Seller selling fraudulent, vintage copycat items

[dillsdprib]

Hi. I don't want to get in trouble with Ebay gov't so I am not sure if it's ok to mention user id or store name, but there is a seller who is altering original Hot Wheels Redline toy cars & selling them as original. They take an old original, disassemble it, paint it, maybe replace wheels, glass, etc. & reassemble it w/either reproducion rivets or w/epoxy.

There is an authority with these vintage items on toycarcollector.com & actually put a special message on his site alerting those to beware! He DOES list the user name of the seller so people are informed about the illegal practices. He states:

'Be careful when you buy on eBay there are many scammers on that site
like this guy ************ who sell repaints as originals

They will tell you excuses like "well it came in a collection and I'm no expert" or "well I never said it was original, I said it was like new".

 
The sad part is I've seen people pay hundreds of dollars for 
worthless repaints and then leave the seller positive feedback.'

I questioned te seller myself & they replied something similar to the above statements. I've consulted w/the website owner and he informed me of the incredible amounts of $$ uninformed buyers were paying, under 'Sold' listings. 

Clearly, the seller is altering the vintage toy cars because they are listing them without mentioning that they are 'original', but customized' or 'restored' or something of that nature. They act like they daren't aware of what they have, but they do. I was informed by a seller who reported certain items from this seller & the seller either sold them or continues to have the flagged items STILL listed. 

The tricky part, the original Hot Wheels from the 1st few years would have them titledfrom Mattel, Custom Camaro, Custom Barracuda, Custom Corvette.. so the listing would contain 'Custom' in the title, but since the car is altered, it's like they don't have to mention it, you see?? The uninformed buyer believe they have an original Redline car, but it's actually not. 

Why after an item that is counterfeit, can actually be still for sale even when it has been reported? It makes it easy for anyone, or myself, to list fraudulent items w/out providing proof of authenticity!

[lex-talon]

There is a report link on each listing. Feel free to submit one if you feel the item is not legit.

[doupiern0]

I totally agree this is truly discusting me....I DO SELL cars ORIGINAL & RESTORED.... the difference is that when I restore a car it actually says RESTORED in the title and I actually tell you in the descriptions what has been done to the car. The cars that I decide to restore and give new life to are very damaged. If a car is in good condition I DO NOT restore them . ANY car that I sell as original says ORIGINAL in the title and I think its wrong to deceive people. Theyre recently was a gentleman that told me that you couldn't tell that it was taken apart...well I personally could NOT sell a car as original if I restored it....I would feel horrible. HOWEVER I just sold a car as RESTORED and a man bought it from me....He even asked for me to lower the price...which I accommodated him. Someone brought it to my attention that this person was selling my RESTORED item under a different name and is bidding up this item with the name he bought from me....HE STOLE MY PICTURES AS WELL!!! Hes selling this item as mint doesn't say original. I know this is this car that I RESTORED. I messed up part of the decal when appling it and there is a small scratch in the rear window....NOT TO MENTION ALL THE PICTURES HE STOLE. I AM A honest person and this scammer is a sick person to do this.

[anthology-of-treasures]

Can't you report this under eBay's VERO as a copyright violation:

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/listing-and-marketing/verified-rights-owner-program.html#m17-1-...

You own a copyright on your pictures as soon as they are created.

Have you considered investing in a bulk watermarking application.

I like using PhotoMill X on my Macintoshes.

Here made two minor changes in an existing watermark in this program and watermarked one of your images as an example. You could instead add a transparent logo.

As an added bonus this usually means eBay will also now bypass your images and not license them to Worthpoint.