07-12-2016 08:48 AM
I noticed several sellers buying items from me and reselling them on e-bay. They are using my pictures, and written materials. And they are selling the item at double the price!
My goal is to provide my items at a reasonable price and not inflate prices!!
I can have all my labels carry a - Not for Resale- tag as I have not authorized distribution to aby of these sellers.
I am also concerned about counterfeits that could be infringing my trademark and copyright.
What are my options?
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07-12-2016 08:52 AM
And watermark all your photos with your eBay username
07-12-2016 08:58 AM - edited 07-12-2016 08:59 AM
Perhaps you are not charging enough for your products. If people are buying from you and selling at higher prices then you could be selling yourself short.
Also never make the mistake of stating your goal of selling at reasonable prices and not inflating those prices and then assuming that everyone has or even should have the same outlook. Once you sell something, it is no longer yours. It belongs to someone else and they can do with it as they please.
Yes you can mark your products as not for resale, but chances are your buyers will ignore that or they will stop buying from you. Have you thought about raising your prices or taking your items to the next level. Obviously if your buyers are interested in reselling your items they must be interested in your products and like your products. Perhaps you should start thinking on a larger scale and beyond petty stuff like this and embrace this as a great opportunity.
Try to see the bigger picture here. You are producing something that is desired. Try to capitalize on that rather than obsessing over something foolish.
07-12-2016 09:18 AM
trademark and copyright.
________________________
Is this something you created and own the trademark and coprights to?
If so become a VERO member.
Then you would have the authority to tell ebay to take them down.
07-12-2016 09:20 AM - edited 07-12-2016 09:21 AM
You are selling fixed price. If someone buys and gives you the price YOU chose, why does it matter what they do with it? I would think you would be happy to have sales at the price you set.
Them copying and using your pictures and texts is not acceptable however.
07-12-2016 08:50 AM - edited 07-12-2016 08:51 AM
1) Double your prices
2) Forget the not-for-resale attempts.. Once they've recieved the item(s) they paid for, they Own them and have resale rights.
Lynn
07-12-2016 08:52 AM
And watermark all your photos with your eBay username
07-12-2016 08:58 AM - edited 07-12-2016 08:59 AM
Perhaps you are not charging enough for your products. If people are buying from you and selling at higher prices then you could be selling yourself short.
Also never make the mistake of stating your goal of selling at reasonable prices and not inflating those prices and then assuming that everyone has or even should have the same outlook. Once you sell something, it is no longer yours. It belongs to someone else and they can do with it as they please.
Yes you can mark your products as not for resale, but chances are your buyers will ignore that or they will stop buying from you. Have you thought about raising your prices or taking your items to the next level. Obviously if your buyers are interested in reselling your items they must be interested in your products and like your products. Perhaps you should start thinking on a larger scale and beyond petty stuff like this and embrace this as a great opportunity.
Try to see the bigger picture here. You are producing something that is desired. Try to capitalize on that rather than obsessing over something foolish.
07-12-2016 09:18 AM
trademark and copyright.
________________________
Is this something you created and own the trademark and coprights to?
If so become a VERO member.
Then you would have the authority to tell ebay to take them down.
07-12-2016 09:20 AM - edited 07-12-2016 09:21 AM
You are selling fixed price. If someone buys and gives you the price YOU chose, why does it matter what they do with it? I would think you would be happy to have sales at the price you set.
Them copying and using your pictures and texts is not acceptable however.
07-12-2016 09:24 AM - edited 07-12-2016 09:25 AM
@dooglearts wrote:...
My goal is to provide my items at a reasonable price and not inflate prices!!
...
Not a good business model.
Why don't you just give your products away for free then no one will buy the competitors product?
As far as the not-for-resale attempt, that is against the law, I suggest you read the first-sale doctrine.
07-12-2016 09:33 AM - edited 07-12-2016 09:36 AM
@phcd1 wrote:
@dooglearts wrote:...
My goal is to provide my items at a reasonable price and not inflate prices!!
...
Not a good business model.
Why don't you just give your products away for free then no one will buy the competitors product?
As far as the not-for-resale attempt, that is against the law, I suggest you read the first-sale doctrine.
SAY WHAT?
If the seller is making the profit they want at the price they set ,how in the world can you say that is NOT a good business model? Is a good business model GOUGING buyers? I love how some come on here saying you have a lousy business model,or you need to change your business model.. makes me think some do NOT even know what a business model is?
OP as to the resale of your product,if as stated before if you are getting what you want for your product, I would NOT worry about it being resold for more,makes your prices look even better,the use of your pics is another story,but unfortunately ebay does little to curb or even discourage others from using your pics...
