eBay

bding44 · ‎11-15-2023

Good afternoon

I have a seller that sells the same merchandise from a supplier that i do, that seller has cut and pasted titles and full description as well as pics (he cut and pasted over my logo in pics), basically copied my several hundred of my listings 100%, buyers will even mistake his listings for mine

I have reached out to ebay but unfortunately they say it is not against ebay policy, i have reached out to supplier but have not received an answer back (i am sure they are checking with attorneys before giving an answer) and i have reached out to attorneys myself but would like to see if anyone has any advice or solutions to this before proceeding with legal action

thank you

hartungcards · ‎11-15-2023

The operative words here are, "it is not against ebay policy."

mtgraves7984 · ‎11-15-2023

It can happen and it does happen. Consider that imitation is the best form of flattery. Maybe that'll help...

redmodelt · ‎11-15-2023

Many if not all listings have "sell one like it" on the listing, maybe they used that or are getting their information from the same catalog as you are. Also, you are using catalog images, those can be used by anyone selling the same product.

redlinear · ‎11-15-2023

Unfortunately eBay not only makes it easy to do this, they actually encourage it (sell one like this).
Really stinks for one seller to do all the work and another do very little.
However, it's been my experience it won't last long.
They are mistaking cleverness for laziness. And any seller that lazy gets in trouble real quick with shipping

ajs_coins_and_alchemy · ‎11-15-2023

I've seen other sellers use my pics. I've seen other sellers use my semi-distinctive titles. Sometimes, but not always, use both. Better yet, some of them have been fairly reputable sellers, not just joe-blow and nobody-Joe. I've had a number just do it, and a number of sellers ask permission first

I doubt they would use any meaningful part of my description as it promotes my store, but I haven't gone as far as to check.

I find it to be one of the highest forms of flattery. Every pic I use I've taken myself, if my photography is good enough to be ripped off, I'm ok with that... the title is no biggie. The pics to me were nothing special but clearly they were decent enough to the other sellers.

itsjustasprain · ‎11-15-2023

@redmodelt wrote:
Many if not all listings have "sell one like it" on the listing, maybe they used that or are getting their information from the same catalog as you are.

Sell one like it does not give you the other sellers photos or descriptions. (Sell Similar on one of your OWN listings WILL give you everything from the original listing.) All you get is the title and item specifics and category.

That said - if a seller wants to automate some bot process to copy everything from someone elses listing and then upload that as their own they can probably do it. That sounds like what happened to you if there are in fact several hundred copies.

Are you writing your own descriptions and taking your own photos? Stock photos can be used by anyone. If you take your own photos you can make them distinctive and hopefully stand out from the pack that way.

slippinjimmy · ‎11-15-2023

@bding44 wrote:
(he cut and pasted over my logo in pics)

They are smart, after all those logo's in your images in your listings are a policy violation!

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/listing-policies/picture-policy?id=4370

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep

slippinjimmy · ‎11-15-2023

All what work? The OP is using stock images from Enginetech.

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep

onefootflipper1 · ‎11-15-2023

@slippinjimmy wrote:
All what work? The OP is using stock images from Enginetech.

All I see is stock photos, listing violation photos for text and logos and essentially no descriptions whatsoever. What legal action do you think you have exactly?

gamersbaystore · ‎11-15-2023

Do you actually own the photos or are they stock photos? If they're stock photos then there's nothing you can do.

If you're confident that the photos are created and owned by you, then you can file a DMCA take down notice to ebay's legal department.

ebay legally has to comply with the request; otherwise you have the right to sue ebay and the person who stole your photos. Keep in mind, there are legal consequences for filing false DMCA notices.

chapeau-noir · ‎11-15-2023

@itsjustasprain wrote:
@redmodelt wrote:
Many if not all listings have "sell one like it" on the listing, maybe they used that or are getting their information from the same catalog as you are.
Sell one like it does not give you the other sellers photos or descriptions. (Sell Similar on one of your OWN listings WILL give you everything from the original listing.) All you get is the title and item specifics and category.

Bears repeating - I keep seeing this mistake made over and over again about "sell one like it" - the only other thing that carries over (that I have noticed) beyond that mentioned above is if you use a multivariation or multiples listing - those settings carry over.

“The illegal we do immediately, the unconstitutional takes a little longer.” - Henry Kissinger

"Wherever law ends, tyranny begins" -John Locke

redlinear · ‎11-15-2023

MANY times I see my photo and listing copied by other sellers.
MANY times I've seen dozens of sellers, selling the same item, and ALL of them have a part number listed that's missing a number, or have two numbers switched. (one got it wrong and the rest copied it...wrong).
MANY times, I've receive messages from Upset buyers wanting their money back, complaining, etc.

I do a bit of research and see they have not bought anything from me.
Lots of times, I can figure out what they bought and the seller they bought it from.
Quite often it's from somebody else that snagged my photo.