eBay

yhlml · ‎01-05-2018

hello

I sold a leather messenger bag and the buyer wasn't happy with it. I offered him a partial refund and he accepted it. He is reselling the bag and using some of my photos in his listing. Is this allowed?

Thanks in advance.

emerald40 · ‎01-05-2018

@yhlml wrote:
hello
I sold a leather messenger bag and the buyer wasn't happy with it. I offered him a partial refund and he accepted it. He is reselling the bag and using some of my photos in his listing. Is this allowed?
Thanks in advance.

Yes it is lazy, but if it were me I would just let it go.

fashunu4eeuh · ‎01-05-2018

Hi, there is still a policy that members should not use another member’s images or text without their permission. It outlines what steps can be taken should you decide to pursue it. However, ebay also reserves the right to put a seller’s photos/ text into the ebay catalog for general use by the community. Here’s the link:

https://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/image-text.html

emerald40 · ‎01-05-2018

OP do you have another one of these to sell?

If not imo the photo served its purpose in that the item sold.

So does it really matter anymore?

insanecatpossee · ‎01-05-2018

This is not allowed and is precisely why eBay enables reports of copyright violations and provides additional assistance via the VeRO program. I have had folks lift my images in the past and continue to struggle with it today. It matters because sellers put a great deal of time and effort into their listing; for those efforts to be purloined usually by someone selling the very same item at the very time as, and therefore in direct competition with, yours is egregiously unfair.

However, consider the potential consequences of sending your former customer a nasty gram about a bag with which he/she had already had issues. Weigh this against your displeasure over the use of the photos, and decide whether going after their removal would be worth the potential fall out. While only you have an idea of the nature of your relationship, I would probably err on the side of letting the issue slide.

Best.

7606dennis · ‎01-05-2018

@insanecatpossee wrote:
This is not allowed and is precisely why eBay enables reports of copyright violations and provides additional assistance via the VeRO program. I have had folks lift my images in the past and continue to struggle with it today. It matters because sellers put a great deal of time and effort into their listing; for those efforts to be purloined usually by someone selling the very same item at the very time as, and therefore in direct competition with, yours is egregiously unfair.

However, consider the potential consequences of sending your former customer a nasty gram about a bag with which he/she had already had issues. Weigh this against your displeasure over the use of the photos, and decide whether going after their removal would be worth the potential fall out. While only you have an idea of the nature of your relationship, I would probably err on the side of letting the issue slide.

Best.

Actually, since eBay has included language in the UA granting themselves non-exclusive rights to any material uploaded to the site and has recently removed from the sellers the ability to opt out of their catalog scheme, it is probable that the OP has no recourse in the matter.

"It is an intelligent man that is aware of his own ignorance."

insanecatpossee · ‎01-06-2018

Based on the info you’ve shared, the non-exclusive right is most likely as between eBay and the picture-taker, not an open license for use by anyone and everyone. The OP should absolutely continue to pursue folks that lift his images.

kim_y_buran · ‎01-06-2018

It's against the policy but eBay won't do anything about it.

insanecatpossee · ‎01-06-2018

It is certainly true that eBay reps may hem and haw over taking action. They just can’t say, the argument goes, to whom the pictures actually belong - this, despite being presented with not only the disputed images with time and date stamps, but also additional pics that didn’t make the final cut for listing but were taken at the same time. So, they punt and it is frustrating!

However, for those truly determined, there is the Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) program, which while not fast, can be extremely gratifying. It served as my Nuclear Option when dealing with a particularly bad actor. And I like it.

For the future, should the need arise.