VeRO

[a3c5]

Hello

I have been on eBay since 2002 and never had an issue, last week I have 90% of my listings removed under VeRO. The point of contact was a company call redpoints.com and they are representing foxmind.com.

The last response from redpoints:

Upon further revision of your case, please be informed that our client FoxMind Toys & Games (www.foxmind.com) has validated the reported content as using their registered trademarks for the sale of products that have not been manufactured by the Intellectual Property rights owner.

Therefore, we inform you that we are not in position to withdraw this complaint.

At no point have they specifically said what the actual content is that they are referring to.

The listings were very basic, with no reference to FoxMind or their products at all.

The title was "Pop It Fidget Toy-Bubble Pop Fidget- UK"

The images are of the actual products and lifted from anywhere else and FoxMind do not have any of the same shapes or colors.

I contacted eBay and the person I spoke to could not tell me where there was an issue with the trademark either.

It is concerning, certainly for larger sellers to have listings removed, it appear to be a blatant abuse of the system.

Anyone else had a similar issue, is there anything that can be done?

I only have a couple of dozen of these things and just want to offload them now, in fact I was using it as a demo to show my daughter that money can be made on ebay, this has put a spanner in the works, I hope it does not put her off.

Any advice welcome.

Thanks

Andy

[chamadh_49]

Is fidget vero ?

[gjs_16]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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@gjs_16 wrote:

VeRo is not human but robotic

{snip}

anything that has been trademarked will trigger the VeRoBOT.

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I think you fundamentally misunderstand how VERO works. I am a VERO member and I report listings on behalf of several music artists. 

VERO requires me to file a manual report naming each item by item, and the reason for the infringement. There is nothing "robotic" or automatic about it. 

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Fine, but it might help for us to assume it's a robot.  Knowing there's a human behind our alleged copyright infringements, especially when said human is responsible for having a listing pulled for a completely legitimately acquired and listed item doesn't particularly warm our hearts (think first sale doctrine).

But thank you for letting us know, it will be particularly difficult for us to discern then, why...
After we've had a Vero'd listing reinstated by the person who pulled it, pulled again!
I'm sure that wasn't you.

[luckythewinner]

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@gjs_16 wrote:

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Fine, but it might help for us to assume it's a robot. 

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Not sure how that would help - but hey, you are free to believe whatever you like. 

[fashunu4eeuh]

This thread is an old one.

[duffs_toys]

I have had several items removed due to how they were listed and using copy written terms.  After my 3 day ban, I relisted the items again with NONE of the copy written terms, and no reference what so ever to the previous listing (even took new pictures) and still they were removed within 24 hours of listing and I was banned again, this time for 7 days.  

Once you are on their list, they will watch your account like a hawk and pounce like vultures when they see you relist.  Similar items are available from other sellers, some domestic, some overseas, and continue to be listed for sale.  Some have copy written language present and some do not.  So I am not sure how ebay, or vero decides to enforce this, but its confusing as hell.

[kinderdinge2015]

We as a German company, we unfortunately had to make the same experiences with this company. REDPOINT - our products were also removed from amazon and ebay. Some woman based in Spain reported us to the marketplaces and reported us. We even have a registered brand name under which we sell the Pop-It and other toys. Of course, we bought our products in China, like others. This is real chicanery for retailers!

Best regrads

[maxine*j]

Chicanery is retailers selling what they know to be Chinese knockoffs of brand-name merchandise, especially since the stuff is often substandard as well as counterfeit.

-

[lonebuck-books]

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@kinderdinge2015 wrote:

 Of course, we bought our products in China, like others. This is real chicanery for retailers!

Best regrads

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If you bought them from a China manufacturer or through alibaba and they weren't bought through a legitimate distributor of that brand, it isn't chicanery.  What they did with your listings is exactly what VERO is supposed to do, protect brand owners from counterfeits/knock offs.  If you had legitimate proof that your items were authentic AND you had the permission to sell them by the brand owner, you could have sent that to ebay or the brand owner and they most likely would have retracted the complaint.  VERO gets things wrong, can be very heavy handed and tends to "shoot now, ask questions later" but when they get it right, that is good.  They always provide a way for you to prove authenticity/permission to sell.  If you didn't/couldn't provide that, you can't blame VERO for that.

[skeletonstore]

I have and there was no winning.  It started as a joke on social media,  then it got contentious.  I listed an item with common generic terms and got hit with a vero trademark claim.  Basically a lawyer draws up the complaint and ebay jumps.  I did not steal anyone's images or even name.  No one had the simple name I used on Ebay.  It just referred to a holiday and the year.  That's it. It was clearly done for humor and my price was outrageously high and views were as well.  Some people don't like the fact I can be so funny.  Also some people are paranoid.  I tried to submit a counter claim but ebay ignored it.  I was also threatened with a lawsuit as the fight got nasty on social media.  

[skeletonstore]

Another thing to keep in mind is companies/manufacturers/distributors who have resellers for example sometimes(more often than not)play dirty little games.  No one goes into CVS or Pricerite and files a vero claim for the knock off products designed to look like established name brands.  Companies routinely create knockoffs.  Even motion pictures do this if someone hears a major production is underway they create a lower budget film to piggyback things. It's very common,  much less common they get a lawsuit.  Provided you weren't being too cute or the manufacturer of the knock off didn't copy things too much it would be okay however....under the DMCA ebay is only a host and not judge and jury. So it's ripe for abuse to file claims.  Now you could counter claim by filing a lawsuit against the company who filed the complaint but here's the problem there, it's going to cost you a fortune to defend yourself over a couple of cheap toys.  That alone encourages abuse.  However I and others really aren't familiar with these products.  Post a side by side with the names of each and that could be telling but even if it wasn't telling someone sees your actions as a threat to their sales so they get rid of you....hoping and praying you relist so they can double down and watch ebay ban you for good. 

[kh-vince]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.