07-12-2016 09:57 AM
If the product that you sell is manufactured by you, you may be able to patent the item. Is the item your creation?
The use of your photos & description is, I believe, a reportable offense.
With regard to people purchasing your product from you and selling it at a higher price, there is nothing remotely wrong with that. You are obviously charging way too little for your product if other sellers can find buyers that are willing to pay double what you are charging.
Your plan to limit the distribution of your product is fine, except that it could only be enforced among those with whom you have a contractual agreement pertaining to the distribution of your product. However, any purchaser that is not a party to a distributor agreement with you would still be allowed to re-sell their property for whatever price they wish.
You might wish to consult a patent attorney regarding applying for a patent if you have not already done so.
07-12-2016 10:13 AM
Did you make these products.
You state a high retail price then price them much cheaper.
If people are willing to pay more then up your prices or dont complain when people resell them for the retail price.
07-12-2016 10:20 AM
I might raise my prices just a little.....or not, depending if the product could handle it. With some sellers listing the exact same thing at not a high enough price to buy from you and cover the costs of reselling it, are you sure some of them aren't using you as a drop shipper?.
I don't see the problem those other sellers should help your sales. As stated above another sellers has you skinny mint teatox priced at $10 higher BUT checking sold you are the ONLY seller to have sold that exact product.... anyone can list anything at any price doesn't mean it will sell... but at his price he may only have to sell 1 to your 5 or 10 to receive the same profit.
your price competitor price
Skinny mint teatox 19.99 21 - 30
Skinny mint TT Bags 9.99 none
Coffee coconut scrub 8.99 none
Mommy Tea 9.99 none
Be Happy Tea 5.99 none
Skinny life tea 14.99 none
so out of the items you have listed one product has a few sellers buying it and trying to resell it, or drop shipping it, and your item is the only one in sold history..... doesn't seem to be that big a problem.... is there another product not listed you are having problems with or something I missed?
There was never yet an uninteresting life. Such a thing is an impossibility. Inside of the dullest exterior there is a drama, a comedy and a tragedy.
07-12-2016 10:23 AM
My 0.02, but every business has to have their approach and in your case, if your overhead is low and your cost to acquire is low and your sourcing ongoing, then what's wrong with focusing on making your profit by turning your inventory quickly? If that means resellers can flip your goods - then that's a win-win, imo as long as the margin works for you. There's more than one way to maximize your **total** business profit - and that's not always focusing on squeezing the most profit from every transaction at the cost of unit movement.
07-12-2016 11:59 AM
@dooglearts wrote:I noticed several sellers buying items from me and reselling them on e-bay. They are using my pictures, and written materials.
The part in red is the ONLY thing your competitors are doing wrong. And that's only if you opted out of having your items included in ebay's catalog. If you weren't pro-active and didn't opt out, even stealing your pictures and description isn't a violation.
I don't know whether this reporting tool still works:
Otherwise, apply as VeRO and report the infringing listings:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/programs-vero-ov.html
Here's the policy:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/image-text.html
07-12-2016 12:08 PM
@dooglearts wrote:I noticed several sellers buying items from me and reselling them on e-bay. They are using my pictures, and written materials. And they are selling the item at double the price!
My goal is to provide my items at a reasonable price and not inflate prices!!
I can have all my labels carry a - Not for Resale- tag as I have not authorized distribution to aby of these sellers.
I am also concerned about counterfeits that could be infringing my trademark and copyright.
What are my options?
You make your own products? Why not start offering wholesale pricing branded to a seller's name?
For years I made and sold candles and soaps. I sold under my own brand and I also offered wholesale pricing to others (at a price that I made a good profit from) and they were branded to a particular seller/business, who was free to price however they wished.
I made a nice profit, they made a nice profit and it kept me very busy 🙂
07-12-2016 12:18 PM
@7606dennis wrote:If the product that you sell is manufactured by you, you may be able to patent the item. Is the item your creation?
Your plan to limit the distribution of your product is fine, except that it could only be enforced among those with whom you have a contractual agreement pertaining to the distribution of your product. However, any purchaser that is not a party to a distributor agreement with you would still be allowed to re-sell their property for whatever price they wish.
You might wish to consult a patent attorney regarding applying for a patent if you have not already done so.
And since the OP's biggest complaint is that others are buying from her to resell, a patent would only be a huge waste of money, as a patent would only prevent people from duplicating the items to resell, not reselling what they already legally bought. Granted, you already covered that mostly in your response, but I felt it important to point out that getting a patent would be a huge expense that would most likely have very little return on investment due to the OP not having a problem with other sellers duplicating the product.