items are legit and which are not (if they are using the original containers, they look the same), they take them all down.

[hillbillymedia]

"Since the companies that manufacture these products can't tell which resale items are legit and which are not (if they are using the original containers, they look the same), they take them all down."

and THAT is abuse of the VERO program

[gopetersen]

I'm not trying to justify the company's action, I just want people to understand why this happens (for the record, I've had a VeRO take-down too and I fought it and won and got my listings back up again).

Here is one of the reasons:

Imagine this from the company's point of view. Someone takes the containers (or makes the containers) and fills them with cheap products and resells them. The stuff is full of bacteria, someone gets an eye infection and sues the big corporation rather than the small huckster who was illegally selling the item. The stuff has been used up, so there's no way for the big corporation to prove (or even determine) if it was their product or a fake one.

[needalittlehelpsometimes]

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@house*of*paws wrote:

Hi @needalittlehelpsometimes 

You seem not to know what constitutes a 'counterfeit item'.  You were not accused of MAKING a fake item.  Most sellers purchase counterfeit items inadvertently. 

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I guess I didn't explain myself in full. The items in question came from Ulta so I know for a fact that they are not fake unless they sent fake items to Ulta, which is doubtful. This is why it is so infuriating. I don't buy things from ebay to resell on ebay because then I would have no way of knowing if they were knock offs.  Besides, how can they tell something is fake from a photo?

[needalittlehelpsometimes]

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@gopetersen wrote:

Even if it's a legitimate item (not fake) that doesn't mean you have the right to sell it.

Some companies have registered dealers with certain sales regions and signed contracts that they will only sell the items in certain ways, certain quantities, certain packaging, and up to certain standards.

Manufacturers are particularly wary of non-registered sellers these days because there are many people creating and selling fake products (it has become very easy to mimic labels and containers). Because there are health hazards associated with the production and distribution of creams, lotions and other make-up items, they don't want unauthorized sellers distributing them.

---

I understand all that and I am fine with it BUT how do we know beforehand what items we can and cannot sell? I mean particular items like this that are not listed somewhere on ebay?  Getting policy violations that lead to suspension is not something I want to repeat. How can this be avoided in the future?

[escuintla]

I got one of those messages last week or so. My items were as legit as the other 10 pages of the same product on Ebay. 

Thanks God the email of the representative from that brand was embedded. She must have laughed when I sent her the 10+ pages of her products being sold on Ebay to work on. 

[needalittlehelpsometimes]

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@the_fancy_fox wrote:

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@gopetersen wrote:

Even if it's a legitimate item (not fake) that doesn't mean you have the right to sell it. 

Some companies have registered dealers with certain sales regions and signed contracts that they will only sell the items in certain ways, certain quantities, certain packaging, and up to certain standards.

Manufacturers are particularly wary of non-registered sellers these days because there are many people creating and selling fake products (it has become very easy to mimic labels and containers). Because there are health hazards associated with the production and distribution of creams, lotions and other make-up items, they don't want unauthorized sellers distributing them.

---

And if these items were purchased from a legitimate dealer you have every right to resell them. First Sale Doctrine. 

Google up Tabberone. Have to admire someone that took on Disney, the NFL, Mars and a whole lot more big corporations... and Won.  I would assume she made more in settlements than selling here on eBay.

---

I have been thru that with Kate Somerville, cease and desist letters from lawyers etc. I finally quit selling her items. A few years passed and still there were about 1000 of her items being sold. I tried again and all is quiet. I think they gave up the losing battle. They never once had any of my listings removed.

If I win the lottery someday I will definitely have the means to fight them but as of right now, it's just not worth the time, energy or money it would take to win the right to sell a stupid lipgloss. 

I just don't think it is right to get suspended for selling items that I had no idea I should not be selling. BTW, I have been listing Lime Crime for several years with no problems. 

It would be much nicer if the companies would just ask the sellers to stop selling their products. A quick simple email would have done the trick. I would have pulled the items immediately if they had asked me to.  Instead, my business is in real trouble because I have no idea if I am selling other items that could or will be pulled for the same reason.

[mam98031]

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@needalittlehelpsometimes wrote:

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@house*of*paws wrote:

Hi @needalittlehelpsometimes 

You seem not to know what constitutes a 'counterfeit item'.  You were not accused of MAKING a fake item.  Most sellers purchase counterfeit items inadvertently. 

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I guess I didn't explain myself in full. The items in question came from Ulta so I know for a fact that they are not fake unless they sent fake items to Ulta, which is doubtful. This is why it is so infuriating. I don't buy things from ebay to resell on ebay because then I would have no way of knowing if they were knock offs.  Besides, how can they tell something is fake from a photo?

---

It is extremely unfortunate, but this just doesn't matter.  All a Vero member needs to do is register the complaint.  It does not matter one little bit if it is factual or not.  The mere fact they level the complaint is all that matter.  What is true or false has no bearing whatsoever.  Unfair, you betcha it is unfair.  But it is how the Vero system works.

In the email you received, towards the bottom there should be contact information for the whomever leveled the Vero complaint against you.  You can try to address the problem with them as they are the ONLY ones that can help you.

Trying to work through Ebay won't help.  Ebay will not go against a Vero complaint.  If by some miracle you get the Vero member to back  off, they are the ONLY ones that can release the complaint and have Ebay allow you to listing these products again.

In the meantime, do NOT list any other of these products.  You will get a violation for each and every time you try and too many violations will cause Ebay to sanction you.  

I feel your frustrations.  I've had some of these over the years.  While others are allowed to sell the same stuff and I'm not allowed to.  It makes no sense whatsoever, but this is the system here on this site.

[siayan]

I know my idea is not agreed on by many but the easiest way to stop this is to have "New" items only those things that are sold by people actually selling items for the first time (first sale doctrine).  That would be people who get the items from a distributor for resale. All others would be "New Other".

"New Other" would be items bought at thrift shops with tags, items someone gifted and were never used, clearance items, etc. New other should never be able to be falsely veroed because they are not first sale.  eBay would never do this because they would rather be suspending people but keep all the items in the new category that aren't new.

[mam98031]

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@siayan wrote:

I know my idea is not agreed on by many but the easiest way to stop this is to have "New" items only those things that are sold by people actually selling items for the first time (first sale doctrine).  That would be people who get the items from a distributor for resale. All others would be "New Other".

"New Other" would be items bought at thrift shops with tags, items someone gifted and were never used, clearance items, etc. New other should never be able to be falsely veroed because they are not first sale.  eBay would never do this because they would rather be suspending people but keep all the items in the new category that aren't new.

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Do you have a link to a policy or Ebay statement that states this would not get the OP another violation on their account if they did as you suggest?  You realize if the OP follows this suggestion and does get another violation, it won't be a 7 day sanction they will get, it will be more severe.

Seems pretty risky business to me.  But if you have something else you could share that would be very interesting to read through.