Another seller steals my ideas, words and pictures

[nightingalesshop]

I have been in the natural soap business here on eBay for years.  I've paid my dues figuring out what works and what doesn't.  There are many soap sellers on eBay and we all stay in our own lane, being unique from each other.  I  refer customers to others if I don't have what my customers want.  A  new soap seller (about a year) came on board and has been stealing my words, set up, and picture ideas.  When I finally got fed up I contacted eBay about it, they suggest I message her nicely.    I did...and it Backfired!   She does not play nice in the soap playground and it's been hell ever since.  Now every time I make a change to move far away from her (I've been working around the clock to change everything so I can be different)   she makes similar changes, and now she even ridicules my soaps in her listing.  She has undercut the price and now I'm losing business.  I can't compete with all my costs.  (Im not sure how she's making any money with all the fees eBay has???)  I'm certain other soap sellers are getting pretty upset too.  Recently I had to take several weeks off because covid hit our family, which made things even worse.  In fact, we just lost an extended family member to it.  It's been a really rough time. This small family business is my livelihood and I'm so discouraged.   ... I guess my question is...... Is there a way to block a seller from seeing your listings so they no longer can steal ....and torment? What else can I do????

[donsdetour]

to your actual question : NO

ignore them is you best idea.

[sextons-sweet-deals]

when eBay was a company that backed sellers, you could report someone for copying your photos. I think that has went away. Not sure why, but if you ever search the net, you will also see your photos on Pinterest. Probably got out of control for eBay to manage.

I see many sellers use an I.D. label or watermark in their photos so that they are not copied. 

[monster-deals]

---

@nightingalesshop wrote:

 What else can I do????

---

There is nothing you can do but be better, faster and cheaper.

[corvettestainless]

When ebay decided to be a 'catalog' they stated that all pictures posted on ebay belong to ebay and anyone that wants to use them. 

For the OP- I wouldn't worry about what another seller states in their listings, most don't read descriptions and many would be 'put off' by a listing that puts down another product if they do read it; you will have to beat their price as most shop by that. You can also do 'promoted listings' , even at 1% puts all your items being shown before the description, as well as possibly your items in that competitors listings as well. 

[alaynapearl10 · Accepted solution]

That is really terrible. And there really is not much action you can actually take. So I suggest just ignoring her and letting karma do it's thing. If you are honest, love your company, products and customers then they will keep coming back to you. In time I am sure this persons terrible morals will start to show through in their business. Just keep being yourself. Maybe take a little extra care in your packaging so customers feel extra special. That's something they won't know about to copy you on unless they are buying stuff from you.

[maxine*j]

That eBay representative who told you to contact the competition and ask her to be nice gave you terrible advice.  All that did was convince her that she has you on the run, financially and mentally.

Ignore her from here on out.  Do not spend one iota of  your resources on her.   Operate as though she doesn't exist.  If you get into an action-and-reaction pattern with her, you'll regret it for the big time-and-energy waster that it is.

Concentrate on your own products and listings and customers, and forget what anyone else is doing (no matter how despicable their actions are).  Stay nimble and creative and innovative yourself.  

This is nothing new in commerce.  It's just more evident, partly because it happens faster.  Ask any American or European designer or manufacturer of any successful product how long it takes for the first cheap Chinese imitation to appear.  

[disorderlieder]

I would say put a big old watermark but I think that is 'banned' on ebay now.  Probably could sue her over some kind of copyright infringement on using your pics without license fee or imitating your brand though. 

[timelessauto]

If you check the ebay policies, pictures and text are for anyone to copy and use  We sold a vehicle a while back to a different state. A few years later we started getting calls on it, because the seller resold it on ebay and used our original photos from ebay listing a few years prior when we sold it to him ( you could see our phone number on the building in the photo).  We contacted ebay, they told us the same thing

[b86fiero]

Sorry to hear you have a less than nice competitor causing you angst.

I can sympathize and can empathize with your dilemma.  I repeatedly have my listings copied, my (bad) photos copied, even my user ID appears without permission in some unscrupulous listings.  And I sell low dollar items.  Been selling here since 2001.

Sometimes a new seller makes a big splash by price undercutting in an effort to gain market share before slowing raising prices.  Sometimes Daddy is funding a side business to keep somebody busy and it's a tax write off so profit really isn't part of the equation.

Unfortunately it is true that eBay doesn't give a rat's booty about intellectual materials theft, unauthorized use of work product or unfair competition anymore. 

If you don't already do so, include a nice thank you note and perhaps a few small samples of your other soap varieties to spark repeat buyers.

A nicely printed flyer notifying buyers of new items coming soon with details can help also.

You certainly don't want to lose money by getting in to a price war but you might try setting up volume discounts if you have not yet given it a try.  The eBay wording in search "save up to 20%" or whatever you choose stands out and gets noticed.

I'm not sure if sellers are still allowed to create private listings for specific buyers only.  I did this many years ago.  If still possible take a couple of weeks to build excitement by including a flyer in orders with the date when it will launch.  Detail any special scents, deals and bargains, and quantities available.  I used a buy it now variation listing.  When I set mine up I had to input the user id's of those invited to the private listing and they were the only ones who could purchase.  It's been so long I don't quite recall how eBay handled the listing.  I do recall it was a success and I sold out in a matter of a couple of hours. 

It's easy to get depressed, frustrated and a bit desperate when your business begins losing market share.  It's hard to find new ways to stress the unique blend of high quality ingredients your soap contains because your buyers deserve the best.  💖

I wish you well and send my deepest sympathy on the loss of your family member.  Hope you all stay healthy.

BJ 

[robxznyc]

@disorderlieder , @sextons-sweet-deals 

Ebay has been advising sellers to stop using photo watermarks for a long time for SEO purpose. Google Shopping indexes eBay BIN listings and show eligible listings in Google Shopping search results. Listing images with watermarks, logos, and other promotional texts are automatically rejected and these listings won't be included in Google Shopping search results.

[kateinthe26th]

I use watermarks but i understand if you dont want to go that route.....instead get some table seating decorative cards write the name of your store on those pretty little cards ( the original genuine soaps by store name ) or words to that effect and when you take photos place the card by your product.

[maxine*j]

Kind of a nice idea, actually, but wouldn't the photo then have the problem that robxznyc  referred to, causing it to be rejected by Google Shopping?

[alcoforever]

Put that seller on your blocked bidder list.  Then ignore.

[kateinthe26th]

I doubt it ....i see Google uses watermarked photos too, I only look at fabric so i don't know about other products.

Not sure AI could differentiate between a hand written card contained in a picture and text on a packaging box as an example also contained in the picture.